The 700-tonne explosive will be detonated in the Nevada desert on June 2 and is meant to determine how capable the bomb is of destroying deeply buried bunkers and illicit weapons storage facilities, the Washington Post reported Friday.
'This is the largest single explosive we could imagine doing,' said James A Tegnelia, director of the Pentagon's Defence Threat Reduction Agency.
The bomb consists of 700 tonnes of heavy ammonium nitrate fuel oil, which should create a blast equivalent to 593 tonnes of TNT.
The munition was developed because the US Congress has refused to fund a Pentagon proposal to develop nuclear-tipped bunker busting bombs.
