US to make new 'bunker buster' bombs 4 times more powerful than the ones dropped on Iran

The United States is developing new ‘bunker buster’ bombs that are expected to be almost four times more powerful than those dropped on Iran.

Last week, the United States struck Iran's Natanz and Fordow nuclear sites with 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Mass Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs and the Isfahan site with submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles. The MOP is the largest conventional bomb with the United States.

The working name for MOP’s successor is Next Generation Penetrator (NGP). It is expected to work on the same premise as MOP.

ALSO READ: Here's how 'bunker buster' bombs work that Trump used to hit Iran's nuclear sites

Unlike most munitions, MOP does not explode upon impact. It first penetrates the target and explodes inside the target. This maximises the damage and expands the blast radius inside the targeted structure. It is believed that the bomb can hit targets as deep as 60 metres underground.

More from World

Iran-Israel war: Making sense of the US-declared ceasefire ‘Severe damage but not irreversible’: Decoding satellite images of US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites

New bombs to be 4 times more powerful — and possibly faster

The NGP is expected to be around four times more powerful than MOP, according to information released by the US Air Force (USAF) and analysis carried by The War Zone.

Out of the 30,000 pounds that MOP carries, the warhead weighs just around 6,000 pounds and the rest of the weight is of the metallic bomb that carries the warhead inside it, as per TWZ.

The USAF said last year that the NGP’s warhead could weigh much as 22,000 pounds — almost four times the warhead of MOP.

ALSO READ: Inside Netanyahu’s campaign to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites with 'bunker busters'

If the NGP would have the same warhead to overall weight ratio as of the MOP, the overall NGP could weigh as much as 110,000 pounds.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

If the 30,000-pound MOP could breach through 60 metres of concrete to hit the target, the depth to which NGP could breach through would be much more.

The USAF has also said in its notional renderings that the NGP would have its own propulsion system, which means it would have its own power. On the other hand, the MOP is a gravity bomb, which means that it does not have its own power and it cannot fly towards its target like regular rockets or missiles. Its flight path based on the height and angle it was dropped from can only be altered in a limited manner.

Separately, the USAF is also seeking a smaller bunker buster bomb that could be dropped by F-35 fighter planes, according to TWZ.

It has been dubbed as Global Precision Attack Weapon (GPAW). The specifications have not been made public.