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MOP is a conventional weapon, 30,000 lbs. Only the B-2 is rated to carry it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-57A/B_MOP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-57A/
by p_ing 1y ago
MOP is a conventional weapon, 30,000 lbs. Only the B-2 is rated to carry it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-57A/B_MOP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-57A/B_MOP
- xnx 1y agoGenuinely surprised that Israel couldn't push one out of their c-130s
- giantg2 1y agoDo they even have access to this variant? I thought they had access to the older ones that weren't as advanced.
- YZF 1y agoThey do not.
- dingaling 1y agoThe MOP isn't particularly 'advanced', it's basically refined version of the Korean-vintage Tarzon guided earthquake bombs. It's just too heavy for most military aircraft to carry. The IDF has the F-15I which has a centerline hard point rated for 5,000lb load. That's immense for a fighter but a magnitude too low for the MOP. There are a variety of smaller US penetrating bombs that the F-15 can handle, but they don't have the mass and structure to penetrate as deeply.
- 1659447091 1y agoDon't think the C-130s can fly high enough with a single 30,000lb bomb. The graphic at bbc site show it would be dropped from about 12km (~40,000 ft) in order to gain the speed needed to drive it some 60m underground.
- ahazred8ta 1y agoFrom 40,000 feet, the bomb would take ~ 50 seconds to fall and would impact at mach 1.5.
- ceejayoz 1y agoIsrael hasn’t degraded Iranian air defenses that much. The stuff that can’t threaten a F-35 can still trouble a C-130.
- energy123 1y agoWhy do you say this? Israel only lost 1 drone.
- ceejayoz 1y agoC-130s are very large, slow targets.
- pclmulqdq 1y agoThe US has B52s that are cheaper, but they used B2s for this operation. It seems they don't believe Iran's air defenses to be toothless.
- algorithmsRcool 1y agoYou are correct but although the B52 can technically carry the GBU-57 MOP, but it was only done that way during the initial testing of the weapon. The B2 is the only aircraft the USAF actually uses for that munition in combat scenarios. Also the B2 is better suited for extreme endurance missions like this where the plane is in flight for >36 hours. It has a toilet, microwave and a cot for the pilots to use during the more mundane parts of the mission.
- invalidname 1y agoAccording to Israel they fly freely in West/central Iran and use all the plains including F15/16. Initially they relied on the F-35's stealth but as of last week they claim air superiority.
- tguvot 1y agovideo shows how confused and disoriented are whatever SAM that survived https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/1lb8mkc/irans_air_defense_launches_at_israeli_aircraft/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/1lb8mkc/iran...
- CyanLite2 1y agoVarious sources are saying 6 to 12 of these bombs were used. So, you'd need a lot of C-130s and those planes are too slow to NOT get shot down.
- p_ing 1y agoIsrael doesn't have access to the MOP.
- algorithmsRcool 1y agoThe kinetics matter here. The B2 flies much higher than the C-130 which would aid the GBU-57 MOP (almost certainly used here) in it's ability to penetrate to maximum depth. 80% of the 15 ton weight of that bomb is just heavy metal to give it maximum energy as it borrows into the ground. Also, each B2 can carry 2 MOPs making it a better platform than a C-130, and that isn't even taking the stealth of the platform into account
- xnx 1y ago> Also, each B2 can carry 2 MOPs Wow. That is amazing. 60,000 lbs. combined.