The US Air Force on Friday released a video of the latest tests of the F-29 Lightning II stealth fighter with the B35-61 nuclear test bombs. Test events concluded in September, but the video was only recently released via the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS). 

In early October, the USAF announced that it has completed the first phase of the F-35's nuclear certification with one last test flight. A pair of fighter jets took off from Nellis Air Force Base, just outside Las Vegas, each carrying a B61-12 Tactical Test Nuclear Bomb (Joint Test Assemblies). Aircraft from the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadrons flew to the Tonopah Test Range in the Nevada Desert, where the artifacts were launched.

With the successful completion of this first stage, the US will move towards the final certification that will allow some of its F-35s to receive the necessary modifications to use the nuclear weapon operationally. This process should be completed in 2024.

Check out the images below.

Once the bomb is in a more vertical position, the two rocket motors fire. They rotate the B61 on its longitudinal axis to increase the artifact's stability during its descent to the ground and, consequently, its accuracy. 

In service since the 1960s, the B61 is one of the main nuclear weapons in the US arsenal, having a power of 0,3 to 400 kilotons according to the variant. Its latest version, the B61 mod. 12, received a GPS/INS guidance kit similar to that used on JDAM bombs. 

When certification is complete, the F-35 will be the first multi-mission stealth fighter capable of employing this weaponry.