What is bunker buster bomb?

ISLAMABAD: The B-2 stealth bomber of the United States is presently the sole aircraft capable of deploying the GBU-57 bunker buster bombs, which are thought to be the only means of taking out the Fordow fuel enrichment facility in Tehran.

The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is a site considered vital to Iran’s nuclear efforts, located deep within a mountain near Tehran. The United States is the only country to possess these bunker buster bombs, which it delivers using B-2 bombers.

The term “bunker buster” generally refers to bombs made for obliterating targets situated far below the surface that standard bombs cannot reach. The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator has a mass of approximately 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) and contains a 2,700 kg (6,000-pound) warhead. This precision-guided weapon is constructed from durable steel and is designed to penetrate as deep as 200 feet (61 meters) underground before detonating. In contrast, the Israeli military operates GBU-28 laser-guided bombs, which can only penetrate around 20 feet of concrete.

The production cost for a GBU-57 bunker buster bomb worth roughly $3.5 million (around 970 million Pakistani rupees). Reports indicate that the total expenses related to the research and development of the GBU-57 program range between $400 million and $500 million. The B-2 Spirit, an American stealth bomber, can carry a pair of bunker buster bombs simultaneously. According to the US Air Force, it is possible to drop multiple bombs one after the other, either from the same aircraft or different ones, enabling each strike to penetrate further and enhance the overall effectiveness.

Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, positioned roughly 95 km (60 miles) southwest of Tehran, is embedded into a mountain’s side, reportedly up to 80-90 meters (260-300 feet) below ground, making it resilient against aerial attacks and bunker buster strikes. It is believed that construction of the Fordow facility started around 2006, and it became operational in 2009, which is also the year Iran publicly acknowledged its existence.

The Fordow site is said to be protected by surface-to-air missile systems from Iran and Russia, though it has been suggested that those defenses may already have been targeted during ongoing Israeli airstrikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has portrayed the campaign as an effort to dismantle Iran’s missile and nuclear capacities, viewing them as a significant threat to existence. Officials have acknowledged that Fordow is a primary target.