Latest news with #GBU-57
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- Science
- South China Morning Post
China's stealth design software breakthrough, mega dam project boost: 7 science highlights
We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing Chinese aerospace engineers have a revolutionary software design that they say will allow them to overcome a major barrier to stealth aircraft development. Team based in China also finds that the use of specific drugs in combination with chemotherapy could be used to inhibit this process in mice, with a clinical trial already under way in breast cancer patients. Photo: AP A team of Chinese scientists has found that the spread of cancer from original tumour sites to distant organs can be caused by chemotherapy triggering the awakening of dormant cancer cells. The mega dam across the Yarlung Tsangpo River could produce triple the electricity generated by the Three Gorges dam further south. Photo: AFP Beijing has launched the massive Yarlung Tsangpo hydropower project in southern Tibet after decades of scientific research. Chinese researchers have manufactured the world's largest barium gallium selenide (BGSe) crystal, a breakthrough that could pave the way for ultra-high-power laser weapons capable of zapping satellites from the ground. US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites with GBU-57 bunker busters in June met with reportedly little resistance. Photo: AP Precision-guided bunker busters fly slowly but carry massive warheads wrapped in thick armour. Small nations without air power watch helplessly as bombs fall. When US B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran's nuclear sites with GBU-57 MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) bunker busters on June 22, there was reportedly little resistance. Advertisement Chinese researchers have offered a countermeasure: strike the weak flank. As the world's brightest young mathematical minds gathered last week at Australia's Sunshine Coast for the biggest global maths competition of the year, one moment stood out before the contest had even begun. China's CR450AF EMU (left) and CR400AF-S EMU trains are displayed at the 12th UIC High-Speed Railway Congress at the National Railway Test Centre in Beijing on July 9. Photo: EPA China has pulled the wraps off its next-generation high-speed rail technology as the United States revokes federal funding for California's high-speed rail project.
India.com
4 days ago
- India.com
Big threat for Pakistan, China as India is developing most advanced bunker buster missile, even US GBU-57, China's DF-15C are fail; name is..
In light of the ongoing conflicts occurring around the world, India is beefing up its defence structure in order to be prepared for developing security challenges and to be strategically prepared on all fronts. At present, India is in the process of developing a massively destructive Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which is being called a next-generation bunker buster. This missile is characterized as extremely lethal due to its remarkable capabilities. This missile can penetrate 80 to 100 meters underground before detonating. This next-generation bunker buster will surely be incredibly lethal. What makes Agni-5 the most dangerous Bunker Buster ever built? This missile is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Named the Agni-5 Bunker Buster, this missile can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads with an approximate payload of about 7,500 to 8,000 kilograms. Just the payload capacity gives an indication of the size of destruction it's capable of. How does Agni-5 outperform the US GBU-57, Russia's KAB-1500, and China's DF-15C? The key feature of the Agni-5 missile is its hypersonic speed, which ranges between Mach 8 to Mach 20, and strike range of approximately 2,500 kilometers. With that depth of capability, Agni-5 is superior to some of the most sophisticated bunker buster weapons available, including America's GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) and KAB-1500L-Pr from Russia. Several reports have stated Agni-5 is the most lethal deep-penetration weapon in the world, nearly impossible for adversaries to defend against. An exemplary feature of the Agni-5 Bunker Buster is that the new variant sacrifices range for payload, carrying a 7,500–8,000 kg warhead designed