MOPping Up: The USA’s 30,000 Pound Bomb

Defense Industry Daily ^ | Jan. 29, 2012 | DID - Defense Industry Daily

[bunkerhill7]

“Grand Slam” R&D funding: MOP needs to go deeper; Program wins award. (Jan 27/12)

During the Second World War, attacking heavily protected targets like U-boat pens and protected “V-weapon” facilities was a key challenge. Enter a brilliant British engineer named Barnes Wallis, fresh off the dam-busting “Upkeep” bouncing bomb. His next trick was a 12,000 pound weapon called the “Tallboy,” a streamlined, spin-stabilized bomb with a claimed terminal velocity of Mach 1 when dropped from 20,000 feet. That mass, carrying 5,200 pounds of Torpex D1 explosive, made a crater 80 feet deep x 100 feet across when it hit. By 1945, Wallis’ next “Earthquake bomb” was in production – the 22,000 pound “Grand Slam.” His creations made short work of U-boat pens.

These bombs went out of fashion with the advent of nuclear weapons, but if you wait long enough, fashion comes around again. Enter the USA’s new Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). Despite additional funding, and October promises of accelerated deployment, the MOP did not arrive by mid-2010, as planned. Development continues, however, and fielding draws closer…

[bunkerhill7]

Deep Croak

[ClearCase_guy]

terminal velocity of Mach 1

Is that possible?

[Cboldt]

-- Is that possible? --

Sure. It's a function of acceleration due to gravity, which is a persistent 32 ft/sec.sec; wind resistance; and the time allowed to reach what is called "terminal velocity" where the force of gravity and the force of wind resistance balance.

[Oztrich Boy]

[Rannug]

Is that pic from APG, Md.?

[jmax]

By the way, why has the Air Force contracted out for BUNKER-BUSTER BOMBS for possible use in Iran? Seems a waste of money, as we already have some. That’s why we have a nuke arsenal. Ohhhhhhh.....now I get it....obama already gave all those nukes away to Russia.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Practically speaking, there is a limit for ballistic missile penetration of 3 times the length of the missile.

However, in the case of an underground bunker, a way of getting around this problem would be with a type of nuclear weapon that is not a bomb, a blast weapon, per se.

While it has a nuclear weapon on board, the blast effect is relatively small, but produces a huge burst of high speed neutron radiation that will irradiate a large area around it, killing all life and destroying electronics.

Originally the idea was used as the “neutron bomb”, that would be detonated as an airburst, with limited blast effects, but kill all life on the ground in a wide area underneath it, without destroying buildings.

But as an underground weapon, it would very effectively kill every person in a bunker and ruin their electronics.

[Vinnie]

Why not just destroy access? Bury them alive.

[Atlas Sneezed]

terminal velocity of Mach 1

Is that possible?

---

Only if Slim Pickens is riding.

[SampleMan]

By 1945, Wallis’ next “Earthquake bomb” was in production – the 22,000 pound “Grand Slam.” His creations made short work of U-boat pens.

This is a false statement. The sub pens were never penetrated. However, the Germans failed to build gates to the pens, and the near misses in the harbor sent giant waves up into the pens the smashed the surface U-boats against the concrete ceiling.

Those same waves also destroyed the German E-boats on the other side of the harbor, which greatly benefitted the D-Day landings.

[Oatka]

Originally the idea was used as the “neutron bomb”, that would be detonated as an airburst, with limited blast effects, but kill all life on the ground in a wide area underneath it, without destroying buildings.

I remember when the liberals were running around screaming that this was typical capitalist thinking - kill people but leave the property alone.

No fooling.

[SampleMan]

I don’t concur on 3x the length of the missile for penetraction. A 16” shell does far better than that. It comes down to force, sectional density, and resistance.

That said, there are three conventional ways to increase penetration. First, is a rocket that fires upon impact, thus offsetting resistance. The second is to use precise GPS targeting to drill down through a structure using repetitive hits in the exact same spot. The former works well for penetrating lose fill, while the latter is better for penetrating reinforced concrete.

Finally, a third method would be to use GPS to place multiple bombs in precise locations with perfectly coordinated detonations. This would have the effect of stacking or sequencing the shock waves with each other. This has the potential for imploding an underground bunker without ever coming close to it.