US Air Force Breaks Boeing's Monopoly on Strategic Bunker-Buster Bomb
The US Air Force has awarded a $149 million contract to four small steel companies to manufacture the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), breaking Boeing's 18-year monopoly on producing this strategic bunker-buster bomb.
The MOP is the largest non-nuclear weapon in the US military inventory, weighing 30,000 pounds and costing around $22 million each. The contract awarded to Superior Forge and Steel, Ellwood National Forge, Faxon Machining, and Grand Valley Manufacturing will run through September 2033.
The move marks a significant shift in the US defense-industrial complex, where the Air Force has traditionally relied on a single vendor for sensitive weapons programs. The contract is part of an effort to diversify production and reduce reliance on a single company's expertise.