A B-2 Spirit drops one of two GBU-57 Massive Ordinance Penetrator bunker-busting bombs as seen in a ... [+] 2019 video. But if this bipartisan legislation passes, there’s a glaring question: How would the Israeli Air Force deliver such a massive bomb? The GPS-guided weapon with its 5,300-pound warhead required the U.S. Air Force to adapt one of its own platforms, the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, to lug it aloft. It was executed by an MC-130 Talon carrying a GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb. However the Strike Eagle is cited as having an 81,000 pound maximum takeoff weight and a 31,700 pound empty weight by the U.S. Air Force.

Source: Forbes October 30, 2020 17:40 UTC