The US-made F-35A fighter jet has been "operationally" certified to carry B61-12 thermonuclear free-fall bombs, a spokesman for the warplane’s Joint Program Office (JPO) told the Breaking Defense news outlet.
"The F-35A is the first 5th generation nuclear-capable aircraft ever, and the first new platform (fighter or bomber) to achieve this status since the early 1990s," Russ Goemaere said.
The development provides the whole NATO bloc with a "critical capability" and supports the US’ "extended deterrence commitments," the spokesman claimed.
The certification, however, does not extend to the aircraft’s sister variants, the short takeoff and vertical landing F-35B and the carrier-launched F-35C, respectively.
The F-35 is used by NATO member states, as well as Israel, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, with other countries also signing deals to buy the jets.
The latest problem was reported earlier this year when the new $14 billion software upgrade for the jets turned out to be "immature and deficient," leading to "critical warfighting deficiencies" for the aircraft, rather than improvements.
This came after a 2023 September report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that almost half of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters that are supposed to be operational are not capable of flying, and it will cost a whopping $1.3 trillion to keep them operational.
The F-35 fighter jet remains the most expensive weapon in history, with a per-unit price between $78 and $95 million.