Fighter Sweep
  • Home
  • Military Aviation
  • Air Force
  • Navy
  • Spec Ops
  • Expert Analysis
  • Careers
  • Photos
Home Previous Post Next Post
Follow @fightersweep

Watch: New footage of B-2 Spirit dropping two of the largest bunker busters ever built

December 22, 2018
Alex Hollings No Comments Military Aviation, Video

There aren’t a ton of images floating around of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator and its intended platform, the B-2 Spirit (often known as a the “stealth bomber”).

What sets the GBU-57 apart from its penetrator predecessors isn’t its ability to reach bunkers hidden deep underground — it’s the massive amount of firepower it delivers. At 30,000 pounds each, the GBU-57 can take out entire underground facilities. For a frame of reference, the previous bunker busters developed for the U.S. Air Force (the GBU-28 and GBU-37) both deliver a comparably modest 5,000 pound payload each.

Underground test detonation of a GBU-57 MOP at White Sands Missile Base (WikiMedia Commons)

The B-2 Spirit hardly needs any introduction. As America’s stealth, heavy payload bomber, the B-2 secured a place in the history books decades ago. Although it’s slated to begin being replaced by the forthcoming B-21 Raider in the coming decade, this video demonstrates clearly that the B-2 remains one hell of a war fighting airframe.

Watch the B-2 execute normal flight operations, including aerial refueling with its rotating dorsal receptacle that hides the fuel nozzle after it’s done, in the short video below. If you’re just here for the firepower, go ahead and skip to about 30 seconds in.

 

Feature image courtesy of YouTube

About the Author

Alex Hollings Alex Hollings writes on a breadth of subjects ranging from fitness to foreign policy, all presented through the lens of his experiences as a U.S. Marine, athlete and scholar. A football player, rugby player and fighter, Hollings has spent the better part of his adult life competing in some of the most physically demanding sports on the planet. Hollings possesses a master's degree in communications from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as a bachelor's degree in Corporate and Organizational Communications from Framingham State University.

Related Posts

  • Could America’s secretive B-21 Raider already be flying?Could America’s secretive B-21 Raider already be flying?
  • Check out the amazing pictures and video of a B-2 Bomber flying over the Rose BowlCheck out the amazing pictures and video of a B-2 Bomber flying over the Rose Bowl
  • Could hypersonic missile technology mean an end to long-range bombers?Could hypersonic missile technology mean an end to long-range bombers?
  • Air Force says America’s new stealth bomber is ‘on schedule’ for combat operations in just a few yearsAir Force says America’s new stealth bomber is ‘on schedule’ for combat operations in just a few years
  • America’s only supersonic heavy bomber is being replaced, but it isn’t being retired (yet)America’s only supersonic heavy bomber is being replaced, but it isn’t being retired (yet)

Find Us on Facebook

FighterSweep.com

Sign Up
for the Newsletter

What’s Hot

  • March 23, 2019

    Rest Easy: Ranger assigned to secretive reconnaissance unit dies in free-fall accident

  • blue-angels-reporter-blacks-out-passes-out
    December 5, 2017

    Watch: News Reporter Blacks Out on Ride with US Navy Blue Angels

  • Whistling Death: How The Corsair Got Its Nickname
    August 30, 2019

    Whistling Death: How the Corsair got its nickname

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Twitter

Recent Comments

  • pak152 " the team came up with what the Brits dubbed as Mustang, powered by a [...]
  • P K Polish AF never has and never will operate Su-27, An-26 aircraft has been out [...]
  • bnarfhyde The best book is also great. have a [...]
  • TerrorTrike ive never survived this long with such a clumsy FL- cG.866B.CO/NC6155hc
  • D4rksupeme yessss truck kunnnnnnnn i needddd you m.866E.CO/vC6155H

© Copyright 2023 SOFREP Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers
 

Loading Comments...