{"id":17156,"date":"2025-06-23T07:18:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T10:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/?p=17156"},"modified":"2025-06-23T07:18:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T10:18:30","slug":"gbu57-b-bomba-antibunker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/?p=17156","title":{"rendered":"GBU57\/B, bomba antibunker"},"content":{"rendered":"

La bomba GBU57\/B Massive Ordnance 7 Pebetrator (MOP) de 13.668kg de la U.S. Air Force. El MOP es el rompeb\u00fankeres no nuclear m\u00e1s potente y de excavaci\u00f3n profunda del planeta, y es crucial para destruir objetivos altamente fortificados enterrados bajo monta\u00f1as, como las de Ir\u00e1n, Rusia, China y Corea del Norte. El arma es guiada y puede impactar la superficie sobre su objetivo con gran precisi\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

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The U.S. Air Force quietly fixed a problem with the integration of the 30,000-pound class\u00a0GBU-57\/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator<\/a>\u00a0(MOP) bomb onto\u00a0the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber<\/a>\u00a0last year. 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. As part of the integration work, the service also conducted an important test of a new \u201csmart fuze\u201d for the MOP to help improve the weapon\u2019s effectiveness, even when the exact depth and positioning of the buried target are not definitively known.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon\u2019s Office of the Director of Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) included an update on developments regarding MOP in\u00a0its most recent annual report<\/a>, which covers work on various programs conducted during Fiscal Year 2024. The exact size of the current MOP stockpile is unknown, but it is understood to be relatively small. As of 2015, prime contractor Boeing had delivered at least 20 of the bombs,\u00a0according to the Air Force<\/a>. There have been reports of additional orders over the years and\u00a0a story from\u00a0Bloomberg<\/em>\u00a0in 2024<\/a>\u00a0said that a facility in Oklahoma was being expanded to help triple or even quadruple the annual output of these bombs.<\/p>\n

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A GBU-57\/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb. USAF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Air Force\u2019s stock of MOPs has been upgraded multiple times over the years already and at least five variants are known to exist, the latest of which is the GBU-57F\/B. Also, while the B-2 is the only platform approved for employing the bombs operationally, B-52 bombers have dropped the bombs during tests.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Air Force conducted two full-scale tests in FY24 to verify fixes to a B-2 integration issue,\u201d DOT&E\u2019s latest annual report, which was released last week, states. \u201cThe second of the two full-scale test events also used the LPSF [Large Penetrator Smart Fuze] in a full-scale testbed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A MOP mock-up sits inside a training device that simulates a B-2 bomb bay in 2007. USAF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe Air Force established the LPSF Quick Reaction Capability program in August 2018 to respond to a validated urgent operational need, to integrate and qualify a smart fuze capability into the MOP that had been previously fielded as the Enhanced Threat Response [ETV] weapon modifications,\u201d the report adds. \u201cThis upgrade, known as MOP Modification, provides the capability to hold at risk additional high-value HDBTs [hard and deeply buried targets] with limited threat intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. Available intelligence about the target\u2019s exact depth and general layout underground may be limited, as well. All of these issues are further magnified when it comes to the MOP, which is designed to penetrate especially deep, up to at least 200 feet (60 meters), according to publicly available data.<\/p>\n

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A graphic showing the potential penetration capabilities of the MOP from very early in the program. This shows a 60-foot penetrating depth, shallower than the 200-foot capability that has been reported since. What the weapon\u2019s capabilities are currently are unknown. DOD via GlobalSecurity.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What specific capabilities LPSF offers are unknown, but the U.S. military\u00a0has publicly invested significant resources<\/a>\u00a0in the development of advanced void-sensing fuzes for smaller 2,000 and 5,000-pound class bunker buster bombs. A void-sensing fuze is designed to trigger when it detects a sufficiently large open space, such as a room in an underground facility. This can be further combined with a delay element to allow the bomb to break deeper into the target before detonating for maximum effect.<\/p>\n

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A graphic from the Hard Target Void Sensing Fuze (HTVSF) program, which focused on the development of advanced fuzes for bunker buster bombs smaller than MOP. DOD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LPSF could offer additional features to improve the overall effectiveness of the MOP.<\/p>\n

DOT&E\u2019s new report further highlights the challenges involved in testing new capabilities for the MOP even against subscale targets,\u00a0let alone full-size threat representative ones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to program funding reprioritization, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) contract challenges that affected the ability to construct targets to support testing, and modifications to the delivery platform, the MOP Modification program was unable to execute planned testing in FY21 and FY22,\u201d per the report. \u201cThe Air Force rescheduled the test events into FY23 and FY24.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A MOP test article in a tunnel at the U.S. Army\u2019s White Sands Missile Range in 2007. DOD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cChanges made by DTRA to expedite the contracting and test plan review process have resulted in no material headway, and delays continue. While significantly delayed, the program was able to execute testing at the end of FY23 and in FY24,\u201d the report continues. \u201cDespite the delays in test execution and reductions in subscale testing, the program is proceeding with key performance milestones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSubscale lethality testing was reduced in scope (by approximately 50 percent) due to funding redirection from the Air Force and test execution cost growth within DTRA. The reduced subscale test effort concluded in September 2024,\u201d the report adds. \u201cThe DoD has limited test locations that allow for subscale and full-scale testbed construction, leading to high-demand and expensive, long-lead time, and custom-tailored testbed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A MOP seen right before hitting the ground during a previous test. DOD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The general value of having a\u00a0non-nuclear<\/a>, very deep-penetrating weapon like MOP in the U.S. military\u2019s arsenal is only increasing. America\u2019s near-peer competitors China and Russia continue to build new hardened and\/or underground facilities, including bases with\u00a0deep caverns for aircraft<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0submarines<\/a>, which would be important in the event that a high-end conflict erupts. Just last week,\u00a0the\u00a0Financial Times\u00a0<\/em>published a detailed report<\/a>\u00a0on a new 1,500-acre command center complex with a major subterranean component that the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) is building in the western end of the country\u2019s sprawling capital Beijing.<\/p>\n

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