to penetrate 80–100 meters of reinforced concrete or rock before detonating, reported the Indian Defence Research Wing(IDRW). If media reports are to be believed, India is developing several different variants of Agni-5 missiles. Some of these variants began the development process earlier this year. According to the reports, one of these variants is likely to have a strike range of more than 5,000 km. In the new versions of the Agni-5, the payload has been maximized. While it may still hold a warhead ranging between 7,500 and 8,000 kg, the missile is built to penetrate as deep as 80 to 100 meters into solid rock before it detonates, allowing it to deep-strike. Another key feature of Agni-5 is its mobility—it can be launched from a mobile launcher (mobile trunk), which means it can be deployed from multiple terrains and locations. Agni-5's deep-penetration warhead variant can completely destroy heavily fortified underground sites, such as Pakistan's Kirana Hills nuclear storage facility, or China's missile silos on the Himalayan border. 'Its ability to burrow 80–100 meters underground before detonation positions it as a critical asset for pre-emptive strikes or counterforce operations, potentially neutralizing enemy nuclear assets without crossing the nuclear threshold. Additionally, a second variant with an airburst warhead is being developed for surface targets like airfields and radar stations, enhancing the missile's versatility,' reads the IDRW report. GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (United States) Weight: 13,600 kg (13.6 tonnes) Payload Capacity: Capable of carrying 2,400 kg of high explosives Penetration Capability: Can pierce up to 60 meters into rock before detonation Limitation: Failed to penetrate Iran's hard limestone terrain during tests Delivery Method: Requires deployment by a bomber aircraft (the U.S. has used B-2 stealth bombers for this purpose) Target Capability: Can penetrate 8–10 meters of steel-reinforced concrete roofs Designed For: Striking nuclear sites, deep underground bunkers, tunnel networks, and heavily fortified military headquarters The GBU-57/B is an American precision-guided bunker buster bomb, incorporating GPS guidance. The GBU-57/B is known for its high precision targeting, and its advanced fuzing system allows it to penetrate ground or hardened targets before detonation. Russia developed the KAB-1500L-PR for the destruction of enemy underground facilities. The 'PR' in the name KAB-1500L-PR stands for Penetrating/High-Penetration variant. It is classified as a laser-guided bomb, which means the accuracy of strikes can be enhanced at times. China has a strong bunker buster missile called the DF-15C, or Dong Feng-15C. The DF-15C is a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) and is a type of bunker buster specifically derived from the DF-15 missile family. For comparison, India's Agni-5 bunker buster variant which penetrates a reported 80-100 meters deep. 'The Agni-5's 80–100-meter penetration and 7,500 kg payload far exceed the DF-15C's capabilities, making it a superior option for targeting China's underground missile silos. Its longer range (2,500 km vs. 900 km) and hypersonic speed enhance its strategic utility,' IDRW reported. In a piece in Dawn, defence analyst Rabia Akhtar described India's Agni-5 as a significant risk to Pakistan, and appealed to the international community to intervene and discontinue its production. She labelled the missile as a unsettling shocking development, and stated that it is a serious threat to not only surface-based targets but also deep underground command and control centres and nuclear facilities. With its 7,500 kg payload, the missile would have the capacity to excavate from 80 to 100 meters underground. Rabia Akhtar, a Lahore University professor, called this missile as a dangerous shift in India's military strategy. She was concerned that the Agni-5 could overlap conventional and nuclear warfare; this increases the chances of instability and miscalculations in the region. In her words, if India uses a missile like that to target Pakistan's nuclear command centers or hidden bunkers, Pakistan may see it as a nuclear threat, and in that situation, even if it was a conventional missile attack, it could very possibly turn into a nuclear war from a conventional missile strike causing an incredibly perilous chain reaction.
