Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Boeing was awarded a contract to provide the U.S. Air Force with the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP.
The deal, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $20.9 million.
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A GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator being deployed for testing from a B-52 Stratofortress. Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force
The GBU-57 MOP is a 30,000-pound, precision-guided "bunker buster" bomb that is primarily used against fortified positions and underground targets, such as caves and tunnels.
The MOP, the largest non-nuclear weapon in the U.S. military arsenal, is designed for use by the B-2 Spirit, known as the Stealth Bomber, though it has never been used in combat and it is unknown if it has been deployed.
Work will occur in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed by July 2020.
The total amount of the award contract will be obligated to Boeing at the time of award, according to the Pentagon.
Boeing recently upgraded the GBU-57 for "performance against hard and deeply buried targets," and is retrofitting MOPs already in the Air Force's inventory with the update.
