Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the United States to help finish what he’s started: an all-out campaign to cripple Iran’s nuclear program. What he’s really asking for is access to America’s deepest-penetrating weapon — the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP.
Netanyahu doesn’t necessarily need U.S. pilots or bombers. But he does need our bunker-busters.
With enough GBU-57s and a little creativity, Israel could take out Iran’s deepest nuclear infrastructure without dragging America into another open conflict.
The target list is no mystery: Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant near Qom. The Natanz complex. And an even deeper site tunneled beneath Mount Kolang Gaz La. These are not standard bomb runs. They require a weapon that can punch through hundreds of feet of reinforced concrete, steel, and rock.
The Israeli Air Force lacks that kind of firepower — or so it seems.
Israel claims it doesn’t have an aircraft capable of carrying the 15-ton GBU-57 into a strike zone over Iran. But that’s not quite true. Israeli forces already hold air superiority over parts of Iranian territory, including Tehran. With Iran’s air defenses heavily degraded, the IAF doesn’t necessarily need to deploy a fighter jet to carry the payload. It needs a flying dump truck.
That opens the door to unconventional delivery options.
From cargo planes to commercial jets
The U.S. used C-130s to drop 15,000-pound “Daisy Cutter” bombs in Vietnam and Iraq. The Israeli Air Force could do the same. A C-130 can carry a GBU-57 and yeet it out the rear ramp via parachute.
But if altitude and airspeed prove insufficient for terminal velocity — the speed the bomb needs to maximize its penetration — Israel has another option: retrofitting a civilian airliner.
Specifically, the Israeli national carrier El Al operates six Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. With a coat of paint, Israeli military insignia, and some hardware borrowed from the U.S. Air Force’s B-52H — external pylons and multiple ejector racks — those jets could carry two MOPs apiece.
This isn’t theoretical. It’s just engineering.
Accuracy by adaptation
To ensure pinpoint accuracy, Israel would need to integrate the bomb’s GPS/INS (inertial navigation system) with the aircraft’s onboard navigation. The bomb must “know” where it is and where it’s going. Once released, it would guide itself to the coordinates with extreme precision.
The MOP’s advanced fuse would count the layers — soil, rock, empty space, concrete — and detonate in the core target zone. A second bomb dropped on the same location would guarantee complete destruction.
The bottom line
Israel doesn’t need U.S. wings in the air to finish the job in Iran. It just needs the hardware.
With enough GBU-57s and a little creativity, Israel could take out Iran’s deepest nuclear infrastructure without dragging America into another open conflict.
The only question: Will Trump’s rightful aversion to engaging in endless wars prevent him from supplying Netanyahu with the one tool he needs to finish the job quickly?
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