Well, I say let's giddy-up then.
Posted on 10/13/2009 8:05:30 AM PDT by null and void
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon is speeding up delivery of a colossal bomb designed to destroy hidden weapons bunkers buried underground and shielded by 10,000 pounds of reinforced concrete.
Call it Plan B for dealing with Iran, which recently revealed a long-suspected nuclear site deep inside a mountain near the holy city of Qom.
The 15-ton behemoth will be the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal.
"I don't think anybody can divine potential targets," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said.
The administration has been careful not to take military action off the table even as it reaches out to Iran with historic talks this month. Tougher sanctions are the immediate backup if diplomacy fails to stop what the West fears is a drive for a nuclear weapon.
The MOP could, in theory, take out bunkers such as those Saddam Hussein had begun to construct for weapons programs in Iraq, or flatten the kind of cave and tunnel networks that allowed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to escape U.S. assault in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, shortly after the U.S. invasion in 2001.
The precision-guided bomb is designed to drill through earth and almost any underground encasement to reach weapons depots, labs or hideouts.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
Given the current occupant-of-the-White-House, I'd hazard Qom is less likely than Demona...
The rush is to get it done before Obama can take it offline. He’s already said he will cut future weapons development.
Perhaps there are locations along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border where this weapons might come in handy, as well.
Big dust collectors without the political will to use them.
I don’t know if Israel has the means to deliver that thing, but they at least have the gonads to drop it, this administration sure as hell doesn’t it seems.
Compare to Barnes Wallis' Grand Slam earthquake bomb, filled with 9,135 lb of Torpex...
*shrug* I’ve already told the Israelis how to do the job without leaving a big crater and horrific visuals for the presstitutes to drool over.
DARPA wasn’t interested. *sigh*
No IAF platform could fly to Iran with that thing. They have
no strategic bombers in their fleet (barring some scratchbuilt effort using a jumbo jet).
US giant bunker-buster bomb project rushed since Iran's Qom site discovered
DEBKA scoops AP by weeks...
The problem with a bomb like this is getting it to the target. They can’t be dropped from a B-1 or B-2 and have to be delivered by a cargo transport, usually a C-130. Not exactly the type of aircraft anyone would want to fly into a well defended enemy airspace.
they are no doubt planning to use them on Michigan to get all of those right-wing extremist Militia members who have been out hiding in their underground bunkers since 1998 /sarc
Color me shocked if Zero allows this to happen. Shocked!
He won’t do it.
Wow, that is almost 3 cubic yards. Dolts.
The Pentagon has awarded a nearly $52 million contract to speed up placement of the bomb aboard the B-2 Stealth bomber, and officials say the bomb could be fielded as soon as next summer.
It's designed to go in an existing bomber...
Fox News!
I didn’t know if they could pull it out the back of a heavy transport like the older daisycutters were back in Vietnam.
3 cubic yards. Heck I have more then that in my driveway. I am sure I can get through that with out a BAB (Big A** Bomb)
Well, they need a 15,000 lb bomb to destroy 10,000 lbs of concrete..
The reporter needs to check her facts.
Wondering if there are any water sources near these facilities like dams. If you blow the dams and create a lake over these places that might be a better way to end the usefullness of these facilities.
Well, I say let's giddy-up then.
There is no need for bunker busters whatsoever, just nuke the sons o’ bitches and turn Natanz, Qom and Tabriz into craters.
Problem solved.
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