ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has named a new deputy labs director to lead its nuclear deterrence programs as part of a reorganization that supports the labs’ continued excellence in assuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Laura McGill, who joins Sandia after more than 30 years in the defense […]
Tag Archives: Life Extension Program
Flight tests to show B61-12 will work on Air Force’s newest fighter jet
November 23, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A mock B61-12’s strike in the dusty Nevada desert successfully completed the first in a series of flight tests with the U.S. Air Force’s newest fighter jet, demonstrating the bomb’s first release from an internal bomb bay at greater than the speed of sound. The flight test of the B61-12 with the […]
Sandia weapons program meets safety, design requirements
June 29, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has successfully completed another milestone in the B61-12 gravity bomb refurbishment program, demonstrating the labs is meeting important nuclear safety and use-control requirements. “The Combined Engineering Judgment is an important step toward ensuring the B61-12 Life Extension Program is on track, and Sandia is meeting design and development requirements […]
Flight tests show B61-12 compatible with F-15E Strike Eagle
June 8, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Dropped from above 25,000 feet, the mock B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb was in the air for approximately 55 seconds before hitting and embedding in the lakebed, splashing a 40- to 50-foot puff of desert dust from the designated impact area at Sandia National Laboratories’ Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. That strike was […]
Drop of mock B61-12 is first of new flight tests
April 13, 2017 – 2:39 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — From a distance, the drop of a mock nuclear weapon — containing only non-nuclear components — was a mere puff of dust rising from a dry lake bed at Nevada’s Tonopah Test Range. However, it marked the start of a new series of test flights vital to the nation’s B61-12 weapon refurbishment […]
Sled track simulates high-speed accident in B61-12 test
October 5, 2016 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has sent a mock B61-12 nuclear weapon speeding down the labs’ 10,000-foot rocket sled track to slam nose-first into a steel and concrete wall in a spectacular test that mimicked a high-speed accident. It allowed engineers to examine safety features inside the weapon that prevent inadvertent nuclear detonation. Data […]
W80-4: Sandia California works on nuclear weapon Life Extension Program
October 15, 2015 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is doing what it hasn’t done in decades: extending the life of a nuclear warhead at the same time the U.S. Air Force develops a replacement cruise missile that will carry the weapon. The goal of the W80-4 Life Extension Program (LEP) is refurbishing the W80 warhead with replacement […]
Sandia National Laboratories hosts NATO visitors
May 10, 2013 – 12:45 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — NATO delegates toured Sandia National Laboratories during a three-day visit highlighting the labs’ programs that support extended deterrence to U.S. allies, as well as broader national security programs ranging from homeland security to preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The visitors included more than 50 representatives from 23 European countries, […]