Doubts About U.S. ‘Bunker-Busting’ Bomb

Even the U.S. may not have the firepower to take out Iran’s nuclear faculties. That is the conclusion of Pentagon experts, who say the 30,000-pound “bunker-buster” bomb, formally known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), is not capable of destroying Iran’s most heavily fortified underground facilities and are stepping up efforts to make it more powerful, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The bomb was designed to decimate hardened nuclear fortifications built by Iran and North Korea, but Tehran has buried it facilities ever deeper and added extra fortifications. The Defense Department has spent about $330 million so far to develop about 20 MOPs, which are built by Boeing.  The Pentagon is seeking about $82 million more to make the bomb more effective. The Journal cited some experts doubting that any conventional explosive can reaching facilities so deep underground.