What Are Bunker Busters? 15-Ton GBU-57A/B Bomb that Cost $500 Is the Only Weapon that Could Destroy Fordow Nuclear Facility
A 15-ton "bunker buster" bomb was likely needed to destroy Iran's final remaining nuclear facility — a weapon only the United States possesses. The extremely powerful weapon is the largest conventional (non-nuclear) bomb in the U.S. military's arsenal.
The bomb was necessary because the target — the Fordow uranium enrichment plant — is buried roughly 300 feet deep within a mountain near the city of Qom, about two hours south of Tehran. The bomb, known as the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator, was developed by Boeing specifically for use by the U.S. Air Force. The United States dropped six such "bunker bombs" which Trump said, "completely and totally obliterated" the highly secretive nuclear facility.
Only in US Arsenal
Due to its massive weight, the bomb can only be deployed by a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber — an advanced aircraft that is not part of Israel's air force arsenal. "The United States controls the bomber and the bomb," John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point military academy, recently told The New York Post.
The missile cost the U.S. Army more than $500 million to develop and was specifically engineered to burrow deep into the Fordow facility to destroy its nuclear centrifuges, according to a 2013 report by The Wall Street Journal. At the time, the report noted that 20 of these bombs had been produced for the U.S. military.
Another variant of a "bunker buster" is the GBU-37, which weighs 5,000 pounds.
While the U.S. has provided Israel with less powerful bunker-busting munitions, it has refused to share the Massive Ordnance Penetrator with any allied nation.
"I've seen 500-pounders, and they'll shake your teeth when they go off. It's like an earthquake," said Spencer. "This will be much more than that."
Trump Bombers Do the Talking
Trump stunned the world just before 8 p.m. on Saturday by revealing on Truth Social that he had authorized a strike on Iran. "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space," Trump posted on Truth Social, marking the first-ever US strike on Iranian territory.
"A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter."
At 10 p.m. on Saturday, the president addressed the nation from the White House, saying that the mission that "our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror."
"Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success," Trump said, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier."
Trump went on to say that "for 40 years, Iran has been saying, 'Death to America, Death to Israel.' They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs — that was their specialty.
Trump said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "worked as a team, like perhaps no team has ever worked before," in their efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program.
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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
US strikes on Iran nuclear sites are real-life test of hard power's limits
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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Senior Russian official says Trump has started new war on Iran that will strengthen Khamenei
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Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Russia's Medvedev says Trump started new war for US after attack on Iran
FILE PHOTO: Russia's Security Council's Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev attends a meeting of the Council for Science and Education at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in the Moscow region's city of Dubna, Russia June 13, 2024. Sputnik/Alexei Maishev/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Russia's Medvedev says Trump started new war for US after attack on Iran MOSCOW - Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said on Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump had started a new war for the U.S. by attacking Iran. U.S. forces struck Iran's three main nuclear sites, Trump said late on Saturday, and he warned Tehran it would face more devastating attacks if it does not agree to peace. "Trump, who came in as a peacemaker president, has started a new war for the U.S.," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel, adding that "with this kind of success, Trump won't win the Nobel Peace Prize". The leader of Russia's Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) Leonid Slutsky said the strikes "had no military reason for the U.S. and cannot be justified under international law". "The consequences of the escalation threaten to go beyond the region. Washington understands the inevitability of Tehran's response. All this brings the spiral of confrontation to a new level and increases the risks of World War III," Slutsky, who heads the State Duma international affairs committee, wrote on Telegram. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
