A WORLD FREE of nuclear weapons is an appealing dream, but the
reality is that the atomic bomb will not disappear soon. As long
as the United States possesses a nuclear arsenal and needs to
deter threats, the warheads and bombs must be kept safe, secure
and, if deployed, effective. This is a goal of a major U.S.
effort to refurbish and extend the life of its existing weapons.
One of the oldest of them is the B-61 gravity bomb, first
designed in the 1960s to be dropped over a target by airplane,
either as a strategic weapon carried by long-range bombers, or
as a tactical or short-range nuclear weapon in Europe. The
Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration has
been gearing up for a “life extension” program for the B-61,
which will replace old parts and add security systems and
controls. The B-61 life extension was estimated two years ago to
cost $4 billion. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), who chairs the
Senate appropriations subcommittee that oversees the program,
announced July 25 that the