Posted on 07/26/2007 6:52:46 PM PDT by kddid
The U.S. is retrofitting its B-2 Stealth bombers with massive bunker-buster bombs -- a move that could be a prelude to an attack on Iran and its nuclear facilities.
Iran has refused to comply with international demands that it stop its nuclear weapons programs.
Experts have noted that a U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear program could be difficult due to the large number of installations -- some of which are buried deep underground in hardened bunkers.
In a recent NewsMax Magazine, Kenneth R. Timmerman's report "The Coming War with Iran: 6 Days of Hell" predicted the U.S. would outfit B-2's as a prelude to an attack on Iran. [Editor's Note: Get this special report "The Coming War with Iran: 6 Days of Hell" with our FREE offer -- Go Here Now]
Apparently the U.S. has big plans for Iran.
Northrop Grumman announced last week in a little noticed release that the company had begun integrating on the B-2's a new 30,000-pound-class "penetrator bomb" or bunker buster.
"The U.S. Air Force's B-2 Stealth bomber would be able to attack and destroy an expanded set of hardened, deeply buried military targets" using the monster bunker buster, the company said in its release.
The company is doing the work under a seven-month, $2.5 million contract awarded June 1 by the Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Northrop Grumman is the Air Force's prime contractor on the B-2, the flagship of the nation's long-range strike arsenal.
The new Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), which is being developed by the Boeing Co., is a GPS-guided weapon containing more than 5,300 pounds of conventional explosives inside a 20.5-foot-long enclosure of hardened steel. It is designed to penetrate dirt, rock and reinforced concrete to reach enemy bunker or tunnel installations.
The B-2 is capable of carrying two MOPs, one in each weapons bay.
"This integration contract is part of Northrop Grumman's on-going effort to ensure that the B-2 remains capable of delivering a decisive blow to an increasingly sophisticated enemy," said Dave Mazur, vice president of long-range strike for the company's Integrated Systems sector.
"It is the first step in helping the Air Force make this new weapon available for operational use on the B-2."
According to Mazur, the Air Force is expected to make a decision later this year on whether to develop a limited operational capability for the MOP, or to proceed with a more comprehensive development program that would optimize the weapon's operational utility.
The current contract will focus on adapting the B-2's weapon bay fixtures to accommodate the new weapon.
The B-2 is currently equipped to carry up to 40,000 pounds of conventional ordnance.
Where did you get this photo and the source that it is one of the 30,000 20.5 feet long MOP as it certainly does not look to be either 20.5 feet long nor large enough to be 30,000 pounds...
Here is a 21,600-pound MOAB... 
and it is bigger (It is 30 feet long with a diameter of 40.5 inches) than the one you have pictured.
:}
In 1961, the Soviets came within a factor of two, with a 58-megaton bomb. It was supposed to yield 100 megatons, but they decided to replace the U-238 tamper with lead, in the interest of reducing fallout, which was already becoming a world opinion issue. In the event, 97% of its yield was from fusion, and it produced very light fallout, having exploded at an altitude of 13,000 feet.
“How long until Iran begins building schools over those nuclear bunkers?”
Easy answer:
Call ‘em ‘madrasses’(schools for Islamic terrorist teachings), then do the following.
1. Make sure the President and Joint Chiefs clearly identify both the school buildings, and the location of said buildings.
2. Tell the public what lurks below said buildings.
3. Show translations of the hate filled Islamic curriculum.
When Joe Six-pack realizes what the Islamics are doing, he will demand action.
We can learn to enjoy the ‘collateral damage’ because it means fewer Jihadii whacko cases to have to kill later.
Keep those underground. There are six big ones on the shelf inside each payload. They know where to go without GPS. Use the SM-3s from subs. They have 20 each.
I saw one of those Kansas silos from the outside only. From a helicopter. I was told the work space is very deep with blast doors. I didn't have a reason to know more.
My dad was a SeaBee in the Pacific in WWII and told me the planes were so heavily loaded down with bombs that at the end of the runways you would see tail sections pointing up at the end of the runways more than a few times. They really pushed the envelope, that's how they won.
Nam Vet
It’s a start.
I doubt we have the guts to execute though.
The Germans flew planes that had no landing gear. They were flying coffins. A last desperate attempt to win.
We are not desperate to win this war...yet.
If you release 60,000 lbs. all at once, you are going to boiiiinnnggg the carrier plane up past the space station.
Ping.
Mine too. 30,000 Lbs from 20,000 ft? That'll make a dent. Hell, maybe it will set off a fault line and Tehran will fall down at the same time...
Don't need explosives with that kind of weight at velocity. The kinetic energy alone will make quite the crater. Most likely they are guided depleted uranium reinforced concrete.
Not even close. A 100 MT nuke is much smaller.
This 30,000 lb thing is a flying hunk of concrete. The reason they work so good, is that they re dropped from Max altitude so kinetic energy is the force of the bomb.
It's like a 30,000 lb comet hitting the earth. No explosive needed! We dropped all kinds of concrete on Iraq.
Smaller ones are called 'low collateral damage bombs', also contain no explosives.
Want nuke specs?
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/index.html
Enjoy
A Moab is just an improved daisy cutter. it’s an FA type bomb that disperses above ground then explodes. It’ll knock tanks over a mile away, but it won’t even make a crater.
The Bassoon device was 39 inches in diameter, and 135.5 inches long. It weighed 12,158 lb. Crater dimensions were 2330 feet wide, 113 feet deep.
This design was later developed into the Mk-41 bomb, the highest yield (25 Mt) weapon ever deployed by the U.S.
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Redwing.html
Yep.
LLS
“Mine too. 30,000 Lbs from 20,000 ft? That’ll make a dent. Hell, maybe it will set off a fault line and Tehran will fall down at the same time...”
It’ll be more like from 55,000 feet. From what I understand it’s likely both weapons will be dropped at once. One (at least) will be rocket boosted to hit faster, i.e. well into supersonic speeds, for deeper penetration. The second device should land in the same hole, with the result you’d expect.
An interesting point with these precision guided weapons is that if the hole isn’t deep enough at that point, we can just drop a few more exactly in the same spot. ;-)
LLS
“A Moab is just an improved daisy cutter. it’s an FA type bomb that disperses above ground then explodes. It’ll knock tanks over a mile away, but it won’t even make a crater.”
MOAB is FA? I thought it was just a bunch of conventional explosive...
You’re right though, it’s not designed to be a penetrator.
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