Here's how much the 'mother of all bombs' the US just dropped on Afghanistan actually cost

DODThe mother of all bombs.Some of President Donald Trump's critics were quick to decry the cost of dropping the "mother of all bombs" on an Islamic State target in Afghanistan on Thursday.

But the number heavily cited across social media, $314 million, was how much the US military paid for 20 such bombs, technically called the Massive Ordnance Air Blast.

The US Air Force dropped one MOAB - the largest nonnuclear bomb in the US's arsenal - on an ISIS target in a remote part of far northeast Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the goal was to destroy "a system of tunnels and caves that ISIS fighters used to move around freely, making it easier for them to target US military advisers and Afghan forces in the area."

One MOAB costs about $16 million, according to military equipment site Deagel.com. The Los Angeles Times reported that the US military developed and ordered 20 MOABs in 2011, for a total cost of $314 million.

But many celebrities and other Trump critics took to Twitter to express their frustration at the president for authorizing such an expensive bomb, citing the total figure instead:

For comparison, the USS Harry Truman dropped 1,118 smaller bombs on Iraq and Syria as part of the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve in 2016. A general purpose 1,000-pound MK-83 costs about $12,000.

NOW WATCH: Former State Department official: Here's the biggest mistake the US made with Syria

Please enable Javascript to watch this video