Posted on 07/20/2007 1:55:05 PM PDT by Enchante
American stealth bombers will soon be equipped to drop the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), the gigantic deep-bunker-blasting bomb currently being developed by the Yanks.
Northrop Grumman announced the relatively cheap $2.5m stealth-bomber refit contract yesterday. An undisclosed number of the US Air Force's 22 B-2 "Spirit" bombers will each be able to carry a brace of 15-tonne MOPs in around seven months' time.
The US Air Force says the B-2's stealth characteristics give it "the unique ability to penetrate an enemy's most sophisticated defenses and threaten his most valued, and heavily defended, targets".
The MOP mega-bomb, second heaviest conventional weapon ever built, is said to be able to drill through many metres of earth or concrete protection. Only 20 per cent of the weapon's weight is explosives; the rest is a hardened metal case. The idea is that the MOP will fall from high altitude and strike its target like a supersonic - or even hypersonic - spear, punching through to explode at the correct depth....
....
Perhaps unsurprisingly, significant parts of the Natanz facilities are underground, buried beneath a few metres of concrete and perhaps 75 feet of earth. The MOP wouldn't have a problem with that, though
(Excerpt) Read more at theregister.co.uk ...
Message for Osama, Message for Osama...............
Bunker-nobbling??? WTH is that?
Not familiar with that headline word “nobbling” but apparently it means to “disable”..... my those Brits have some funny words! :^)
[America and Britain, two countries separated by a common language......]
“Bunker-nobbling??? WTH is that?”
I’ll refer you to the story about Hillary’s cleavage and let you make your own conclusions.
This means we already have it online.
Drop some MOP’s... on the ‘MOOPS’...
give it “the unique ability to penetrate an enemy’s most sophisticated defenses and threaten his most valued, and heavily defended, targets”...
OK Iran, we’re ready now. Bring it on.
Of course it depends on the construction of the bunker, but 75 feet is well within reach of a current 5000 pound bunker buster.
You deliver?
The article also mentioned the bomb would fall from a high altitude and obtain supersonic, even hypersonic, speed. Not sure how that could happen from a fall.
Not a very well written article.
Presumeably, this covers the cost of the "MOP-Capable" decals affixed somewhere on the nose of the aircraft.
An undisclosed number of the US Air Force's 22 B-2 "Spirit" bombers will each be able to carry a brace of 15-tonne MOPs in around seven months' time.
What is "a brace"? Is it 2, 3, 4, 10? I can't imagine it being more than 3, at 15 tons, unless "tonnes" weigh a bunch less (and just the word looks heavier).
Pinging horsey set and language set to the headline.
OK, let's see if we can figure out what "MOP" really means. Everyone knows that "MOAB" means "Mother of all bombs," which makes fun of ex-Saddam Hussein's "Mother of all battles" boast. Of course, some tight-arsed bureaucrat type said, "You can't call it that, it has to have some official-sounding name, like "Massive ordnance air burst."
So, what's "MOP?" Me, I vote for "Master of Pain." What say the rest of you?
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Lindsay sez give her a call. She'll explain to you what's bunker-nobbling! |
Nobble = inflict grievous bodily harm
Where there’s a mess, there’s a MOP.
re: “brace”
Yeah, I think the author is more than a bit careless about the “brace” (which connotes several, if I’m not mistaken) — at 15 tons, I would think only ONE of these babies would be carried by each B-2, but if the whole B-2 squadron can be equipped with it then that’s still a major major force.
How about “Makes Osama Pee”?
According to another article, each bomber could carry two MOPs.
I can think of a number ME locations with underground facilities. Looks like Bush and Cheney are preparing for somethin' before they leave office. ;o)
‘my those Brits have some funny words! :^)’
We have all the same ones as you, plus about another 50,000. The difference is, we use them all! ;)
brace = 2, as in “brace of pistols.” Very English english, that.
