Iran-Israel Conflict: What Are Bunker Buster Bombs US Used To Attack Iran?

US Used Six B-2 Bombers to Drop 12 "Bunker Busters" on Fordow. Cluster bombs are considered a part of cluster munitions, which scatter smaller bombs across large areas to cause greater casualties during conflicts.

GBU-57
In this photo released by the U.S. Air Force on May 2, 2023, airmen look at a GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri.(U.S. Air Force via AP, File) Photo: AP
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The United States on Sunday attacked three nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.

According to US officials quoted by CNN, The US used six B-2 bombers to drop a dozen bunker buster bombs on the Fordow nuclear site in Iran, a US official told CNN.

Navy submarines fired 30 TLAM cruise missiles at two other sites, Natanz and Isfahan, and a B2 dropped two bunker busters on Natanz, the official said.

"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," he wrote on Truth Social.

Bunker Buster Bombs: What Are They?

The US’ 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bomb is said to be the only weapon capable of destroying the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, that was attacked in the US strike.

The facility thought to be key to Tehran’s nuclear program, which is carved into a mountain and extends deep underground. IT has six over ground and three underground buildings.

According to a fact sheet from US Air Force, which was cited by the CNN, GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), that was used is designed for “reaching and destroying adversaries’ weapons of mass destruction located in well-protected facilities.

The weapon is a 30,000-pound bomb with 6,000 pounds of “high explosives

The GBU-57 is designed to strike locations that require significant penetration, such as hardened and deeply-buried bunkers, tunnels and facilities.

The bomb can penetrate up to 60 meters (200 feet) into the ground

The only aircraft able to deploy the MOP is the American B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, which can carry two bombs.

The bomb has a thick, hard shell, in order for the explosives to withstand the impact of the ground and penetrate to the depths it’s intended to reach.

“There’s the shell and there’s the explosive in the fuse – the explosive needs to be robust enough to not detonate without being fused, the shell needs to be strong enough to go down that far and to hit that hard and to impart enough energy to even go down that far. And then the fuse needs to be hard enough to survive all that, and smart enough to know when to blow up,” CNN quoted an expert saying .

Cluster Bombs: What Are They?

Iran has been using Cluster bombs to attack Israel .Cluster bombs are considered a part of cluster munitions, which scatter smaller bombs across large areas to cause greater casualties during conflicts.

They are known to consist of a hollow shell, which, upon being dropped from the air or fired from the ground, breaks open in mid-air and releases smaller bombs, also known as submunitions.

These cluster bombs are not precise in their target, and their trajectories can be affected by weather and other environmental factors. They may therefore hit areas outside the military objective targeted.

What poses a deadly risk to the civilians is the fact that some of these smaller bombs may not explode immediately upon landing and can kill civilians and unintended targets long after a conflict has ended.

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