Two US lawmakers seek top-range bunker-busters for Israel

Democratic New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer and Florida Republican Brian Mast are co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill for the transfer to Israel of 14,000-kg bombs known as bunker-busters. The biggest conventional weapon in use, the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) can penetrate to a depth of 60m and is designed to destroy targets hidden deep underground, like large portions of Iran’s nuclear facilities and Hizballah’s rocket arsenal. The MOP if approved may be included in the package of advanced items promised by the Trump administration to maintain the IDF’s qualitative edge after the sale of F-35 stealth fighters to the UAE.