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.
I wouldn’t expect you to be, since you didn’t ‘get’ what I actually did write.....no biggie, LOL
I DO happen to trust that we have the real thing as described.....and that the pics above are of a smaller test version.
Nah, they're past development.
True, naval guns would be of little use in Afghanistan, and 16 inch (or bigger) guns are really too heavy to transport over land. So you have a valid point. But when one considers modern ballistics can increase the range of big guns to 50-100 miles vrs 25 miles for a WW2 gun alot of targets fall within the range of a modern main naval battle gun should anyone ever decide to build one. Space born Kinetic energy weapons would work well for this purpose too. A bit more expensive but a stream of cannon balls with a V of 20,000 mph would do a lot of damage to a harden bunker.
It’s a nice new and beautiful weapon that I’m sure that Israel would love to have but is not really practical for them to use. They’ve got potential trouble enough with that Russian S-300 air defense system, and the reality is that North Korea and Iran can’t be stopped from developing nukes short of a direct war. They saw what happened to Saddam and with nuclear defenses they know that no one will touch them.
It must show up on earthquake sensors all around. Pretty cool.
maybe.....the bulge rising above the surface looks to me more like a thin slab, parking lot style, rather than a large “cube” (if you will) of concrete coming apart......esp if the detonation was the full 200ft down.....I’d guess the surface bulge to be about70-80ft across...
both Iran and NK are full of caves in rock to convert and shore up with concrete and rerod......sinking one 200ft into that would be quite different than beach sand, but these are just PR pics and specs anyway
Not only that, but one can infer a mighty small CPE from the photo as well. I believe there is a small raised ‘target’ object (looks like an access door) that the MOP is striking within about ONE METER of dead center.
And as you suggest, the MOP is designed to penetrate multiple layers of purpose-built bunker concrete. It has some really sophisticated fusing as well as clever explosive design to get the best effect from the blast. It’s not about making a huge crater; it’s about destroying what’s below and next to it.
Can also be used for speedy foundation digging.
to both of you, LOL
go to the PS link and what do you see?????
below the three pics the following appears:
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“GBU-24: This GBU-24 bunker buster is tiny in comparison to the new MOP”
http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/article/2009-08/pentagon-wants-deploy-largest-non-nuclear-bomb-next-year
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my my.....frisky this morning, yes? all 3 of us should have clicked the link
Remember, it’s *not* designed to produce a huge crater in the earth. It’s designed to burrow deeply and then damage/destroy/disrupt the ‘stuff’ at depth from shock wave and overpressure. It’s not a conventional ordinance at all.
Think of a hollow point bullet. Small/unimpressive entry wound; massive internal damage.
Not to worry the bulk of the damage occurs where you can’t see it which is, where it is supposed to be, underground.
Personally, I'm still scared of MOAB -- the Mother of All Bombs
What about taking one of the old 16 inchers, weighting the muzzle and giving it guidance, triggering mechanism to fire it when the muzzle touches the roof of the bunker?
Curiously, the largest non-nuclear bombs previously, WW2’s Tall Boy and Grand Slam, were most effective as near misses. A near miss would penetrete deep under the bunker; the explosion would open a tremendous cavity and gravity would do the rest, collapsing the foundations. (see The Dam Busters)
I’ll take “Cadillac models we’ll never see for $200.00 Alex”:
What is “The Coupe d’état?”
Yep. Also, there’s nothing to say you can drop these “in series” separated in 30 second intervals.
First one digs a nice hole. Second one digs it deeper. Third one gets to the ‘queen in the nest.’
You can dig, but you can’t really hide.
see post # 31........the pics shown are of a much lesser weapon than the “MOP”. This debate means nothing.
I *would* like to see similar pics of an actual MOP such as the above, but I don’t think we will any time soon.
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