B-52H test-fired non-nuclear Air Launched Cruise Missiles

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration said a B-52H from Minot Air Force Base recently test-fired two Air Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCM) in order to gauge the nuclear functions of the W80 nuclear warhead.

Both missiles contained a W80 Joint Test Assembly (JTA) each. The data-collecting JTA were built to simulate the actual W80 weapon configuration utilizing as much war reserve hardware as feasible.