A Massive Ordnance Air Blast weapon, commonly known as the "Mother of All Bombs,” being prepared for testing at the Eglin Air Force Armament Center in 2003. DoD Photo
Business Insider: How much the US's 'mother of all bombs' really costs
The US's Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb does not cost $314 million, or $16 million, but $170,000 a unit, the US Air Force told Business Insider on Friday.
The weapon, whose acronym inspired the nickname "Mother of All Bombs," was produced by the Air Force, not by a third party like Lockheed or Boeing, "so we don't have a standard procurement cost associated with them," an Air Force official said.
The $170,000 figure makes sense considering a general-purpose 1,000-pound MK-83 costs about $12,000. The MOAB simply features more high explosives and larger fins to direct the GPS-guided munition.
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WNU Editor: Still .... $170,000 for just a conventional bomb (albeit a big one) makes it a very expensive bomb.
Update: The reason why some news agencies are saying that the unit cost per bomb is $16 million is because of this .... It took $314 million to develop and has a unit cost of $16 million for the current inventory (From Fiscal Times). Ignore the research and development costs .... $170,000 per bomb.
3 comments:
$170,000? Damn, that's a steal.. I wish there'd be more suitable ISIS targets.. love the idea that they can't even run away when they see it being dropped off :}
Thats cheap, why not drop more of them
Alot cheaper than cruise missiles
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