Boeing delivers first batch of 30,000-pound bombs to Air Force

[Swede]

Aerospace giant Boeing Co. has delivered the first batch of 30,000-pound bombs, each nearly five tons heavier than anything else in the military's arsenal, to the U.S. Air Force to pulverize underground enemy hide-outs.

At a total cost of about $314 million, the military has developed and ordered 20 of the GPS-guided bombs, called Massive Ordnance Penetrators. They are designed to be dropped on targets by the Boeing-made B-52 Stratofortress long-range bomber or Northrop Grumman Corp.'s B-2 stealth bomber.

http://www.wtkr.com/news/military/la-fi-bunker-buster-bomb-20111117,0,7519435.story

[inna]

1. just fucking lovely.

what a fucked up country, for god's sakes.

:nuke:

[Tatiana]

2. Oh great. Just what we needed!

***Sigh***

Our priorties are so messed up.

[Brickbat]

3. Oh, thank goodness. I was having trouble sleeping, knowing that America was so vulnerable while

these were being made. I couldn't even focus on my kids' school struggling to raise money or the fact that so many of my friends are worried about their jobs, knowing that our precious, precious way of life was left naked and defenseless until these bombs came along.

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Holy cow, B-52's.

Yes, I'm grossed out by the idea of 15-ton bombs, but Migod, they're planning to drop them from B-52's. I think the first B-52 came off the assembly line in about 1952.

[Abin Sur]

7. The B-52 remains one of the most cost-efficient ways to drop smart bombs.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/articles/20101012.aspx

October 12, 2010: Without any fanfare, the U.S. Air Force recently announced that it would spend $11.9 billion to keep its remaining B-52 bombers in service until they are all retired by 2040. At that point, the last ones will have served over 70 years. The new "sustainment program" will cost over $150 million per aircraft, which is about twice what they cost to build (accounting for inflation).

The reason for this investment in half century old aircraft has a lot to do with the fact that the B-52 is very capable, reliable, and cheap to operate. This is especially true compared to the aircraft built to replace it (the B-1B). The U.S. Air Force has been having a hard time keeping its 67 B-1B bombers ready for action. Two years ago, the availability rate (aircraft you can send into action) was about 51 percent. Seven years ago it was 56 percent. Progress is being made, but the B-52 is still more reliable. The B-1Bs are used to drop smart bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are particularly popular in Afghanistan, because you can put one in the air, and it can cover the entire country. While the B-1B is twice as expensive to operate (per hour in the air) than the B-52, the B-1B can more quickly move to a new target over Afghanistan.

B-52s are not only cheaper to maintain, they have a higher availability rate (65 percent.) As a result, the air force wants to keep 76 B-52s in service (despite a Congressional mandate to reduce that number to 56.) With the development of GPS guided bombs (JDAM), heavy bombers have become the most cost-effective way to deliver support to ground forces. The B-52 is the cheapest American heavy bomber to operate, and the oldest.

(more at link)

[xchrom]

5. invisible rec? -- hmmmmmmm. nt

[They_Live]

6. 314 Million!!!!

but we can't afford to cut any Military spending. These people do not represent me. Ghouls.

[HereSince1628]

11. 15 million a piece... all that for 2O targets...?

I wonder what the expected cost/destructive effect ratio would be.

I also wonder what would be considered a significantly valuable target to be visited by one of those? At present we're willing to use a hell-fire missle worth ~$65000 on an automobile load of suspected Taliban/AQ.

[Abin Sur]

8. More info on the GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/mop.htm

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. Well, it's not like we could have used the money to build something useful.

[GliderGuider]

10. Reminiscent of Britain's Grand Slam bombs in WWII

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(bomb)



The Grand Slam was a 22,000 lb. bomb, only 8,000 lb less than this American monster. Britain dropped 42 of them from modified Lancasters. They were designed by Barnes Wallis, the same man who designed the bouncing bomb that was used as a dam buster.

This bomb has more tech, but it's an old concept. Interestingly, the Grand Slams were designed just 9 years before the first B-52 rolled off the line.

[Obamanaut]

12. . nt