There are many nods to the movie "The Goonies (1985)" which starts with the name of the episode "Never Say Die" which was the motto stated by one of the main characters in the movie. Also the mission board has the different names of the characters in the Goonies to include Chunk, Sloth, Mouth, Andy, Mikey, Data and Brand.
In sterile water anthrax can survive for up to two years, but it will not reproduce. However a study done in 2012 at the University of Virginia School of Medicine showed that when anthrax spores are introduced into warm water that contained microorganisms like amoeba, the anthrax spores reproduced rapidly, they increased their numbers by a factor of 50 in just 72 hours. If the water is at an optimum temperature, around 37 °C or 99 °F, the anthrax spores increased by a factor of 100. Researchers discovered the anthrax spores use the amoeba's DNA to reproduce in the same manner it does in higher organisms, by destroying cells to extract the materials it needs from the cell's DNA to replicate. With the very high temperatures in Saudi Arabia it is very probable that anthrax would rapidly reproduce in an underground water source, as long as it was untreated and stagnant enough for amoeba and other microorganisms to grow in it. The study also concluded that anthrax can very likely use other types of protozoa in the same manner to reproduce.
The backup plan is for the Royal Saudi Air Force to use F-16's to bomb the facility. The Royal Saudi Air Force has around 1,600 aircraft, the backbone of their air force is the McDonnel Douglas F-15 Eagle, most of which are F-15's that belonged to the United States and were sold to the Saudis after they were replaced by newer fighters. Some point out that the Saudis don't have F-16's, it is possible they meant to say F-15 in the episode. However there are also a number of F-16 Falcons in Saudi Arabia, they are located at Prince Sultan Air Base, and are part of the United States Air Force's 378th Fighter Squadron, they are still owned and controlled by the USAF, but are sometimes loaned to the Saudi Air Force.
Thermobaric weapon - Thermobaric fuel-air explosive, also called a vacuum bomb, is a type of explosive that uses a special type of fuel to ignite oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high temperature/high pressure explosion. The bomb consists of two stages, the first explosive detonates on impact and ruptures a container filled with the fuel mixture, the fuel then disperses and causes an exothermic chemical reaction igniting the oxygen in the atmosphere, essentially it sets the air on fire. The reaction produces a high pressure heat wave that can exceed 5,000 °C (9,032 °F), the pressure wave expands out and creates a brief vacuum, then as the air rushes back in anything that didn't get destroyed by the initial blast is surely knocked down by the second pressure wave. It is very effective at destroying sensitive technology, structures and biological matter.