Berlin Split over US Nuke Modernization

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http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,765640,00.html

The Pentagon is planning a comprehensive modernization of part of America's nuclear arsenal -- including bombs deployed in Europe. The newly-designed weapons, to be given the designation B61-12, will be based on the current B61-4 design, of which experts estimate there are already between 10 and 20 based in southwestern Germany at the Luftwaffe air base in Büchel.

The modernization program for these nuclear weapons would, according to a report from the American Government Accountability Office (GAO) to Congress, be "the most complex life extension effort undertaken" to date.

Both the conventional and nuclear components of the bombs are set for modernization, with a view to changing the power behind the nuclear explosion. The weapons will also be outfitted with controllable tail fins to improve their effectiveness as flying bombs.

Technical development will begin next year with the first new bombs set be ready by 2017, after which full production of the model would start. According to the report, the US began discussing the proposals with "certain NATO allies" in early 2010, reaching an agreement on the "key military characteristics of the bomb."