Washington, DC – The US Air Force has announced it has awarded Boeing an exclusive contract to replenish its stockpile of GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs. This comes after a significant portion of these munitions were depleted during the recent military operation against Iranian nuclear facilities.
Depletion of stock in “Midnight Hammer”
This move comes after official Pentagon documents revealed that the United States used 14 GBU-57 bombs during Operation Midnight Hammer on June 21, 2025. The operation, carried out by seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, targeted critical nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The published justification memo stated that the contract was awarded to Boeing without a tender to ensure maximum speed of delivery. The memo also asserted that “any delay in replenishing this strategic weapon could undermine force readiness and strategic deterrence, and jeopardize nuclear nonproliferation efforts.”
GBU-57: The Unstoppable Hammer
The MOP bomb is the heaviest and most powerful non-nuclear munition in the U.S. arsenal. It was specifically designed to penetrate hardened facilities deep underground: Weight: 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms). Destructive power: It can penetrate 200 feet (60 meters) of earth or 60 feet (18 meters) of reinforced concrete. Kinetic energy: It generates an enormous impact energy equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing into a concrete tower. This ensures the destruction of buried laboratories and warhead storage facilities.
Political messages at a sensitive time
The decision to replenish the arsenal coincides with escalating tensions ahead of the Geneva talks scheduled to begin today (Tuesday). Observers believe the announcement of the resumption of production of the “bunker destroyer” is a direct message of pressure to Tehran, indicating that Washington has regained its ability to launch devastating strikes against sites that were not completely destroyed in the previous round of fighting. While intelligence assessments showed that the Fordow site suffered significant damage during the previous operation, reports suggest that other sites may recover more quickly than anticipated. This makes possessing a new stockpile of GBU-57 bombs essential to ensuring the success of any “protracted” military campaign that President Donald Trump might order should the diplomatic track fail.
