[3] It is designed to accomplish a difficult, complicated mission of reaching and destroying an adversary's weapons of mass destruction located in well-protected facilities.

Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, analysis of sites that had been attacked with bunker buster bombs revealed poor penetration and inadequate levels of destruction.

This renewed interest in the development of a larger bunker buster, and the MOP project was initiated by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to fulfill a long-standing Air Force requirement.

[9][10] In March 2007, an initial explosive test of the MOP took place in a tunnel belonging to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

[11][12] It was later announced that funding delays and enhancements to the planned test schedule meant the bomb would not be deployable until December 2010, six months later than the original availability date.

[16] In November 2011, Bloomberg reported that the Air Force Global Strike Command started receiving the Massive Ordnance Penetrator and that the deliveries "will meet requirements for the current operational need".