TheGBU-57A - B Massive Ordnance Penetrator(MOP ) is 5,300 pounds of high explosive envelop in 30,000 pound of brand , and design to wipe out bastioned positions and hush-hush dugout from the interior . grow by the US Air Force with help from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency ( DTRA ) and built by Boeing , the $ 400 million MOP projection is the largest Bunker Buster bomb in the US arsenal by a good 25,000 pounds ; up to of burrow through 60 feet of reinforced concrete . But the MOP may have met its match in Iran ’s Fordow atomic enrichment complex . This 300 - separator adeptness is n’t just tucked safely underground , it ’s swallow under an full deal . Not even an MOP can punch through that much Earth — yet .
The Air Force ’s 30,000 - Pound Super Duper Bomb Is Ready to Rock Iran
And if the vista of a nuclear - powered Iran were n’t enough , Israel has match Tehran ’s hardline sabre - rattling , barb for barb , by forebode a pre-emptive ten-strike against Iran ’s nuclear facilities should the nation succeed in formulate nuclear weapons . To prevent this rhetorical powder kegful from cascading into World War III ( at least until Iran ’s home elections in June ) , the US has just cease an $ 86 million upgrade to the MOP , tuning it specifically to strike the Fordow readiness , in hopes of dissuading the Israeli ’s from found unilateral action .
The newest looping of the GBU-57AB employs a sturdier detonator safety fuse than its predecessor , provide the new reading to drive further into the multiple layers of granite and blade that insulate the complex before detonating . What ’s more , the bombs have been outfitted with riposte - air Department of Defense systems to negate Iran ’s burgeoning electronic war and anti - aircraft capabilities . And if a undivided MOP ca n’t do the job , as military analysts fear , the unexampled iteration also employs an improved guidance system , allow B-2 and B-52H Cuban sandwich — the only two craft in the USAF capable of add together such a vast artillery — to drop multiple munitions directly on top of one another , incrementally excavating the earthen defenses until one of them break through and pass over out the composite .
And while it was adapted specifically for penetrating Fordow ’s defenses , the limited MOP will do a number on North Korea ’s lightly armored enrichment facility if the motive arises . Though , with any circumstances , that wo n’t ever be necessary .
[ Defense Update – WSJ – Wikipedia – Images : USAF ]
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