![\"US](\"https:\/\/c.ndtvimg.com\/2023-11\/muin041g_nuclear-weapon_625x300_05_November_23.jpg\"\/ "\\"US")
<\/div>\nThe new bomb is a variation of the B61 gravity bomb developed in the 1960s<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The USA is building a nuclear weapon,\u00a0touted to be 24 times more powerful than the bomb that dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The new bomb is a variation of the B61 gravity bomb developed in the 1960s, during the Cold War, and was announced by the Department of Defense (DoD) last week.\u00a0According to a report by Newsweek<\/a><\/em>, it could kill over 300,000 Russians if it were dropped on Moscow.<\/p>\n The US said the B61-13 is intended to “strengthen deterrence of adversaries and assurance of allies” by providing President Joe Biden “with additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets.”<\/p>\n In a press release, the Department of Defense said<\/a>, ”The B61-13 would be deliverable by modern aircraft, strengthening deterrence of adversaries and assurance of allies and partners by providing the President with additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets. It would replace some of the B61-7s in the current nuclear stockpile and have a yield similar to the B61-7, which is higher than that of the B61-12.”<\/p>\n In the release, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb added, ”The United States has a responsibility to continue to assess and field the capabilities we need to credibly deter and, if necessary, respond to strategic attacks, and assure our allies.”<\/p>\n Newsweek<\/em>, citing a Nukemap simulation science developed by historian Alex Wellerstein, reported that the B61-13 bomb if exploded over Moscow at an estimated maximum yield of 360 kilotons of TNT would kill more than 300,000 people.\u00a0The one dropped on Hiroshima had a blast yield of 15 kilotons.<\/p>\n According to the report,\u00a0<\/i>anything within a half-mile radius of the bomb’s detonation site would be vaporized by a massive fireball. The blast would demolish buildings and likely kill everyone within a mile, while those within two miles of the detonation site would be dead within a month due to the high level of radiation exposure. Some 15% of survivors would die of cancer later in life. In total, injuries would number 868,860, Nukemap suggested.<\/p>\n