The U.S. Air Force last week awarded defense firm Applied Research Associates a two-year contract to design and prototype the next version of the massive bunker-busting bomb that this year struck a key Iranian nuclear facility.

ARA will work on the air-to-ground Next Generation Penetrator, the successor to the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company said in a statement Friday. Boeing, which originally made the MOP, is teaming up with ARA on the Next Generation Penetrator, the companies said. Boeing will design and develop the tail kit for the new bombs and support all-up round integration.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Eglin Munitions Directorate awarded ARA the contract, the company said. After developing the prototype of the new bu

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