Daily Mirror
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Iran issues chilling new warning of full-scale war with Israel
Israel and Iran could be hurtling towards the brink of another bloody war as both sides warn their peace settlement is uncertain and Tehran vows it will not give up its 'peaceful ' nuclear programme Iran has warned it is prepared for another 'deep strike' on Israel and is still committed to its atomic programme - despite the 12 day conflict that was supposed to have destroyed it. The country's President Masoud Pezeshkian even added that he believed the peace settlement between Israel and Iran may fall through and full-on war could spark up again. It came as it emerged Israel's hardliner defence minister Israel Katz also warned: 'There is a possibility of renewing the war against Iran. 'It is essential to formulate a plan that ensures Iran does not return to its nuclear and missile projects.' Pezeshkian said: 'We are fully prepared for any new Israeli military move, and our armed forces are ready to strike deep inside Israel again. We do not rely on the recent ceasefire, and we are not very optimistic about it. That is why we have prepared ourselves for any possible scenario and any potential response. 'Israel has harmed us, and we have also harmed it. 'It has dealt us powerful blows, and we have struck it hard in its depths, but it is concealing its losses. Israel sought to change Iran, dismantle it, and eliminate Iran, its regime, and its society by unleashing chaos and striking the regime, but it has completely failed to do so.' The exchange of warning follows last month's major US-Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear plants, the effectiveness of which has been brought into question by reports since. The Iranian President added: 'Trump says that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon and we accept this because we reject nuclear weapons and this is our political, religious, humanitarian and strategic position. 'We believe in diplomacy, so any future negotiations must be according to a win-win logic, and we will not accept threats and dictates.' He said the claim from Trump 'that our nuclear programme is over is just an illusion.' And he explained: 'Our nuclear capabilities are in the minds of our scientists and not in the facilities.' The so-called '12 day war' in which Israel pulverised Iran's defences, paving the way for the US to bunker-bomb Tehran's nuclear plants caused substantial damage in Israel. At least 1,062 people were killed in Iran, including dozens of military leaders and scientists, plus civilians and in Israel 28 civilians died, plus an off-duty soldier. The US Operation Midnight Hammer cost hundreds of millions of dollars and may not have been as effective as US President Trump claimed in its aftermath. A report out days ago on last month's conflict claims the US onslaught, using GBU-57 'bunker buster bombs' only destroyed one out of three of Tehran's nuclear sites. Trump immediately dismissed the report as 'fake news' as he was so keen to claim a major victory against Iran. It has also been claimed that Trump rejected more comprehensive plans for a much bigger and conclusive attack on Iran's nuclear plans which would have lasted weeks. There have been discussions between the American and Israeli governments about whether additional strikes are needed if Iran does not soon agree to restart nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration. Iran has long said its nuclear program is purely for peaceful, civilian purposes. But both countries the US and Israel have repeatedly vowed Iran can never have nuclear weapons and that its uranium enrichment progress had gone far beyond what is needed for civilian use. And Iran's leaderships has long sworn it was committed to destroying Israel, refusing to accept it as a state.
News18
21-07-2025
- Science
- News18
US Bunker Buster's "Weak Spot" Revealed? China Finds Attack Tactic to ‘Stop' Bomb That Hit Iran
China claims to have found a "weak spot" in the U.S. GBU-57 bunker-buster bomb used in strikes on Iran, revealing that its heavily armored nose contrasts with much thinner, vulnerable side armor. Chinese military researchers suggest that anti-aircraft guns like the Swiss Oerlikon GDF—used by Iran—could potentially intercept the bomb mid-flight if fired from less than 1.2 km away and at angles below 68°, giving a 42% chance of destruction. 00:00 INTRODUCTIONHOW CHINA SIMULATES 'INTERCEPTION' OF GBU-57US TO 'IMPROVE' BUNKER BUSTERS AFTER IRAN STRIKES? n18oc_crux
NZ Herald
18-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
New US assessment finds underground site at the focus of US strikes in Iran badly damaged
