Testing the penatrator.
Posted on 08/03/2009 7:02:39 AM PDT by Strategy
The Pentagon is seeking to speed deployment of an ultra-large "bunker-buster" bomb on the most advanced U.S. bomber as soon as July 2010, the Air Force said on Sunday, amid concerns over perceived nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran.
The non-nuclear, 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, which is still being tested, is designed to destroy deeply buried bunkers beyond the reach of existing bombs.
If congress agrees to shift enough funds to the program, Northrop Grumman Corp's radar-evading B-2 bomber "would be capable of carrying the bomb by July 2010," said Andy Bourland, an Air Force spokesman.
"The Air Force and Department of Defense are looking at the possibility of accelerating the program," he said. "There have been discussions with the four congressional committees with oversight responsibilities. No final decision has been made."
The precision-guided weapon, built by Boeing Co, could become the biggest conventional bomb the United States has ever used.
Carrying more than 5,300 pounds of explosives, it would deliver more than 10 times the explosive power of its predecessor, the 2,000-pound BLU-109, according to the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which has funded and managed the seed program.
Chicago-based Boeing, the Pentagon's No. 2 supplier by sales, could be put on contract within 72 hours to build the first MOP production models if Congress signs off, Bourland said.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Racism!
A 30,000 lb bomb is 15 Kilotons. The “Little Boy” bomb that exploded over Hiroshima in WWII was between 13 and 18 Kilotons estimated yield.
Unless I've missed one somewhere, it would be the biggest conventional bomb anyone has used.
The second biggest would be the British "Grand Slam" at 22,000 lbs.
That system needs to be operational yesterday, not 2010!!
Lets hope its further along than the article indicates.
A 30,000 lb bomb is 15 tons. Math error.
Testing the penatrator.
"Nevermind."
The US tested a 44,000 lb bomb at Edwards AFB in 1947.
To get a much higher weight bomb, the Pentagon should combine this program with the cash-for-clunkers program. Instead of destroying engines and cars, they could be crunched and crushed into a tight little heavy bomb, with ordnance.
A 30,000 lb bomb would be 0.015 Kilotons.
Only 0.006 Kilotons of this one are actual explosive.
Yeah, I’m wrong on so many levels...
Off by a factor of 1000. A 30,000 lb bomb is 15 tons, not 15 kilotons. A 170 Kiloton nuke actually only weighs about 700lb including the heat shield.
I’ll be darned.
I guess I missed one.
Yet another correction.
Actually about 0.0026 kilotons.
Understandable. They never fielded it because it was quite impractical.
Wrong. Your decimal point slipped a bunch of places.
Fifteen Kilotons is 30,000,000 lbs. - 15,000 TONS of TNT.
This is 15 tons - and most of that is steel casing.
The MOP has more than 5,300 pounds of explosives, which is a little more than 2 tons. A 30,000 lb bomb is 15 tons or 15/1000th of a Kiloton. The MOP would be rated on the weight of the explosives, not the total weight of the bomb. The casing can weigh much more than the explosives. Some penetrators used hard tipped 8” howitzer barrels for casings, to ensure deep penetration into bunkers.
Either way, the “kiloton” term reflects the effect of a quantity of TNT. Whatever is in this thing, I’m sure it’s much more potent than TNT.
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