America's 30,000 Pound Bunker Buster Bomb
Still ain't good enough. That is the latest that the US Defense Department states for its Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) 30,000 lb. bomb. It is still being tweaked and thus delaying any attack on Iran until it can destroy Iran's heavily fortified under the mountain nuclear sites. I guess the Iranians have been busying not only creating a nuclear bomb but hardening its facilities. Because of this, the DoD has gone to congress to ask for another $82 million to make the bomb be able to penetrate a mountain for a good distance before it explodes. The DoD has already spend $330 million to build 20 of the MOPs.
While the MOP will be able to set back the Iranian work to create an atomic bomb by destroying some underground facilities, their deepest ones will continue work in their Fordow facility that is well protected. The bomb is so huge and heavy it requires the stealth B-2 bomber to deliver it. The whole plan and concept to use the bombs is really guesswork as to how effective they will be because of so many elements involved.
The MOP is currently 20.5 ft long and carries over 5300 lbs. of explosive. It is designed to penetrate 200 ft before exploding. The Iranian site at Fordow is at least 200 ft deep, hence, the problem. The B-2 bomber can carry two such bombs, which are GPS guided. According to DoD, the modifications to the MOP to penetrate deeper are not that far away in time, which is why around the clock work is happening on this bomb because a US attack could occur by May or after.