The United States Air Force has ordered a batch of cutting-edge new bunker buster bombs, Defense News reported this week, reaching for the successor technology to huge ordnance which pounded Iranian nuclear sites in June.
The new Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) contract has been awarded to Applied Research Associates (ARA) for a two-year prototype design, according to the outlet.
Boeing, which originally developed the MOP, will team up with ARA for the design and full integration of new features, it added in an article on Monday.
The bombs the United States used against Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in a surprise attack on June 22 were GBU-57 MOPs.
The GBU-57 is a 30,000-pound GPS-guided bunker buster designed to destroy hardened and deeply buried nuclear facilities which is carried by the B-2 Spirit bomber.
Its first combat use came in the June strikes in the strikes dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, when the Air Force dropped 12 bombs on the Fordow nuclear site alone.
The successor MOP, called the Next Generation Penetrator (NGP_ will focus on deeper penetration and reduced weight. Unlike the GBU-57, it will not exceed 22,000 pounds, and its guidance system will remain effective even if the enemy jams or disables GPS.
The weapon will also incorporate advanced fuzing to increase effectiveness against previously untested environments, another outlet The War Zone reported.
“Advanced fuzes with features like the ability to ‘count’ floors to determine depth and sense the ‘voids’ formed by underground mission spaces greatly increase the potential for maximum damage from a weapon like MOP,” TWZ wrote.
The United States began designing the GBU-57 in 2004 under the Air Force Research Laboratory, with production and first deliveries starting in 2011.
President Donald Trump has said the bombings "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program, adding that his decision to strike the sites forestalled a nuclear war.
Speaking to Iran International, the lawmakers hit out at the escalation to the war in Ukraine after Poland said 19 Russian drones reportedly violated its airspace on Tuesday but were thwarted by Polish and NATO jets and air defenses.
Russia has stepped up blitzes on Ukraine in recent weeks involving hundreds of drones each and including Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drones. It was not immediately clear if they were among the drones intercepted over Poland.
“Iran has, over the last several years, been a critical and active partner in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” Democrat Senator Chris Coons said.
“By providing drone technology and even producing drones inside Russia for use against Ukraine, Tehran has enabled Putin’s war machine.”
Moscow denied any intent to violate Polish airspace, saying it did not seek to strike any targets in Poland and questioning whether the drones came from Russia at all.
The Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said facts are still emerging but said Russia had erred in piercing NATO air space.
“Russia is playing with fire here. Putin has made a lot of mistakes, and this could be the worst one he’s made yet," Republican Senator James Risch told Iran International. "We’ll see how this unfolds.”
'Open conflict' near
Poland, a former member of the Eastern Bloc under Moscow's tutelage for much of the twentieth century has become a staunch Western ally and base for NATO troops as the alliance's relationship with Iran, Russia and China has soured.
The drone incursion rattled its leadership, which warned of a dire escalation.
"This is the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II, but there is no reason to believe we're on the brink of war," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament.
Iran provides drone technology to Russia for its war against Ukraine, prompting a series of punitive sanctions from the United States and European Union.
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, confirmed the drones had entered Polish airspace, calling it an accident after the drones' navigation systems were jammed.
Western leaders have frequently warned against what they see as deepening security cooperation among their Eurasian adversaries Russia, Iran, China and North Korea.
After the incidents, Warsaw invoked Article 4 of NATO's charter which enables closer coordination with all NATO member states. A UN Security Council meeting to discuss the developments is scheduled for Friday.
Poland closed all border crossings with Belarus ahead of the joint Russia-Belarus Zapad 2025 military exercises, citing alleged security risks and Russian aggression.