Pentagon eyes 136,000-kg super 'bunker buster' bomb

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is seeking to speed deployment of an ultra-large "bunker-buster" bomb on the most advanced US bomber as soon as July 2010, the Air Force said on Sunday, amid concerns over perceived nuclear threats from Pyongyang and Teheran.

The non-nuclear, 13,600-kg Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, which is still being tested, is designed to destroy deeply buried bunkers beyond the reach of existing bombs.

If Congress agrees to shift enough funds to the program, Northrop Grumman Corp radar-evading B-2 bomber "would be capable of carrying the bomb by July 2010," said Andy Bourland, an Air Force spokesman.