For several years, the U.S. military has been working on a 30,000-pound superbomb that can penetrate and destroy what the military calls "hardened targets": Command bunkers or WMD facilities shielded by concrete and buried deep underground.

Now it looks as if the Pentagon is speeding delivery of the bomb, formally known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP. The Associated Press' Anne Gearan reports today that the Defense Department awarded a contract worth around $52 million to speed up integration of the bomb aboard the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. According to the story, the MOP could be ready for B-2 delivery as early as next summer.

So why the rush? Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell offered a bland statement about the world being a dangerous place, but it's tempting to see this as a response to Iran's newly revealed nuclear site, buried deep inside a mountain near Qom. Gearan described the MOP "Plan B for dealing with Iran" if the diplomatic approach fails.

In fact, the Defense Department actually wanted the thing to be ready for delivery last year. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency began testing the MOP capability in 2007, But as Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told AP, development of the bomb was slowed by about two years because of budgetary issues.

Still, there are some very realistic scenarios on the horizon. In a similar vein, the United States and Israel are moving ahead with a major air-defense drill next week that will test ballistic missile interceptors that would be essential in any conflict with Iran.

The drill, called Juniper Cobra, has taken place every other year since 2001. But as the Jerusalem Post reports, the exercise will involve the test of two U.S. systems that are the cornerstone of the revamped U.S. missile defense strategy: The Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and the Navy's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system. Israel's Arrow missile-shooter will also be part of the exercise.

[PHOTO: Wikimedia]

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