None of them are anywhere near as cool as Deep Digger, the bunker-busting bomb that drills its way underground. But various arms of the Defense Department are working on a number of next-generation munitions, designed to take out deeply buried targets, Aviation Week writes.
Pentagon will be testing the theory next year of whether bigger and heavier is… better for penetrators. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) is a behemoth of a bomb, weighing almost 30,000 lb. It is designed to “overwhelm target characterization uncertainties,” according to program officials.
With 5,300 lb. of explosive material, MOP will pack more than 10 times the explosive punch of its BLU-109 [today’s bunker-busting workhorse] predecessor… Optimum penetrating distance is classified, but some analysts say it is as much as 200 ft. through reinforced concrete and soil or sand…
MOP will have a blunter nose than its predecessors to keep the weapon intact during penetration… The majority of MOP’s weight is actually carried in the heavy steel casing, according to AFRL [Air Force Research Lab] officials. Once the tests are finished next year, the Pentagon will decide whether to produce the MOP and begin a small stockpile…
About six years ago, AFRL officials developed the Advanced Unitary Penetrator (AUP), which can burrow twice the depth of the BLU-109. The weapon uses denser materials “to pack more mass into a smaller cross-section,” Sands says. It is essentially a massive explosive bullet encased in a shroud that is dimensionally the same as the BLU-109. During penetration, the outer casing peals off, leaving the core to dig and detonate. The technology has been proven but has not been purchased by the Air Force, quite possibly because they need to go deeper still.
Thus, engineers have been experimenting with various steel formulations to improve the likelihood that a penetrator will survive on its path to a target without breaking up midcourse.
Through years of work, AAC and Ellwood National Forge in Irvine, Pa., have developed a very strong steel that is being used on the BLU-122, the Air Force’s newest penetrator, weighing in at 5,000 lb. The team has applied for a patent for the chemical composition and manufacturing process that has produced “Eglin Steel,” a strong blend estimated at one-eighth the cost of experimental metals with similar strength. Prior attempts to formulate similar steel have proved cost prohibitive. The patent for Eglin Steel — a blend of carbon, chromium and tungsten for hardness, and of silicon and nickel for durability — is under final review.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
These weapons are cool and it probably doesn’t hurt to have them on the shelf, but there’s another big problem with underground facilities in denied areas: where are their vulnerable parts? Even if the entrances can be spotted, where do the tunnels go from there? A clever, if evil, opponent will presumably include at least a few zigs and zags to increase targeting uncertainties.
I wonder where these MOPs are destined to be used. If my information is correct (and I doubt that it is), Iran and Syria have developed large tunnel networks and bunkers at depths of greater than 70 foot underground and for the purposes of shielding their nuclear projects or WMD.
I suppose a weapon that could penetrate these type of bunkers is needed in the event the US attacks Iran.
G.C.
“The technology has been proven but has not been purchased by the Air Force, ”
I think they’re confused, as the AUP/BLU-116 is most definitely in the inventory -
“One of the newest weapons in the Air Force’s arsenal of hard target penetrating bombs is the AFRL Munitions Directorate-developed Advanced Unitary Penetrator (AUP) shrouded aerial bomb, equipped with the Hard Target Smart Fuze (HTSF). The bomb and its smart fuze were a big hit during Operation Allied Force….”
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/blu-116.htm
This is approach of just using bigger bombs is very limited and can’t go much further. new technology is needed…
Why not a smaller penetrator accelerated by a rocket motor prior to impact? Not as big a bang, certainly, but you would be able to put it on more platforms. Why continue to build bombs that can only be deployed from C-130s?
200 ft penetration? I recall reading a paper that concluded a bomb will not pentrate armor more then ~5 projectile lenghts, regardless of shape, weight and velocity.
Regarding the pentration depth/length ratio – I got the number from an exelent penetration technology overview right here…
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/002177.html
BTW, the magic number is 4 lengths, not 5..
Question: if engineers can make a bomb hit a very small, precise location (say an exhaust vent), is there any reason you couldn’t make bombs that play “follow-the-leader”? Acting like the teeth of a saw, could a large group of smaller munitions, striking a target in paced succession, dig deeper than one larger bomb?
Just curious; I’m in no way qualified to have an opinion one way or another, and I’d be glad to know why this wouldn’t work.
Quote:
These weapons are cool and it probably doesn’t hurt to have them on the shelf, but there’s another big problem with underground facilities in denied areas: where are their vulnerable parts? Even if the entrances can be spotted, where do the tunnels go from there? A clever, if evil, opponent will presumably include at least a few zigs and zags to increase targeting uncertainties.
EndQuote
Some of the targets these bunker busters are intended for are tunnels deep into mountains, they are bunkers that were built in a huge hole and have been covered up by dirt/concrete/etc. So we know exactly where they are.
Iran has been using this method for large facilities that are presumed to be used for centrifuges. And when we talk about bunker busters, I would assume the sudden increased interest in them is due to Iran’s activities.
True, but if you can seal off all the exits, who cares if they stay down there? If communication is cut off, let them suffocate down there.
During GW I we fired two GPS Tomahawks at a Commond bunker- the first one only blew a hole in the side of the bunker, with minimal damage inside. The second Tommy, with the same GPS flight path, flew through the hole, into the creamy nougat center and destroyed most of Saddams top echelon. Now, imagine replacing the cute lil’ Tomahawk with GPS Bunker-Busters…. the second one would go so deep it would open a hole under Beijing (not a bad idea!).
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I wonder where these MOPs are destined to be used. If my information is correct (and I doubt that it is), Iran and Syria have developed large tunnel networks and bunkers at depths of greater than 70 foot underground and for the purposes of shielding their nuclear projects or WMD.
I suppose a weapon that could penetrate these type of bunkers is needed in the event the US attacks Iran.
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About six years ago, AFRL officials developed the Advanced Unitary Penetrator (AUP), which can burrow twice the depth of the BLU-109. The weapon uses denser materials “to pack more mass into a smaller cross-section,” Sands says. It is essentially a massive explosive bullet encased in a shroud that is dimensionally the same as the BLU-109. During penetration, the outer casing peals off, leaving the core to dig and detonate. The technology has been proven but has not been purchased by the Air Force, quite possibly because they need to go deeper still.
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