US military trying to upgrade 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb

Washington, Feb 11(ANI): The US military's 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator requires an "urgent" upgrade, Pentagon officials have said.

US officials are trying to ensure that 20 of the bombs are battle-ready though they have been tight-lipped on potential targets, Fox News reports.

The bomb has been developed by the air force in conjunction with Boeing to attack concrete bunkers and tunnel facilities, and the Pentagon has requested 81 million dollar in reallocated funds from Congress to get it ready for use.

Defense appropriators on Capitol Hill granted the request, just a month after Iran announced it would begin uranium enrichment at a hardened underground facility near Qom in the Fardow mountain range.

But Air Force Chief General Norton Schwartz had rejected claims that tension with Iran is the reason for upgradation.

A Pentagon spokesperson said the funding was needed to "make the system more survivable."

The MOP is delivered by a B-2 or B-52 bomber plane.

According to Boeing, it "allows the warfighter to hold adversaries' most highly valued military facilities at risk, especially those protecting weapons of mass destruction."

Meanwhile, Israel successfully tested the upgraded radar for its Arrow Missile Defense shield that it jointly developed with the Pentagon.

The Blue Sparrow 2 missile was fired from an undisclosed location deep in the Mediterranean Sea towards Israel. (ANI)