Latest news with #F-111
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
One bomb, two ceasefires: From Iraq to Iran, how the US's 30,000-pound bunker buster GBU-28 ended two wars, 30 years apart
The US has once again turned to its bunker-busting arsenal, this time targeting Iran's nuclear sites with GBU-57 bombs dropped from stealth B-2 bombers. The attack echoes a similar moment in 1991, when a hastily-built GBU-28 penetrated Saddam Hussein's final stronghold in Iraq. From Gulf War innovation to modern-day military doctrine, these earth-penetrating bombs have come to symbolise America's message: even the deepest shelters aren't safe. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The return of the Bunker Buster Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads GBU-28s: One Bomb, One Message Meet the GBU-57: The bigger bomb Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Why now? why Iran? A dangerous precedent In one of the most direct strikes on Iran's nuclear programme to date, the United States deployed six GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs on 22 June. These massive bombs were dropped by B-2 Spirit stealth bombers from over 13,000 km away. The primary target was Fordow, a hardened underground site believed to hold Iran's most advanced uranium enrichment operations."Obliteration is an accurate term!" US President Donald Trump declared after the strike. He later added, "A regime change will Make Iran Great Again," but US officials insisted that ' Operation Midnight Hammer ' was not designed to overthrow US also launched 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles at sites in Natanz and Isfahan. Satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed long lines of vehicles outside Fordow two days before the attack, suggesting Tehran had moved much of its 60% highly enriched uranium in advance. A senior Iranian source confirmed to Reuters that this stockpile was relocated to an undisclosed wasn't the first time America used bunker-busting bombs to alter the course of a conflict. During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the US rushed to develop a weapon that could punch through 50 feet of reinforced concrete. The GBU-28 was built in just three Hussein's forces had burrowed into deep concrete bunkers, impervious to existing US bombs like the BLU-109. Ground troops couldn't reach them. Something had to when engineers from Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force turned artillery barrels into bomb casings. They used eight-inch M117 Howitzer barrels, reinforced them, added fins for flight stability, and fitted them with FMU-143 fuses for delayed detonation after was frantic. On 24 February 1991, an F-111 dropped a GBU-28 in Nevada. It hit supersonic speeds and buried itself over 100 feet underground. Three days later, two GBU-28s were airlifted to Saudi Arabia and fitted on F-111 jets codenamed 'Cardinal 7-1' and 'Cardinal 7-2'."We got confirmation with smoke rising from the vents," a pilot radioed after the second bomb struck the bunker at Al Taji two GBU-28s were used during the Gulf War. One missed. The other hit. A day later, Iraqi troops surrendered. Many believed the bomb signalled that no shelter was deep enough. That same fear has now returned in then, the GBU-28 has seen action in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq again in 2003. Israel acquired 100 of them in 2005, with deliveries completed by 2009. A 2009 US diplomatic cable suggested Israel saw them as essential for reaching Iran's suspected nuclear GBU-57 is the largest conventional bomb in the US military. It weighs 30,000 pounds and can penetrate 200 feet of soil or 60 feet of reinforced concrete. It's guided by GPS and Inertial Navigation Systems and fitted with a Large Penetrator Smart Fuze to determine the right moment to the B-2 Spirit can carry it. Each bomber hauls two bombs, and seven of the US's 19 operational B-2s participated in the Iran the GBU-28, the GBU-57 uses grid fins for mid-air corrections. The weapon evolved from the GBU-37 and GBU-28 lineage and incorporates the BLU-127 bomb body. By 2015, only about 20 had been Trump administration believes Iran was just weeks away from building a nuclear weapon. US intelligence assessments reportedly disagreed. But Israel does not possess weapons powerful enough to breach facilities like Fordow or estimates say Fordow lies beneath 80 metres of soil and reinforced concrete. Only the GBU-57 could get to Reuters, the strikes may have destroyed significant portions of Iran's nuclear infrastructure. But Iranian missile attacks on Israel have continued, and Tehran has not directly responded to the analysts now worry the attack may drive Iran to double down on its nuclear ambitions. History offers sobering lessons. Ukraine surrendered its nuclear weapons in the 1990s. It later faced Russian invasions. Libya gave up its programme; Gaddafi fell. Meanwhile, North Korea tested a bomb in 2006 and has avoided foreign intervention may now decide that the only way to survive such strikes in the future is to develop its own nuclear in 1991, a single bomb marked the end of a war. In 2024, multiple bombs may just be the beginning of another as the smoke clears over Fordow, questions remain. What else is hidden underground? And will deeper shelters or newer bombs come next?The ghost of GBU-28 now casts a long shadow — over Tehran, and the world beyond.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China's J-36 Very Heavy Stealth Tactical Jet Photographed Head-On For First Time
