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The Pentagon's bunker-busting bomb has been upgraded

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pjohns:
From FoxNews.com:


--- Quote ---The Pentagon's biggest bunker-busting bomb has been upgraded with one task in mind: taking out suspected Iranian nuclear facilities built deep under the mountains of the Islamic Republic's northern region.

At 30,000 pounds, the Massive Ordnance Penetrator packs brute force and advanced features meant to enable it to destroy Iran's most fortified nuclear site. The bomb is nearly a third bigger than the MOAB, or so-called "Mother of all Bombs," the 22,000-pound previous generation of bunker busters first built in 2003 but never used outside of tests. Officials are confident the newest bunker-buster can dismantle even the deepest and most fortified nuclear facility.

"Hopefully we never have to use it," a senior U.S. official familiar with the development of the new version told The Wall Street Journal. "But if we had to, it would work."
--- End quote ---

Unfortunately, however, it is designed (in part, at least) to discourage Israel from taking on Iran's nascent nuclear facilities:


--- Quote ---The Pentagon redesigned the bomb with more advanced features intended to enable it to penetrate even deeper, giving it the ability to destroy Iran's most heavily fortified and defended nuclear site. U.S. officials see development of the weapon as critical to convincing Israel that the U.S. has the ability to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb if diplomacy fails, and also that Israel's military can't do that on its own.
--- End quote ---

Anyway, here is the link:  Bunker-busting behemoth: Pentagon upgrades bomb with Iranian nukes in mind | Fox News

Rapunzel:
as if Obama would authorize it's use.

pjohns:

--- Quote from: Rapunzel on May 03, 2013, 11:03:47 pm ---as if Obama would authorize it's use.
--- End quote ---

I believe he just wants to have it for window dressing, to prove that we could destroy Iran's underground nuclear facilities (if we were so inclined), and thereby discourage Israel from acting in a way that would greatly discomfit the Obama administration...

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