It wouldn't serve US nuclear deterrence—ornonprolifera-tion—goals to modernize the B83 nuclear gravity bomb in place of the B61, senior Defense Department and Energy Department officials told lawmakers in late October. The megaton-class B83 is a "relic of the Cold War," Mad-elyn R. Creedon, assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs, told the House Armed Services Committee's strategic forces panel on Oct. 29. "We need the '61" for maintaining a credible, forward deployed tactical nuclear weapon for NATO and also for extending the US nuclear umbrella to protect allies in Asia, she said. "The B61 is the best of the choices to go forward," said Gen. C. Robert Kehler, head of US Strategic Command, at the same hearing.
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机译：国防部高级官员和能源部官员在十月下旬对国会议员说，这不会使美国的核威慑或防扩散目标实现取代B61的B83核弹的现代化。百万吨级的B83是“冷战遗物”，全球战略事务助理国防部长Mad-elyn R. Creedon于10月29日对众议院军事委员会的战略力量小组说。她说，这是“ 61”，因为它为北约维护了一种可靠的，向前部署的战术核武器，并且还扩大了美国的核保护伞，以保护亚洲的盟国。美国战略司令部负责人罗伯特·凯勒将军在同一听证会上说：“ B61是前进中最好的选择。”
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