US 'bunker buster' bomb to be ready soon: Pentagon

[gubbi]

US 'bunker buster' bomb to be ready soon: Pentagon
Whoa!!!

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said a giant "bunker buster" bomb will be ready within months, adding a powerful weapon to the US arsenal amid tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

The 30,000-pound massive ordnance penetrator (MOP) is designed to knock out fortified sites buried deep underground, like those used by Iran and North Korea to protect its nuclear work.

"It is under development right now and should be deployable in the coming months," press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.

The Defense Department had said in August it wanted to speed up production plans for the super bomb, asking Congress to shift funds to the project.

Congress approved the request and the Pentagon announced Friday it awarded McDonnell Douglas Corporation a 51.9-million-dollar contract to enable B-2 aircraft to carry the enormous MOP.

The bomb, which holds 5,300 pounds of explosives, is designed "to defeat hardened facilities used by hostile states to protect weapons of mass destruction," Morrell said.

But he declined to comment whether the weapon's development was in response to Iran's disputed nuclear program.

"I don't think anybody can divine potential targets or anything of that nature. This is just a capability that we think is necessary given the world we live in these days," he said.

"The reality is that the world we live in is one in which there are people who seek to build weapons of mass destruction and they seek to do so in a clandestine fashion."

The United States has refused to rule out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails though President Barack Obama's administration has played down the possibility.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last month that a military strike against Iran would only "buy time" and delay a nuclear weapons program by about one to three years.

The earth-penetrating MOP is often cited as a potential weapon to take out Iran's underground centrifuge facilities in Natanz.

Iran admitted last month it had been building a new uranium enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom, sparking international outrage. In subsequent talks with world powers, Tehran has adopted a more conciliatory stance and agreed to UN inspections of the new plant.

In an earlier request to Congress, the Pentagon comptroller had cited an "urgent operational need" to develop a weapon against buried targets in "high threat environments," ABC television news reported.

The request for the MOP was backed by US Pacific Command, which oversees an area that includes North Korea, and Central Command, which covers the Middle East, including Iran, it said.

Aerospace giant Boeing manufactures the MOP, which could become the biggest conventional bomb ever used by the US military.

Meet MOP, Boeing's new bunker-busting super-bomb

Dig Deeper, It Won’t Help

 

[M_Saint]

Dig Deeper, It Won’t Help

By seeing Indian excitement about it, it looks like they are expecting the delivery through their ISRO buddies before it reaches USAF out!

 

[abbasniazi]

USA's building of new bombs is a blessing for those who could be the potential target of these bombs because the probable victims when hear of such news they prepare themselves more enthusiastically.

USA has been building devastating weapons for decades but i am sure their defences at homeland are not as vigilent as others think, one good comitted penetration attempt by the enemies of USA in the USA could put its security at extreme risk and it will certify that americans are as vulnerable as any other human being...

 

[gubbi]

USA's building of new bombs is a blessing for those who could be the potential target of these bombs because the probable victims when hear of such news they prepare themselves more enthusiastically.

USA has been building devastating weapons for decades but i am sure their defences at homeland are not as vigilent as others think, one good comitted penetration attempt by the enemies of USA in the USA could put its security at extreme risk and it will certify that americans are as vulnerable as any other human being...

Ha ha! What a statement! Try it and they will make sure you will be wishing that you were never born!
Show me even one feeble attempt being made after 9/11, which has escaped US authorities.

 

[abbasniazi]

Ha ha! What a statement! Try it and they will make sure you will be wishing that you were never born!
Show me even one feeble attempt being made after 9/11, which has escaped US authorities.

I am sure there have been no such attempts as yet, no system is perfect in this world, it has been done once i.e 9/11 , it could happen again and bigger this time...

 

[Cheetah786]

The Pentagon said a giant "bunker buster" bomb will be ready within months, adding a powerful weapon to the US arsenal amid tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

And these are the same people who are telling Iran not to build nuclear weapons

 

[Cheetah786]

Ha ha! What a statement! Try it and they will make sure you will be wishing that you were never born!
Show me even one feeble attempt being made after 9/11, which has escaped US authorities.

I have no idea why are u so exsited about a bomb if its GPS guided it can be fooled second if it can penetrate 6m cement people can build a bigger barrier and on top steel plates can be added to defend the targets question that i cant under stand you and people like metallic both of indian orgin are so excited about American weapons is a mystery to me or you are a Potato

 

[gubbi]

I have no idea why are u so exsited about a bomb if its GPS guided it can be fooled second if it can penetrate 6m cement people can build a bigger barrier and on top steel plates can be added to defend the targets question that i cant under stand you and people like metallic both of indian orgin are so excited about American weapons is a mystery to me or you are a Potato

Funny calling me a potato, the only veggie I don't particularly like.
Did you read how deep that bomb can penetrate? 5000psi dense concrete is stronger than steel, aint it? And you are talking about 6m?
Anyways, I wasn't 'happy' about the bomb per se, but more interesting is the technology that made this possible. Human imagination knows no boundaries, i.e. if it is not shackled with preconceived notions, narrow limited thinking and herd mentality (read religious indoctrination)!

 

[Cheetah786]

Funny calling me a potato, the only veggie I don't particularly like.
Did you read how deep that bomb can penetrate? 5000psi dense concrete is stronger than steel, aint it? And you are talking about 6m?
Anyways, I wasn't 'happy' about the bomb per se, but more interesting is the technology that made this possible. Human imagination knows no boundaries, i.e. if it is not shackled with preconceived notions, narrow limited thinking and herd mentality (read religious indoctrination)!

My point was simple this bomb has its limits to how deep it can go U can build defensive wall bigger then that.

And as human destructive power is concerned U are right yet we have not been able to cure common cold.

 

[gubbi]

My point was simple this bomb has its limits to how deep it can go U can build defensive wall bigger then that.

How far deep can you construct huge structures to house large numbers of industrial scale equipment? Will it be economically feasible, not to mention an engineering challenge!

And as human destructive power is concerned U are right yet we have not been able to cure common cold.

Something what common people don't know is this, there are about more than a 100 different types of Viruses (and not bacteria) which cause cold/flu!! That's why they don't give antibiotics for flu! Now if you have any idea about how vaccines are developed, you will realize what a nightmare it is to design vaccines against more than 100 different viruses - for a simple disease! And since Viruses are far more simpler (structurally/physiologically/biochemically) than Bacteria, Antibiotics don't work on viruses!
Another ability of some viruses is their propensity to mutate and adapt to their surroundings very quickly! And that my friend is why vaccines are very difficult to develop against such viruses.

 

[Cheetah786]

How far deep can you construct huge structures to house large numbers of industrial scale equipment? Will it be economically feasible, not to mention an engineering challenge!


Something what common people don't know is this, there are about more than a 100 different types of Viruses (and not bacteria) which cause cold/flu!! That's why they don't give antibiotics for flu! Now if you have any idea about how vaccines are developed, you will realize what a nightmare it is to design vaccines against more than 100 different viruses - for a simple disease! And since Viruses are far more simpler (structurally/physiologically/biochemically) than Bacteria, Antibiotics don't work on viruses!
Another ability of some viruses is their propensity to mutate and adapt to their surroundings very quickly! And that my friend is why vaccines are very difficult to develop against such viruses.

If i have to explain the point to u i am better off just walking away from this conversation.