Conventional — penetrating · United States · 2011
GBU-57 MOP
GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator
The heaviest bomb in the American arsenal. Its energy is modest: it targets buried facilities, not a blast effect at the surface.
See GBU-57 MOP in the 3D simulator- TNT equivalent
- 3 tPublic estimate
- Energy
- 12.6 GJ
- Mass
- 13.6 tDocumented
- Explosive charge
- 2.4 tDocumented
- Dimensions
- 6.2 m · Ø 0.8 mDocumented
- Type
- Very heavy guided penetrating bomb
- Period
- Present day
- Status
- Current
GBU-57 MOP releases about 5,000 times less energy than Little Boy (Hiroshima, 1945).
Key points
- Heavier than the MOAB, but nearly 4 times less energetic: most of the mass is the steel casing.
- The visualization shows a surface explosion, which exaggerates the air effects of a weapon that explodes underground.
History
Developed in the 2000s to reach deep bunkers, it can only be carried by the B-2 stealth bomber.
- 2011 Enters service.
- 22 June 2025 First combat use (Iran).
How does it work?
A conventional bomb releases chemical energy: the explosive decomposes into very hot gases in a few microseconds (detonation).
Order of magnitude: a few megajoules per kilogram of explosive (1 kg of TNT ≈ 4.2 MJ), millions of times less than nuclear reactions for the same mass.
The expanding gases violently compress the air: the shock wave weakens very quickly with distance.
A penetrating bomb has a thick steel casing and a delayed fuze: it buries itself in the ground or concrete before exploding.
Much of the energy is then transmitted to the ground (seismic wave) rather than to the air: surface effects are much weaker than for an airburst of the same energy.
Deliberately general explanations: the application provides no design or manufacturing information.
Frequently asked questions
How powerful is GBU-57 MOP?
GBU-57 MOP has an estimated yield of 3 t of TNT equivalent, about 12.6 GJ of energy.
What is the history of GBU-57 MOP?
First combat use on 22 June 2025: seven B-2 bombers dropped 14 GBU-57s on the Iranian sites of Fordow and Natanz. Developed in the 2000s to reach deep bunkers, it can only be carried by the B-2 stealth bomber.
What does the GBU-57 MOP explosion look like?
The Bomb Simulator shows the fireball, shock wave and cloud of GBU-57 MOP at real scale, over Paris, London or New York, with the sources and reliability of each value.
Sources
- GBU-57A/B MOP — Wikipedia (overview, to be cross-checked)
Other weapons
- Tallboy — 3.1 t
- Grand Slam — 5.5 t
- FAB-5000NG — 4 t
- FAB-9000 — 4.3 t
- BLU-82 — 5.7 t
- GBU-28 — 0.3 t
- Mk 84 — 0.5 t
- GBU-43/B MOAB — 11 t
- FOAB — 44 t
- FAB-3000 — 1.4 t
This application is an educational tool. The animations and effect zones are simplified representations meant to illustrate orders of magnitude. They are neither a prediction of the effects of a real weapon nor a military planning tool.