Pentagon Gets 30,000-Pound Bunker-Buster for B-2 Bomber

The perceived need to hit Iran's alleged underground nuclear facilities undoubtedly drives the Pentagon's procurement of such bombs

by John Glaser, November 16, 2011

The U.S. Air Force has begun to receive deliveries of a new 30,000-pound bunker-buster bomb that’s capable of penetrating deeply buried enemy targets.

In August, the Boeing Co. received a $32 million contract that included plans for eight of the massive munitions, named Massive Ordnance Penetrator, but exactly how many will be delivered is not clear. Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jack Miller would only say they “will meet requirements for the current operational need.”

The huge bomb - six times bigger than the 5,000-pound bunker-buster currently favored by the U.S. Air Force – was made to be fully integrated with B-2 stealth bomber. The B-2 has bombed targets in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.

The excessive military might is typical of the profligacy of the Pentagon’s military industrial complex, and although no serious military threats face the U.S., it continues even with impending cuts to defense resulting from indebted government.

The development and procurement of these Massive Ordnance Penetrators undoubtedly occurs with Iran in mind. Despite a lack of evidence and a weak attempt by the IAEA to make Iran out as on the verge of nuclear capability, the Pentagon is concerned about Iranian nuclear development underground. Hence, the need for bombs that can reach targets 200 feet underground before exploding.

Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale requested such capabilities in July of 2009, saying there was “an urgent operational need for the capability to strike hard and deeply buried targets in high- threat environments.”

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