Northrop Grumman has begun figuring out how to integrate the new Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a 30,000-pound class weapon, on the B-2 bomber, under a $2.5 million contract a company release says Northrop received June 1 from Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Boeing is the developer of the MOP, which is GPS-guided and contains more than 5,300 pounds of conventional explosives—enough to penetrate deeply buried and hardened targets. Northrop will be converting the B-2’s weapons bays to house the MOP, one in each bay. Dave Mazur, Northrop’s Integrated Systems VP for long-range strike, says the Air Force has yet to decide whether it will go for a limited MOP operational capability or proceed with “a more comprehensive development program.”
The first A-10 Thunderbolt II has left the Idaho Air National Guard as part of the Air Force’s service-wide effort to divest its close air support aircraft. In late March, the wing's A-10s took on their final mission when multiple aircraft and over 300 Airmen deployed to U.S. Central Command.