Iran most likely still has a stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity, which is just below the level that is usually used in nuclear weapons, US and Israeli officials say. But the officials believe it is buried under rubble, and Israeli officials believe that only the stockpile at Iran's nuclear laboratory at Isfahan is accessible despite the strikes on it. The crucial question of how long the American strikes have set back either the overall Iranian nuclear programme or Iran's ability to use its existing uranium to make a crude bomb continues to be debated within the US Government. The new US assessment was earlier reported by NBC News. The main target of the American bombing was Fordow, which was hit by a dozen GBU-57 bunker-busting bombs. The assessment concludes those explosions wiped out the thousands of delicate nuclear centrifuges buried under the mountain, a finding consistent with statements by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Multiple US officials said it would take at least two years of intensive work before the Fordow facility could be operational again. Other experts say that if Iran seeks to restart its programme, it is likely to do so at other underground sites. In addition to Fordow and Isfahan, the US Air Force dropped two bombs on Iran's older enrichment plant at Natanz, which had facilities above and below ground. A US Navy submarine fired cruise missiles at Isfahan, trying to destroy above-ground facilities there. While the underground facilities at Natanz and tunnels at Isfahan were far less damaged, US officials said that any effort by Iran to repair or gain access to them could be detected. Rebuilding the conversion facilities would also probably be spotted. With much of Iran's air defences destroyed, Israeli or US forces could attack again, stopping any reconstruction efforts, US officials said. An Israeli official repeated last week that the country was prepared to 'mow the lawn', suggesting sites could be reattacked. While US President Donald Trump has declared that all three sites were 'obliterated' and that Iran has given up its nuclear ambitions, US officials do not yet know whether the country is determined to restart the effort, nor whether it will try to move towards a bomb with whatever enriched uranium that remains. Trump and Israeli officials say their willingness to strike again may deter the Iranians from even trying. In the strikes at Fordow, the United States sent some of the bunker-busters down air ventilation shafts that took them closer to the buried control room and the centrifuge halls. That avoided having to blast through hundreds of yards of rock. Even if the bombs did not reach the centrifuge halls, US and Israeli officials say, the blast wave would have wiped out the centrifuges, including some of Iran's most advanced and efficient models. In contrast, Natanz was struck by only two of the Massive Ordnance Penetrators. Those strikes left much of the facility intact, though they probably destroyed the centrifuges and cut off Iran's ability to reach specific parts of the facility. Military planners in US Central Command had proposed multiple plans to the White House that would have utilised multiple waves of strikes against the sites that could have potentially done more damage. Current and former military officials had cautioned before the strike that any effort to destroy the Fordo facility, which is buried more than 75m under a mountain, would probably require waves of airstrikes, with days or even weeks of pounding the same spots. But Trump decided on a more limited single strike on the three sites and then pushed Israel to end its war against Iran. After the strikes, the Defence Intelligence Agency conducted an early assessment that said the Iranian nuclear programme had been set back by only a few months. But soon afterwards, John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, announced that 'a body of credible intelligence' indicated the nuclear programme had been severely damaged. 'Several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,' Ratcliffe wrote. Ratcliffe's comments reflected growing confidence by US officials that Fordow's nuclear facilities were badly damaged and that the facility at Natanz that was meant to convert uranium into a metal that could be used in weapon was also destroyed. Ratcliffe delivered a more detailed report to lawmakers, saying it would take years to rebuild the metal conversion facility. Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, said in a statement that it would take 'years to recover' Iran's nuclear facilities, and reiterated Trump's announcement that Iran's facilities were 'obliterated'. 'There is no doubt about that,' Parnell said. 'Operation Midnight Hammer was a significant blow to Iran's nuclear capabilities.' Some experts have criticised the US focus on just the three sites, arguing that Iran has others that it could use to restart the programme. 'We're too caught up in the stories about the big three sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — when really Iran's capabilities are much more sprawling and sophisticated, and include many sites that the US and Israel did not bomb,' said Rosemary Kelanic, an expert with Defence Priorities, a think-tank advocating a restrained foreign policy. 'Focusing too much on the big three sites misses the larger point that even if those three sites and their contents — centrifuges, stockpiles — were destroyed, Iran could likely still rebuild quickly.' Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who has studied commercial satellite imagery of Iran, said he believed that three underground sites in Iran were not struck, one near Natanz, one at the Parchin military complex and a third secret site. He was sceptical that the additional sites could be easily struck, despite the US officials' certainty. 'If it were easy, they would have done it right away,' Lewis said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Julian E. Barnes, David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
