Nuclear Weapons in a Continued Cold War

Delta Force

Banned
Would there have been a replacement for the B61, or was that the B83? The B83 seems rather large and powerful to have been intended as the B61 replacement though.
 
There would've been a B-61 replacement for tactical and some strategic use: the B-61 Mod 7 is a strategic weapon with yield options up to 340 KT.

The B-83 is a strategic weapon only: Yield between 1-2 MT.
 
In the end, had the AGM-131 SRAM II continued development, it would have meant the only gravity-dropped nuclear weapon in the US inventory by 2003 would be a small stock of B53's rated a 9 MT yield and B83's rated at 1.2 MT yield. The AGM-131 would in one fell swoop replace all the B61 nuclear bombs; it would be adopted for the F-15E Strike Eagle, some F-16 units and all Panavia Tornado units.
 
AGM-131 SRAM-T was not compatible with the F-16, and not only USAF, but Dutch, Belgian, Greek, and Turkish F-16 units were/are nuclear certified. A gravity bomb to replace the B-61 in the tactical role would be necessary.
 
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