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Pentagon upgrades its bunker-busting bombs with an eye on Iran's nuclear facilities
Iran's underground nuclear facilities were once seen as an impenetrable target, but the Pentagon has now upgraded its biggest bunker-busting bomb with the sole purpose of taking those facilities off the map. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator is a whopping 30,000 pounds, nearly a third bigger than the MOAB, or 'Mother of all Bombs.' 'Hopefully we never have to use it,' said an anonymous U.S. official familiar with the project. 'But if we had to, it would work.'
The weapon penetrates the surface within inches of the target, then detonates underground. The newest version has upgraded burrowing capabilities and new guidance systems to ensure it can evade Iranian air defenses. Iran's Fordow Uranium Enrichment Facility is located beneath a moutain near the city of Qom. In January 2012, U.S. officials worried their largest bomb was incapable of penetrating the bunker. The new MOP, designed by Boeing, carries more than 5,3000 pounds of explosives and measures 20 feet long. It has, however, yet to be dropped from a plane in a test. 'It gives us a far greater capability to reach and destroy an enemy's weapons of mass destruction that are located in well protected underground facilities... to a magnitude far greater than we have now,' said Pentagon Spokesman Capt. John Kirby.
Iran's underground nuclear facilities were once seen as an impenetrable target, but the Pentagon has now upgraded its biggest bunker-busting bomb with the sole purpose of taking those facilities off the map. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator is a whopping 30,000 pounds, nearly a third bigger than the MOAB, or 'Mother of all Bombs.' 'Hopefully we never have to use it,' said an anonymous U.S. official familiar with the project. 'But if we had to, it would work.'
The weapon penetrates the surface within inches of the target, then detonates underground. The newest version has upgraded burrowing capabilities and new guidance systems to ensure it can evade Iranian air defenses. Iran's Fordow Uranium Enrichment Facility is located beneath a moutain near the city of Qom. In January 2012, U.S. officials worried their largest bomb was incapable of penetrating the bunker. The new MOP, designed by Boeing, carries more than 5,3000 pounds of explosives and measures 20 feet long. It has, however, yet to be dropped from a plane in a test. 'It gives us a far greater capability to reach and destroy an enemy's weapons of mass destruction that are located in well protected underground facilities... to a magnitude far greater than we have now,' said Pentagon Spokesman Capt. John Kirby.
It is now also equipped with ECM to prevent command-takeover attempts. From what I understand, test data/videos were supplied to the IAF during the recent Obama visit to Jerusalem.