Posted on 07/23/2007 9:25:45 AM PDT by BenLurkin
PALMDALE - 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 a new 30,000 pound-class penetrator weapon that Northrop Grumman has begun integrating on the aircraft. 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 AFB, 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, which is being developed by The Boeing Company, 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
"PAINT JOB - A B-2 stealth bomber gets sprayed with a special coating in 2004 at Northrop Grumman's Antelope Valley Manufacturing Center at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale. Now, the planes are being equipped to carry a powerful new bomb." Northrop Grumman
Yippe-Kai-yaaaaaay Muzzie Foes
The B-2 is capable of carrying two MOPs, one in each weapons bay... 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.And when Hillary is sworn in, rather than any Republican candidate now in the race, kiss the MOP and probably the B-2 goodbye.
Thanks....
Only two?
We are going to need all the B-2’as we have and will be wishing we had more....
This should work on the Tora Bora Caves,,,,,
Just in time for a Wake Up Call to Hell for Imawhackjob, his murdering mullahs and other Islamofascists in charge of Iran.
[singing] Kaboom, kaboom, ya da da da da da, ya da da da da da...
ROFL!!!
The bomb weighs 15 tons? WOW!
Ok I didn’t read the whole thing. 5,300 pounds of conventional explosives. the rest must be for penetration.
The B-2 can carry as much bomb load as a B-52 I’m told but still, a 30,000 pound bomb must still be a belly full for that beautiful bird.
THUMP TO THE BOTTOM!!!
We wouldn't want the MOP on TOP, now would we??? (gives a whole new meaning to:"That's the way the MOP FLOPS!!!")
What's the President waiting for? A "new tone" in Iran, or in Tora Bora? Just because Kadaffi flinched as has Kim Jong Ill, doesn't mean these other mad men are gonna change their tone!!!
How can someone representing the people of the planet's one remaining benevolent super power remain so blissfully ignorant??? I just don't understand it and I don't want to understand it!!!
STOP THAT! Your giving me whiplash...
Is your first name Snidely???(grin)
Hillary and Crew want to change that....
BTW.....Welcome home, Dave! Do they let you fish off of the cruise ships?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.