New imagery of China's 'J-36' very heavy tactical 6th generation jet has just emerged out of China. The photos shows a long-awaited perspective of the aircraft — taken from the front — that confirms our analysis that the aircraft features a very large and broad bubble canopy to go atop its equally broad nose section. Under that canopy would be two crew sitting side-by-side, similar to the F-111 and Su-34's arrangement, among others. The image also offers a view of the dorsal inlet on the three-engined aircraft, along with its diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) 'hump,' which appears very large here. Overall, the photos serve as a reminder of just how big this aircraft is. Like many tailless designs, especially stealthy ones, they can look far smaller from the side than from the front, top or bottom. While we have become accustomed to the J-36's modified delta planform, the head-on perspective really underlines the proportions and mass of Chengdu's next-generation tactical jet design. In the imagery, we can also just make out the J-36's lower trapezoidal air inlets, similar to those found on the F-22, as well as one of the jet's unique large aperture electro-optical windows on the side of the nose. That fixture is seen glaring gold in the low-angle light. As is often the case, we must note that the imagery appears authentic, but we cannot be certain of that. Still, it was only a matter of time until we got a head-on angle of the J-36 and this screenshot of a DSLR camera screen (you can see the smart phone's lenses in the reflection) goes along with the progression of 'leaks' out of China we have come accustomed to over many years when it comes to new military aircraft designs. Very interesting but strange frontal view of the CAC J-36, which due to the 'merging' of the top air intake, DSI bump and the wide cockpit makes it look even wider … — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) May 31, 2025 Çin'in Kuyruksuz Savaş Uçağı J-36'nın son test uçuşuna ait görüntüler ortaya çıktı — Times of Defence (@timesofdefencee) May 31, 2025 This new imagery also comes just days after we got the clearest look at Shenyang's smaller, but still heavy-weight 6th generation fighter aircraft, referred to unofficially by a number of designations, including J-XDS and J-50. Not only do we get a more detailed underside view, but we also get a full side-on shot, which shows just how blended the canopy of the aircraft is with its upper fuselage, as well as a better look at the profile of its huge nose. The bottom view gives us a better look at the weapons bay arrangement, as well as its F-22-like nozzle configuration. We can also confirm an EO/IR blister (without its glass) under the nose. The aircraft looks to feature a single pilot/crew. The small side doors where a side weapons bay would likely go remain a bit of a mystery. The aircraft's unique swiveling wingtip control surfaces are also very clear here. Once again, the profile of the nose is striking, and it clearly can accommodate a very large and powerful AESA radar. You can read our very in-depth analysis on these two aircraft, including the knowns and the unknowns surrounding them, which still proves entirely accurate, at this link. Both aircraft were 'unofficially unveiled' via a series of videos and images spilling out of the country of presumably their first test flights back on December 26th, 2024. As we have stated since they first appeared, by summer we will likely have a look at all angles of both aircraft, and in increasing definition, based on how the flow of images of new high-profile military aircraft have historically appeared out of China. So stay tuned for more. Contact the author: Tyler@
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Spain's government approves a bill that reduces the workweek from 40 to 37.5 hours
MADRID (AP) — Workers in Spain may soon have 2.5 more hours of weekly rest. The Spanish government approved a bill Tuesday reducing the workweek from 40 to 37.5 hours. Twelve and a half million full-time and part-time private sector workers will benefit from the reduction, expected to improve productivity and reduce absenteeism, according to the Ministry of Labor. FILE - A worker welds a section of the F-111 class frigate's fuselage at a workshop in the Navantia shipyard in Ferrol, northwest Spain, on April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File) 'Today we are modernizing the world of labor and helping people to be a little happier,' said Vice President and Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz. The measure, which already applies to civil servants and some sectors, will mainly affect the retail, manufacturing, hospitality, and construction industries, Díaz added. The parliament, where the left-wing coalition government doesn't have enough votes, will have to approve the bill for it to come into effect. The main trade unions support the proposal, unlike the business association. Sumar, the leftist minority partner of President Pedro Sánchez's Socialist Party, proposed the bill. The Catalan nationalist party Junts, an occasional ally of Sánchez's coalition, expressed concern over what they said were the bill's negative consequences for small companies and the self-employed. Spain has had a 40-hour workweek since 1983, when it was reduced from 48 hours.
