New 'deep penetration' 30,000 lb mega-bomb will MOP up the enemy

The bat-winged B-2 stealth bomber will soon be capable of carrying a 30,000-pound (13.6 tonne) super-bomb that could obliterate heavily reinforced facilities like bunkers or deeply buried targets like underground nuclear installations. Defence manufacturer Northrop Grumman has a seven-month, $2.5 million Air Force contract to make the bomber capable of carrying two of these new mega-bombs in its weapons bay.

Called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) this enormous piece of ordnance is being developed by the Boeing Company. The mega-bomb will have more than 5,300 pounds (2.4 tonnes) of explosives, encased in a 20.5 foot hardened steel casing which makes it capable of penetrating and destroying deeply buried targets like tunnels, bunkers, etc.

With more than 10 times the explosive power of its bunker-busting predecessor, the BLU-109, MOP will be a smart device, precision-guided by global positioning system (GPS) based navigation to zero in on the target. The Air Force wants to use the bomb with both the veteran B-52 and the B-2 stealth bombers. Part of the reason for the new mega-bomb is to ensure that bomber aircraft will remain a strategic and tactical weapon system over the next 50 years, providing a steady stream of lucrative contracts for defence manufacturers.

The bat-like B-2s will require two major modifications, each costing about $1 billion, to be able to successfully deliver the MOP. Work is underway in the Antelope Valley, where the bombers were produced and where around 1,000 Northrop Grumman employees still work on the B-2.

A new radar antenna called the active electronically scanned array will be installed on B-2 bombers over the next five years. This will avoid conflicts with the Ku Band frequency spectrum, which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened up for commercial transmissions. The second change is a new satellite communications link that offers 50 times greater bandwidth for receiving and sharing data.

Northrop Grumman has earlier made other upgrades. For example, it installed a smart-bomb rack assembly that allowed the B-2 to deliver 80 independently guided 500-pound bombs, five times more than previously. It also developed a special surface coating that makes for easier maintenance.