Israel would need access to the U.S.’s most formidable non-nuclear weapon—a 15-ton “bunker buster” bomb—in order to destroy Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, the last major nuclear site believed to be untouched.
The Fordow facility, buried nearly 300 feet beneath a mountain near the city of Qom, poses a challenge that requires more than conventional weaponry. Its hardened location means that only the U.S.-made GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the largest conventional bomb in America’s arsenal, would be capable of reaching it.
Manufactured by Boeing for the U.S. Air Force, the GBU-57A/B is so massive that it can only be deployed using a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber—an aircraft not in Israel’s inventory.
“The United States controls the bomber and the bomb,” John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point military academy, told The Post. “It would be an American plane and an American munition.”
Developing the Massive Ordnance Penetrator cost the U.S. military more than $500 million. A 2013 Wall Street Journal report noted that it was engineered to breach the kind of fortifications found at Fordow, with 20 such bombs reportedly built at the time for the Pentagon.
Should the U.S. choose to provide the weapon to Israel, the bomb’s capabilities would likely allow it to crush the Fordow facility, which is shielded by layers of steel and granite.
“By weight and kinetic force, the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator is designed to penetrate a certain amount of distance into the ground before it blows,” said Spencer.
“That’s why these bunker busters are called Penetrators. They penetrate the ground before they explode. The explosion is strategically delayed.”
Although Israel has received smaller bunker buster munitions from the U.S. in the past, Washington has never transferred the Massive Ordnance Penetrator to any other nation, reportedly to maintain strategic superiority.
Describing the potential impact, Spencer noted, “I’ve seen 500 pounders, and they’ll shake your teeth when they go off. It’s like an earthquake. This will be much more than that.”
Still, Spencer emphasized that a strike from this weapon would likely avoid triggering a nuclear event. “This [explosion] is pretty contained,” he said. Since the detonation occurs deep underground, surrounded by dense materials, it’s unlikely to set off a nuclear chain reaction. Rather than an outward blast, the surrounding area would collapse inward. “The risk is for leakage, not an explosion.”
American intelligence agencies have consistently identified Fordow as a crucial component of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
“If you don’t get Fordow, you haven’t eliminated their ability to produce weapons-grade material,” Brett McGurk, who served as Middle East coordinator for several American presidents of both parties, recently told the New York Times.
While deploying the GBU-57A/B is arguably the cleanest solution, there are improvised alternatives.
Spencer explained that Israel might try a multi-step approach if it cannot obtain the bomb. “Israel has cornered the market on what they call drilling,” said Spencer. “They drop one bomb that reaches a certain depth, then another and another, at different angles, within seconds, to get to where they want to go. But you put multiple people and multiple aircraft at risk. The GBU is one and done.”
Reflecting on the best path forward, Spencer said, “There are many ways to destroy the nuclear program in Iran. But this is the effective and efficient one. It gets to the objective quicker and is the perfect solution.”
{Matzav.com}
