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)
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.