Earlier this year, the U.S. Air Force asked Congress for money to buy four 15 ton Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs. Now it wants ten, and preferably twelve. The likely targets are North Korea or Iran, and apparently the air force has developed some new information on targets that would require more MOPs, and as soon as possible.
The U.S. Air Force is also modifying some B-2 bombers so that they can carry two MOP bombs. These 21 foot long bombs have began development in 2004, with the first test models showing up in 2005. Operational characteristics (how deep the bomb can go in different types of material) have only mentioned the ability to penetrate 200 feet underground. The MOP is mostly metal, with about 18 percent of its weight devoted to explosives. It uses GPS, and inertial guidance, to find its target. The MOP is the latest of a long line of American "super bombs." B-2s are supposed to be ready to use MOP next year. Previously, the heaviest U.S. "penetrator" bombs were the 2.1 ton BLU-28 and one ton BLU-109. |