Israel Iran war: Bad news for Iran as Israel seeks 'bunker buster' from US, it is capable of..., it is as dangerous as..
Israel Iran war: Bad news for Iran as Israel seeks 'bunker buster' from US, it is capable of..., it is as dangerous as..
Israel-Iran war: The conflict between Israel and Iran intensified with Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promising to give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. In a post on X, said, 'In the name of God, the battle begins.' Khamenei's big warning came after Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday said that hypersonic missiles were used during the latest attack on Israel.
According to reports, Israeli warplanes also targeted the Iranian capital before dawn on Wednesday after the military issued a warning on social media for civilians in an area known as District 18 to evacuate.
US President Donald Trump has, meanwhile, demanded the Islamic Republic's 'unconditional surrender'. He insisted Washington has played no part in Israel's bombing campaign, but also warned Iran that his patience is wearing thin.
Amid the intensifying conflict, there have been reports that Tel Aviv is seeking to deploy the US-made GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) to destroy deeply buried Iranian nuclear facilities. The MOP is not just any bomb, it's one of the most powerful bunker-busting conventional weapons in existence.
What is GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)?
This 30,000-pound (13,600 kg) precision-guided bomb developed by Boeing for the US Air Force is GBU-57A/B also known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).
This 20-feet-long massive bomb is designed to be carried by strategic bombers like the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, due to its size and weight. It can carry about 5,300 lbs of high explosive and has the ability to burrow through 60 metre (200 feet) of reinforced concrete before detonation.
Why is MOP so dangerous?
The MOP is optimised to defeat targets buried deep underground, including hardened command bunkers, deep-enrichment uranium sites, tunnel networks, and fortified missile silos. Despite being a conventional weapon, the MOP delivers a massive kinetic and explosive punch, making it capable of destroying facilities that would otherwise require nuclear warheads.
Does Israel have the right aircraft?
The GBU-57 'bunker buster' bomb is so massive that only the US Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bomber can carry it. Israel does not have B-2s, and its current jets like the F-15I, F-35I, and F-16 aren't capable of deploying such a heavy bomb. A closely held US asset, it is very unlike that Israel to be given both the bomb and access to B-2 bombers.
It now remains to be seen that if US will use the bunker buster bomb against Iran? the most realistic path might be joint planning, where Israel requests US deployment of MOPs under a shared operational framework during wartime.
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