After fretting for months that a “critical part” of the world’s biggest bunker-busting bomb was flawed, the Pentagon declared last week that the mammoth blaster is at last fixed and ready for use – against Iran, or any other nation the U.S. decides is developing weapons of mass destruction deeply underground. There’s as much psychological gamesmanship at play here as pyrotechnics, as the U.S. and Iran continue their showdown over Washington’s insistence that Tehran abandon its nuclear-weapons program, and the Iranians’ assertion that their program is only for peaceful purposes. Make no mistake about it: the declaration that the Air Force’s Massive Ordnance Penetrator is ready for action is the latest volley in a high-stakes game that could lead to war before the year is out. Air Force photo A fake MOP in the fake belly of a fake B-2 bomber. The Defense Department’s Operational Test and Evaluation office makes clear that, after more than a year of vague Pentagon-expressed concerns that there were technical problems with the MOP, the 15-ton bomb is now ready for prime time. The green light comes after a series of tests through the fall at Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range, both in New Mexico, showed that the redesigned weapon “effectively prosecuted the targets.” “The MOP is a GPS-guided weapon designed to reach and destroy targets located in well protected facilities,” the testing synopsis reads. “The sled test results and the additional weapon drops indicate that the weapon re-design is adequate for the successful prosecution of all of the elements of the currently defined target set.” While no one will say so, Iran’s nuclear facility at Fordo – buried up to 80 meters beneath a mountain near the Shiite holy city of Qom, at a former missile base controlled by Iran’s unpredictable Revolutionary Guards – is at the top of that target list. And Tehran now knows it is officially vulnerable to attack. “The warhead case is made from a special high performance steel alloy and its design allows for a … Continue reading Primed and Ready: Huge Pentagon Bunker-Buster Gets Green Light For Possible Iran Mission