The U. This is especially significant given that the B-2 is the only aircraft currently certified to operationally employ the MOP, a huge precision bunker buster specially designed to penetrate very deeply buried and fortified targets.
The exact size of the current MOP stockpile is unknown, but it is understood to be relatively small. As of , prime contractor Boeing had delivered at least 20 of the bombs, according to the Air Force.
There have been reports of additional orders over the years and a story from Bloomberg in said that a facility in Oklahoma was being expanded to help triple or even quadruple the annual output of these bombs. Also, while the B-2 is the only platform approved for employing the bombs operationally, B bombers have dropped the bombs during tests.
When it comes to bunker bombs, especially when employed against subterranean targets, effectiveness is not just about hitting the right mark, but also about detonating at the most optimal moment after burrowing down into the ground. All of these issues are further magnified when it comes to the MOP, which is designed to penetrate especially deep, up to at least feet 60 meters , according to publicly available data.
A void-sensing fuze is designed to trigger when it detects a sufficiently large open space, such as a room in an underground facility.
