A B-2 Stealth Bomber, which remains the sole military aircraft able to carry the GBU-57 touched down at the Palmdale Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence in California on July 17, 2014. — AFP
The United States has a powerful bunker-busting bomb that can target Iran’s fortified nuclear sites. This weapon could become the favored option of President Donald Trump if he decides to offer military support to Israel.
Israel does not have the GBU-57, a 30,000-pound warhead designed to reach 200 feet underground and detonate. This absence contrasts with its goal to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Why choose this bomb?
Within days, Israel’s military eliminated Iranian commanders and struck multiple surface targets. These actions leave behind more confusion than clarity.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, who leads the Iran program at the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defence of Democracies (FDD), said Israel has dealt significant blows to the regime’s missile stockpiles, launchers military facilities, production sites nuclear experts, and its military command system.
Taleblu also noted that doubts remain over how effective Israel’s strikes have been in damaging the core of Iran’s nuclear program.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that the Fordo uranium enrichment facility located south of Tehran, has not been damaged. Fordo, unlike the Natanz and Isfahan facilities in central Iran, lies deep beneath the ground and remains outside the range of Israeli weapons.
Taleblu stated, “All eyes will be on Fordo, which sits under roughly 300 feet of rock in central Iran.”
Mark Schwartz, a former US Army lieutenant general and a defence researcher at the Rand Corporation, emphasizes that “the United States has the conventional capacity” to destroy a site like this.
When Schwartz speaks of “conventional capacity,” he is referring to the non-nuclear GBU-57 bomb.
What are its capabilities?
The US military states that the GBU-57 known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, “is designed to penetrate up to 200ft underground before exploding” by cutting through layers of concrete and rock.
This separates it from bombs or missiles that explode when they hit or after.
Masao Dahlgren, who works on missile defense at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, explained that these weapons need thick steel or hardened steel casings to break through deep layers of rock and other barriers.
The GBU-57, which is 6.6 meters long, includes a special fuse. Dahlgren explained that it requires an explosive able to withstand intense shock and pressure without going off right away.
Work on designing this bomb started in the early 2000s. Boeing received an order for 20 units in 2009.
How is it used?
the American B-2 Bomber, a stealth aircraft, can carry and deploy the GBU-57.
Several of these bombers arrived in early May at Diego Garcia, a military base shared by the US and UK in the Indian Ocean. However, by mid-June, satellite images analyzed by AFP using data from Planet Labs showed they were no longer present.
B-2 bombers operate with long-range abilities. Dahlgren explained that they can launch from the United States and make it all the way to the Middle East for bombing missions, which has been done in the past.
Each B-2 has the capacity to carry two GBU-57 bombs. Schwartz noted that multiple bombs will be necessary adding, “It’s not going to be a one-and-done situation.”
Schwartz said Israel’s control of the skies over Iran lowers the dangers the B-2 bombers might face.
What could happen?
Taleblu explained that such U.S. involvement would bring “a lot of political baggage for America.” He pointed out that using the bunker-buster bomb is not the only way to handle Iran’s nuclear plans.
If GBU-57 bombs are not used and diplomacy fails, Taleblu suggested that Israelis might target access points to underground sites like Fordo by “trying to hit entrances, cause collapses where possible, cut off electricity” and take steps similar to those used before at Natanz.
