The Air Force has awarded Boeing a $12.5 million contract to provide three massive ordnance penetrators, those huge 30,000 pound-class bunker busters, for use in tests on the B-52H bomber. According to DOD’s list of major contracts for Aug. 18, these MOPs will be used in one single drop test and one dual-release drop test from the venerable B-52. This news comes on the heels of the Pentagon announcing its intent to accelerate MOP development by several years so that the first units could be available for operational use by next summer. (See UPI news wire service report from Aug. 17.) The Air Force announced in June that it intends to purchase up to 20 MOPs from Boeing before the end of the year for testing and operational use with the B-2A bomber. (DOD contract list for Aug. 18)
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.