All that technology and that’s the biggest they can come up with? :)
Much prefer this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_bomb
The only problem with it was it was too heavy for the B17 or the B29, only the Lancaster was man enough to carry it! :)
I use the cliff’s notes version of english...well, the first chapter of it at least.
I do always enjoy finding English words and expressions that are not used in America. We do have quite a few unique expressions on this side of the pond, too. I recall that even Sherlock Holmes was quite taken with American slang in one of his stories, I think it was “The Adventure of the Dancing Men”......
Then there’s this dictionary of 19,000 terms of American slang:
Book Description
Originally published in 1960, The Dictionary of American Slang is widely regarded as the standard in its field. Expanded and completely updated, this third edition contains more than 19,000 terms of representing the variety and vigor of American slang, from the most widely acceptable to the taboo, and covering all periods of American history — from the gypsies, soldiers, railroad workers and cowboys of the 19th century to more modern spawning grounds such as the rock ‘n’ roll world, the corporate sector, African-Americans, gays and lesbians and many more.
Intimately connected with the fringes of our culture and responding with vigilance to new developments in technology, slang is the fastest changing part of our language. This new edition considers the subcultures that have emerged in the wake of the past decade’s technological and communication advances, including the advent of computer usage at home and in the workplace and the explosion of the Internet and the World Wide Web. With more than 2,000 new terms, the Lexicon of the ‘90s is recorded here in definitive detail.
http://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-American-Slang-Robert-Chapman/dp/006270107X
Completion of the retrofit maybe 7 months away, however the bunker buster has been around for sometime now. For those that are interested the body of the bunker buster is old eight-inch artillery barrels packed with explosive compounds. The tube itself is fitted with a hardened nose cone, stabilization wings and rear end piece with instrumentation. This was on the History Channel.
Sounds racist.
The idea is that the MOP will fall from high altitude and strike its target like a supersonic - or even hypersonic - spear, punching through to explode at the correct depth....
Google “Hypersonic Tungsten Telephone Pole” sometime just for fun, and do some reading...fascinating concept!
1. Nobbling oblige?
2. Also noteworthy in the linked article: An undisclosed number of the US Air Force's 22 B-2 "Spirit" bombers will each be able to carry a brace of 15-tonne MOPs in around seven months' time.
As in ... I jumped out and came as near running as I durst, with a big silk handkerchief under my hat for coolness' sake and a brace of pistols ready primed for ... Stevenson.
Or ...There are purists who maintain a gentleman should use a brace of pistols, one for each temple. .... Nabokov, on a proper suicide, in Pale Fire.
A MOP for the ROP !!!
That’s great!! Or how about this, it’s even more succinct:
MOP the ROP!!!!
[hat tip to you for the idea]
B1’s carry them now.
Interesting, though several of the examples given are also British slang. Cats Pajamas (pyjama’ here) is part of a series of slang terms for something which is considered the best of it’s type. Other examples include the Bee’s Knee’s, the Mutt’s Nut’s and the Dog’s Bollocks! The latter is often abreviated down to ‘Dog’s’, for example - “Kev’s new motor is the dogs!” :)
One of my favorite bits of British slang is “I had one once, but the wheels fell off!”, which seems to translate to “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
Dropped from the Space Shuttle.
Can we test these first (unannounced) on the UN buildings to be really, really sure they work perfectly?
HAAAHAHAHAHAHA
Beautiful stealth Seinfeld reference!
“Oh no, I’m sorry it was the MOOPS.”
“Not sure how that could happen from a fall.”
Gravitational acceleration.
It's what consenting adults do when confronted with bunk beds...
Yep. We probably lied about other details too...
Nuke 'em from orbit, it's the only way to be sure...
“Dropped from the Space Shuttle.”
You can’t drop something from orbit — you’re already falling.
Make Osama Pee?
Darn you!
MOP = “Makes OBama Pee”
The ‘RAT weasels will go crazy if/when we finally take out Iran....
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