Pentagon Eyes Use of Biggest Bomb Ever by 2010
Pentagon eyes accelerated "bunker buster" bomb testing and deployment to make it in time by July 2010. The rush is due to the fact that Pentagon sees a greater treat nowadays from North Korea. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP would be the biggest bomb ever produced. It is about one-third heavier than the 21,000-pound (9.5 million kg) GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb -- dubbed the "mother of all bombs" -- that was dropped twice in tests at a Florida range in 2003.The ultra-large "bunker-buster" bomb will be carried by the most advanced U.S. bomber as soon as July 2010, the Air Force said on Sunday, amid concerns over perceived nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran.
The non-nuclear, 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, which is still being tested, is designed to destroy deeply buried bunkers beyond the reach of existing bombs.
If Congress agrees to shift enough funds to the program, Northrop Grumman Corp's radar-evading B-2 bomber "would be capable of carrying the bomb by July 2010," said Andy Bourland, an Air Force spokesman.
The precision-guided weapon, built by Boeing Co, could become the biggest conventional bomb the United States has ever used.
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