More 30,000-Pound ‘Bunker-Buster’ Bombs Sought for U.S. Forces
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Central Command has asked Congress to authorize and appropriate $35 million more than requested in the White House's latest budget proposal to replace 10 of America's most powerful non-nuclear weapons after supplies were depleted during tests.
The 30,000-pound (13,600 kilogram) GBU-57 “bunker buster” -- known officially as a Massive Ordnance Penetrator -- is built by Boeing Co. and could be used to strike deeply buried or other difficult targets, including potential underground nuclear facilities in places such as North Korea or Iran.
In a March 25 letter to the House Armed Services Committee, General Frank McKenzie -- who led American forces in the Mideast until his retirement Friday -- called the $35 million his top “unfunded request” that didn't make it into President Joe Biden's proposed defense budget.
The different and lighter 21,600-pound Massive Ordnance Air Blast -- known as the Mother of All Bombs -- that explodes above ground was used in April 2017 against Islamic State positions in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province.
Stockpiles of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator have diminished more recently because of testing done at the U.S. military's White Sands, New Mexico, test range.
McKenzie said in his letter that he'd like to see replacements funded because the U.S. doesn't now have the capability of hitting about “45% of the current worldwide strategic hard and deeply buried targets.”
Military officials have said that the explosion of a GBU-57 feels like a nuclear blast, and a test of the bomb in 2003 produced a mushroom cloud visible 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
