More 30,000-Pound ‘Bunker-Buster’ Bombs Sought for U.S. Forces
- Centcom asks Congress for $35 million in additional spending
- Smaller ‘Mother of All Bombs’ was used in Afghanistan war
General Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command.
Photographer: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
U.S. Central Command has asked Congress to authorize and appropriate $35 million more than requested in the White House’s latest budget proposal to replace 10 of America’s most powerful non-nuclear weapons after supplies were depleted during tests.
The 30,000-pound (13,600 kilogram) GBU-57 “bunker buster” -- known officially as a Massive Ordnance Penetrator -- is built by Boeing Co. and could be used to strike deeply buried or other difficult targets, including potential underground nuclear facilities in places such as North Korea or Iran.