Common Sense Assessment
The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) has an explosive payload of approximately 5,300 to 6,000 pounds (2,400 to 2,700 kg) of high-explosive material. The explosive yield is estimated to be around 4,000 megajoules (MJ), equivalent to roughly three to four tons of TNT. Additionally, when dropped from 50,000 feet, the MOP delivers 800 to 900 MJ of kinetic energy due to its impact velocity, which exceeds Mach 1. This combination of explosive and kinetic energy makes the MOP highly effective against deeply buried targets; however, the exact destructive impact depends on factors such as target composition and…