Free Republic

The Pentagon released stunning footage Thursday showcasing exactly how 30,000-pound heavy-duty bunker-buster bombs work such as the ones used against Iran’s nuclear sites demolished fortified targets deep underground. The video showed a GBU-57 series MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) crashing into a target and kicking up a massive plume of dust moments before a blinding inferno appeared in a shaft during a test detonation. Pilots who dropped the MOPs on Iran called the blast “the brightest explosion” they ever saw, saying, “it literally looked like daylight.” “Unlike a normal surface bomb, you won’t see an impact crater because they’re designed to...

Israel concerned that recently purchased laser-guided bombs may carry defective fuses that could cause premature detonation. Talkbacks () Israel is seeking clarifications from the United States to ensure that bunker buster bombs it recently purchased are not carrying defective fuses that could cause their premature detonation. The laser-guided bomb, GBU-28, weighs about 5,000 pounds and is reportedly capable of penetrating 100 feet of dirt or alternatively 20 feet of concrete. The bomb was initially developed in the 1990s to penetrate hardened Iraqi command centers located underground.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Senators from both parties have expressed concerns that continued research on a new "bunker buster" bomb could lead to a resumption of nuclear detonations at the Nevada Test Site. During a Senate energy and water subcommittee budget hearing Tuesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she feared the Energy Department was "opening the nuclear door." She cited a report by the Congressional Research Service earlier this month that said the department plans to ask Congress to approve $485 million for the "bunker buster" bomb over the next five years. Lawmakers expressed concern the Energy Department was asking...