Aging nuclear bombs could take a hit in budget tug of war

OMAHA, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Hundreds of Cold War-era atomic bombs must be upgraded before their electronics fail, says the head of the Nebraska-based long-range bomber strike force.

The proposal by Gen. C. Robert Kehler has not been well-met by opponents who say estimated costs for the modernization has doubled in just two years, the Omaha World-Herald reported Monday.

Kehler, head of U.S. Strategic Command, says extending the life of the B-61 bomb is "absolutely essential." Noting that mandatory Pentagon cost cutting has delayed or deferred much maintenance, he says, "Now we don't have the luxury of waiting."

The bombs were designed in the 1960s to be dropped from NATO strategic bombers and tactical fighters. Some of the parts are so old they can't be replaced. The Defense Department wants to upgrade the four models of B-61 bombs into single new one called the B61-12. The cost: about $28 million for each bomb.

"There's concern about whether these plans make any sense," says Kingston Reif, director of nuclear nonproliferation at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, D.C.

In 2010, President Obama asked Congress to allocate $4 billion over 10 years to renovate about 400 of the weapons.

However, he has pledged not to increase military capabilities as nuclear weapons, and critics say renovating the B-61 would do just that. The U.S. has larger weapons left over from the Cold War at a time when Russia and other nations are developing smaller weapons designed to take out armies, not cities, said Barry Watts, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

Congress is considering cutting back on the B-61 project. Its budget this year was lopped about 20 percent by the federal sequestration, or across-the-board cuts. Congressional subcommittees are threatening to take another third from Obama's $537 million budget request for the project.