In early May 2023, the online military community was shaken by an unusual United States Air Force
post. Whiteman Air Force Base’s official Facebook page published a series of images
of the highly secretive Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker buster bomb. This weapon
was developed to destroy the underground facilities of enemies of the United States.
While it is not uncommon for armed forces to post pictures of equipment and weaponry, the images
are usually chosen with utmost care to prevent classified material from being shown to the world.
While this post was meant to deter Iran from expanding its underground nuclear facilities,
it came at a serious cost for such a secret weapon. Although it was quickly erased, keen
eyes saw the bomb´s markings detailing its weight, explosive components, and overall composition…
World Tensions
Iran´s nuclear program has come a long way since the Cold War.
The country´s ambitious project started with the support of the United States
and the Atoms for Peace program in the 1950s. American nuclear and military
support abruptly ceased following the outbreak of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Nevertheless, Iran continued its program clandestinely, leading to global tensions with the
US and the United Nations. A 2015 deal relieved Iran from economic sanctions if it limited
its nuclear development, but the US withdrew from it in 2018 and reimposed the sanctions.
Iran responded by drastically increasing its enriched uranium production to develop nuclear
armament. Israel began threatening Iran with air attacks and sabotage, but none have materialized.
During the last days of May 2023, the Associated Press and several
news outlets revealed satellite images from Planet Labs PBS showing
that Iran has been digging tunnels in a mountain near the Natanz nuclear site.
The detailed pictures from the Central Iran facility suggest that excavation mounds at
the site can be between 260 and 330 feet below ground level. Experts have also pointed out
that due to the size of the construction project, Tehran will probably employ the
underground facility to build centrifuges and enrich uranium to build nuclear weapons.
In addition to Iran´s nuclear buildup, tensions between the Middle Eastern country and the United
States have risen due to Tehran´s support to Russia in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Since 2022, Iran has supplied the Russian armed
forces with thousands of attack drones for their operations in Eastern Europe.
To demonstrate its firepower and military might, the US Air Force released some unique
pictures of a secret weapon to deter Iran from its nuclear expansion and then swiftly deleted them…
A Show of Force?
As tensions with Iran escalated over its nuclear buildup, Whiteman Air Force Base’s
official Facebook account published pictures of one of the most secret weapons in its arsenal.
The posted pictures were published on May 2, 2023, and deleted moments later.
The USAF refused to comment on why it took the photos down. The images in question
were about the GBU-57, also known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb or MOP.
Experts speculate the photographs were taken down because they revealed
sensitive information about the bomb´s shape, composition, and possible use.
Others have said the images were simply published to show Iran, China, Russia,
and North Korea, what the US military is capable of.
The MOP was designed to destroy underground bunkers such as the one Iran is expanding to
house additional nuclear assets or any underground facilities built by enemies of the United States.
Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri is the home of the B-2 stealth bombers, the only US
aircraft capable of deploying the bomb. One of the captions from the images published
mentioned two MOPs were added to Whiteman’s 509th Munitions Squadron for future tests.
Although little information is known about the true capabilities of the MOP, it is a fact that
there are several iterations of it. The Facebook images do not provide any detail about this.
Nonetheless, the images reveal that at least one of the bombs was live and filled with explosives.
One of the images published shows one of the MOPs with a checkered diamond band
near the bomb´s nose, indicating it is live ordnance. Conversely,
a blue band on the nose means the bomb is inert and meant for training.
A similar picture shared by the 131st Bomb Wing Missouri Air National Guard via
Facebook on March 2023 shows another MOP with its fins and a blue band.
Classified Materials
Rahul Udoshi, a senior weapons analyst from Jane, an open-source intelligence firm,
has told several news outlets that one of the pictures published revealed detailed
stenciling on the bombs, which may be why the USAF swiftly removed them from the public eye.
The markings revealed the MOP weighs around 27,125 pounds, of which 4,950 pounds comprise AFX-757,
a standard explosive, and some 752 pounds of PBXN-114, a recently developed explosive compound.
The expert noted the rest of the MOP´s weight comes from its thick steel frame,
which allows the bomb to penetrate over 200 feet of concrete and soil.
The USAF Research Laboratory previously mentioned in a press release that AFX-757
and PBXN-114 were part of the Advanced Penetrator Explosive Technology program,
a propellant-like, plastic-bonded explosive developed to maximize blast energy output.
The development of the MOP dates back to Operation Desert Storm when the US and NATO forces began
looking for a deep penetration bomb similar to the Disney bomb and Tallboy from World War 2.
The US came up with the Guided Bomb Unit-28,
or GBU-28, to penetrate enemy-reinforced concrete structures. Although successful,
the USAF partnered with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to commence a joint-development
program in 2002 to develop a 30,000-pound bunker buster weapon dubbed Big Blu.
The weapon was codenamed GBU-57 and later nicknamed Massive Ordnance Penetrator or MOP,
and it was developed at the Air Force Research Laboratory,
Munitions Directorate, headquartered in Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
The first test took place at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, in March 2007 and was
carried out by a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. From 2011 to 2017, development and further
testing were accelerated as tensions with North Korea rose over its constant nuclear threats.
Previous Leaks
In 2015, Boeing reported it had delivered over 20 MOPs. It is the last update regarding the number
of bombs the USAF has in its arsenal. Besides the pictures of B-52 bombers
dropping MOPs during tests, B-2 Spirits bombers have also made it to the media.
In October 2017, the stealth bombers were spotted in Missouri practicing exercises that involved
targeting VIP command posts. According to analysts, the bombers were simulating a
retaliatory attack against North Korea with the objective of eliminating Kim Jong-un.
In May 2019, the US Air Force released a video showing a B2
Spirit bomber dropping two GBU57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs
as tensions with Iran rose related to its potential use of nuclear weaponry.
The slow-motion footage shows the B2 flying across the sky. Then,
two massive GBU57s bombs are released. The bombs then begin their journey down,
and seconds later, one of the bombs hits the ground target.
It seems likely that the USAF´s latest online controversy was also meant as a
show of force to deter Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea due to the ongoing nuclear
developments and tests of these countries and their participation in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
However, the unintended release of detailed information about GBU57 due
to a careless choice of photographs may still have unknown consequences.
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