US working on bomb more powerful than one used on Hiroshima

The nuclear weapon being developed by the Biden administration that could be 24 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 would have devastating consequences if dropped on Russia, according to reports.

An analysis by Newsweek found that such a bomb exploding over Moscow could cause “significant devastation” and kill more than 300,000 people.

“Anything within roughly a half-mile radius from the bomb’s detonation site would be vaporized by a fireball, while heavy damage would demolish buildings and likely kill everyone else within a mile,” the news outlet reported.

Journalists used a visual representation created by Nukemap, an online tool developed by science historian Alex Wellerstein to assess possible damage if the weapon were to be used over the Russian capital.

The bomb, known as the B61-13, could have a maximum yield of up to 340 kilotons of TNT.

The one dropped on Hiroshima had a blast yield of 15 kilotons.

The bomb, which was announced last week by the Department of Defense, is a version of the B61 gravity bomb developed in the 1960s at the height of the Cold War.

“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,” said a statement from the Department of Defense. “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.”