Posted on 01/30/2012 9:12:57 PM PST by MamaDearest
US "Mass Ordnance Penetrators" fail initial testing, says 'Wall Street Journal'; Pentagon seeks to upgrade program.
Even the heaviest US bombs are not powerful enough to destroy some of Iran’s more fortified nuclear facilities, The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying on Friday. The Pentagon is taking steps to improve its “bunker-busting” capabilities, they added.
The US’s 13,600-kg. “mass ordnance penetrator” (MOP) was specifically designed to be able to take out Iranian and North Korean nuclear facilities.
According to the report, initial tests indicated that the bomb would be incapable of performing these tasks, either because of the depth of the facilities or their recent reinforcement.
The Wall Street Journal said that the MOP’s test failure prompted a secret funding request by the Pentagon to US Congress, seeking to enhance the bomb’s capabilities. The US Department of Defense has already spent approximately $330 million so far to develop about 20 of the bombs. The Pentagon is seeking an additional $82m. for upgrading purposes, according to government officials briefed on the plan.
The US defense establishment has been particularly concerned about Iranian underground facilities, such as the Fordow site near Qom, the Wall Street Journal quoted a former senior US official who is an expert on Iran as saying. He added that the MOP may be more effective against Iran’s main enrichment plant at Natanz, but said that “even that is guesswork.”
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta admitted to the bomb’s shortcomings, saying: “We’re developing it. I think we’re pretty close, let’s put it that way. But we’re still working at it because these things are not easy to be able to make sure that they will do what we want them to.” He added that he expects the bomb to be ready to penetrate Iran’s deepest bunkers soon.
Panetta also said that the MOP was not specifically designed for Iran.
“It’s not just aimed at Iran. Frankly, it’s aimed at any enemy that decides to locate in some kind of impenetrable location. The goal here is to be able to get at any enemy, anywhere,” he said.
The Pentagon’s press secretary, George Little, echoed this sentiment, saying that “the development of this weapon is not intended to send a signal to any one particular country... It’s a capability we believe we need in our arsenal and will continue to invest in it.”
Regarding potential alternatives to the MOP, the Wall Street Journal quoted a US official as saying that “The massive ordnance penetrators are by no means the only capability at our disposal to deal with potential nuclear threats in Iran.” Iranian nuclear facilities have been attacked through sophisticated computer viruses as well as bombs, and a number of Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed.
Another senior official said that the Pentagon could make up for the MOP’s shortcomings by dropping them along with other guided bombs on bunkers’ entry and exit points.
“There is a virtue to deepness but you still need to get in and out,” he said.
Shouldn't that be "Even the heaviest non-nuclear US bombs are not powerful enough..." ?
I guess operational capabilities of US weapons are no longer classified.
Besides, was UBL safer below ground in Tora Bora or above it in Abbottabad?
I’ll bet Israel can. They’ve been working on this project for years, while we imagined peace with the phony Palistinians.
Nuclear warheads are usually quite weak at actually penetrating deep into the earth. I mean we could kill all the Iranians, but their enrichment facilities would likely still be operational.
It doesn't matter anyway since everything will be leaked by some idiot congressional committee or Wikileaks. Zero and the Hildabeast will sell the rest to the Chicoms to raise campaign cash they can retire on.
Stall tactics.
Obama is trying to justify doing nothing.
“Stall tactics.
Obama is trying to justify doing nothing.”
True. But I remember myself and many others here, very convinced Bush was going to clean this problem up before the 2008 election.
What a mess.
Depends on which administration is releasing the information or how they perceive national security. This administration makes no secret of how they feel about the military budget.
Praying for a conservative to be elected in November. We need this for sooo many reasons, national security and rebuilding our military among them.
The best argument I’ve heard against a war with Iran would be that ground troops would seem to be a necessity. Even if we hit every facility that we know of, can we be sure that we actually hit them all? And if we didn’t, then we’d almost certainly get a nuclear response by the mullahs.
Why would these plants need to be buried, if their only intention was for energy production?
there’s more than one way to destroy a bunker.
Put a small device down an elevator shaft or up a vent pipe.
Size is not always the most.
Some times “less is more”.
—
When all else fails, nukem from orbit.
Somebody gimme a promotion. Colonel would be great. I been saying this for years. Blow their ventilation shafts, power and water supplies and see how long before they come scurrying out like rats.
Huh? if we blow their entry and exit points there won’t ever be any rats scurrying anywhere.
Sure to convince the Iranians they’re on the right track.
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.