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The Massive Ordnance Penetrator Will Be the Largest Non-Nuclear Bomb Ever
Popular Science ^ | August 3, 2009 | Dan Smith

Posted on 09/19/2009 5:30:50 AM PDT by lbryce

The Pentagon is trying to speed up the deployment of an ultra-large bunker-busting bomb, which would constitute the largest non-nuclear bomb the U.S. has ever used. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, is a 30,000-pound bomb that would dive deeper than any previous bomb, and could be strapped to B-2 or B-52 bombers by July of 2010.

The MOP is 20 feet long and can penetrate bunkers up to 200 feet before exploding. At 15 tons, the MOP is a third heavier than the previous "mother of all bombs", the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, which was only 10.5 tons. The MOP also packs a whopping 5,300 lbs of explosives, which is 10 times the amount its predecessor bunker-buster, the BLU-109, carried. Basically, it's massive.

The push for accelerated deployment is due to the increased perceived nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea. It's believed that many of their nuclear programs could be in development underground, below levels of current bunker-busting bombs' range. The Pentagon intends the rapid deployment to send a message that the United States is tweaking strategies to address new threats. And nothing is more American than advertising the sheer size and tonnage of the bombs hanging below our jets.



TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: ahmadinejad; bunkerbuster; iran; repost
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The picture of an ultra-large bunker-buster making impact is worth ten thousand words, if that's Ahmadinejad house being pulverized.

I was quite jubilant, ecstatic to read about the Pentagon's rush for deployment of an ultra-large bunker-busting bomb, which would constitute the largest non-nuclear bomb the U.S. has ever used.

Isn't this a great bit of news? I really believe so. Merely for the PR value of keeping Ahmadinejad, Kim-Jong-il, from getting a good night sleep anytime soon.

I love it. Just so I know the Mad, Mullahs of Mayhem get a sneak preview of what just might very soon be raining down from the skies over Tehran.

1 posted on 09/19/2009 5:30:50 AM PDT by lbryce
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To: lbryce

NOw all we need is for our politicians to have the guts to use it.

Did they use it on Osama Bin when they had the chance???

Do ya think they’ll use it now?


2 posted on 09/19/2009 5:34:26 AM PDT by DontTreadOnMe2009 (So stop treading on me already!)
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To: lbryce

Looks like Israel can’t use this since (as far as I know) they don’t have B-2 or B-52 bombers or anything like that.

In other words, Iran has nothing to worry about, at least until the next US president is sworn in and it’s too late then anyway. Impeachment is the only hope for the free world.


3 posted on 09/19/2009 5:35:41 AM PDT by heiss
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To: lbryce
I love it. Just so I know the Mad, Mullahs of Mayhem get a sneak preview of what just might very soon be raining down from the skies over Tehran.

Do you know who our president is?

4 posted on 09/19/2009 5:37:59 AM PDT by fso301
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To: heiss
Ya had to ruin my day? :-)
5 posted on 09/19/2009 5:38:18 AM PDT by lbryce (Obama Notwithstanding, America's Best Days Are Yet To Be .)
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To: heiss

The democrats are going to get us all killed or enslaved.


6 posted on 09/19/2009 5:39:51 AM PDT by ecomcon
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To: heiss

Maybe the Clintons could sell the technology for campaign(?) bucks?


7 posted on 09/19/2009 5:40:42 AM PDT by OldArmy52 (The German High Command sent Lenin to destabilize Russia. Who sent Obama?)
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To: heiss

“Impeachment is the only hope for the free world.”

What then? We will be left with Biden. And if Biden’s impeached, we’re stuck with Pelosi. I’m afraid we’ll have these three clowns until January, 2013. If we last that long.


8 posted on 09/19/2009 5:41:54 AM PDT by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: lbryce

hopefully the pictured event is a very tame version.....using its 20 ft length against the terrain (which would appear to be beach sand) and the objects that remain intact in the last pic, I’m not very impressed while I imagine many feet of concrete reinforcement and depths of underground nuke bunkers/facilities/whatever in Iran/NK........like I said, I hope this is a very tame version


9 posted on 09/19/2009 5:42:34 AM PDT by Vn_survivor_67-68 (CALL CONGRESSCRITTERS TOLL-FREE @ 1-800-965-4701)
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To: lbryce
What's the big deal? The 16 inch AP round on a Iowa class Battleship could penetrate 160 feet. Maybe we should build some big guns again?
10 posted on 09/19/2009 5:43:47 AM PDT by jpsb
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To: lbryce

They need a better acronym. MOP sounds like something cleaning ladies use ;)


11 posted on 09/19/2009 5:45:39 AM PDT by mewzilla (In politics the middle way is none at all. John Adams)
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To: DontTreadOnMe2009

Obama will probably cancel the program.


12 posted on 09/19/2009 5:50:16 AM PDT by screaminsunshine (!!)
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To: ought-six

“...until January, 2013. If we last that long.”

Nope. just until Dec 23, 2012 at 4pm ish...


13 posted on 09/19/2009 5:50:53 AM PDT by PIF
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To: Vn_survivor_67-68

I’m not impressed with your poor comprehension of the written word.


14 posted on 09/19/2009 5:51:16 AM PDT by A.A. Cunningham (Barry Soetoro is a Kenyan communist)
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To: jpsb
RE: 16in naval artillery

The problem is range. What if the target is far from the water?

15 posted on 09/19/2009 5:51:51 AM PDT by reg45 (Be calm everyone. The idiot children are in charge!)
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To: lbryce

The Democrats will classify it as a scary-loooking “Assault Weapon” and ban it.


16 posted on 09/19/2009 5:51:59 AM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham (It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government -- Thomas Payne)
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To: jpsb

I believe they are using old gun barrels for the casings on some of these penetrators.


17 posted on 09/19/2009 5:56:17 AM PDT by Vinnie (You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Jihads You)
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To: heiss
Impeachment is the only hope for the free world.

Unless...


18 posted on 09/19/2009 5:58:41 AM PDT by csvset
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To: Vn_survivor_67-68

I think there’s 100-200 feet of reinforced concrete in between that blast bubble and the actual explosion. Look at the other two pics. It looks like there’s a structure that’s flush with the ground in the middle of that beach sand.


19 posted on 09/19/2009 6:01:16 AM PDT by Bryanw92 (Question O-thority!)
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To: heiss

Some say Obama is BEYOND impeachment, because if he was born overseas, and thus is not natural born, then he was really never validly President, and thus, the Articles of Impeachment would no more apply to him, than to you or me. In that case, he might reside in the White House indefinitely, smoking cigars and drinking Crown Royal, until he is EVICTED like a deadbeat tenent, which could take YEARS, in DC. LOL on the uS Taxpayers!


20 posted on 09/19/2009 6:02:22 AM PDT by 2harddrive
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