[Jacquerie]

The jets could be MOP capable by late 2008 . . .

Would someone familiar with weapons development explain to me why it takes so long to figure out how to hang ordnance on an existing aircraft?

[Wuli]

“Would someone familiar with weapons development explain to me why it takes so long to figure out how to hang ordnance on an existing aircraft?”

The explanation of the retrofitting issue is in the story, contained in the description of the bunker-busters vs the bomber bays as they are presently configured. The only delay now - since the engineering has now been worked out - is Congress is intentionally playing politics, playing “Congressional foreign policy”, with the money.

In that process the only thing they are achieving is reassuring the Iranian Mullahs that their bunkers will be safe as long as the Dims are in charge.

[arthurus]

I don’t think any information of this sort is reliable, especially as to times and capabilities. It is not like these items are a blue-light special at K-Mart.

[Pistolshot]

The carriage in the B-2 has to be modified to hold the MOP correctly. It's not like you just load 15 tons of one bomb and make it work. It will change the flight characteristics, and make the B-2 more of a pig to fly.

There is more to this story. But the jist is pretty clear.....MOP is ready.

This bomb is SAT guided and uses it's weight and kinetic energy to penetrate, the explosives do the rest when it reaches the proper depth. Call it....'dial-a-floor'.

Since the nuke tipped BB was made inoperable, a replacement for the explosive had to be put in place. One that can create the same overpressure to collapes floors below it.

[jbp1]

it takes time
rules
regs
specs
testing
design
contracts
manpower
scheduling
funding
technology
luck
boo-ocra-see

[CodeMasterPhilzar]

First, while it may be well within the bomb load (weight) capacity of the airframe, it is not dispersed. The weight (significant) is hanging off a single mount/release point. This may mean re-design of the internal bomb racks, or possible some kind of adapter that lets the weight hang from several hard points.

Second, you have to develop ground handling equipment to get the beast safely loaded into the aircraft.

Third, you have to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of the bomb so that you can predict when/where you need to drop it to guide it to a given point.

Fourth, you need to develop the "control laws" for the guidance system so that it actually hits what it is aimed at. It wouldn't do to have too much - it'd yaw all over the sky - too little and it might not be able to correct. Wrong time constant and it could oscillate... etc. etc.

Fifth, you have to do separation tests with the aircraft at various altitudes, airspeeds, attitudes, etc. You really, really don't want buffeting or some odd aerodynamic effect see-sawing the bomb on release and banging it back into the underside of your aircraft.

Sixth, you have to develop the simulation models to do the initial training for the air crews.

Then you finally have to drop a few of them to verify they work as expected, and give the crews some real-world training. Then you're ready...