POWIP Piece of Work In Progress – Former Abode of Dan Collins

On Iran: walk softly and carry a big…MOP?

Left: B-2 Spirit, Right: GBU-57 MOP

Over the past two weeks several news agencies have reported and reconfirmed the story of the Pentagon’s desire to speed the procurement of the GBU-57, MOP-a 15 ton bomb designed to destroy bunkers dug in deeply under the surface of the Earth, as well as adapt the internal weapons bays of the B-2 “Spirit” to carry the ordinance.  This type of conventional weapon is precisely what would be needed strike at the Iranian nuclear facilities in Qum, and the conventional wisdom is that in addition to preparing for a last resort military contingency the administration may be sending a signal to the Iranians regarding the seriousness of the upcoming negotiations.

Although the aircraft modification was originally planned for 2007, the funding for the project was stuck from defense appropriations by congress.  And, while the weapons are not expected to be ready for use until next summer, in the past, accelerated programs like this have often been completed surprisingly.

So while I’m still concerned with the administrations scrapping of the planned defense battery in Eastern Europe, as well as their negotiations with the Iranians seemingly without regard for preconditions or even results, let’s just say that this bit of contingency planning is the kind of change that I can believe in…

Rocketman