Israel‘s attack on Iran aimed at destroying its nuclear program has raised speculation about whether the U.S. would use one of America’s most powerful weapons to make that happen.
The Israeli government alleges Iran is close to making a nuclear weapon and the enriched uranium needed to do so is believed to be produced and kept inside its Fordo facility, deep inside a mountain in northwestern Iran.
One of the few weapons capable of damaging that facility and the centrifuges believed inside is the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb — known as the bunker buster.
It’s 20-feet long, weighs 30,000 pounds and is capable of penetrating 200 feet deep inside a target and then exploding.
ABC News contributor and retired Col. Steve Ganyard said the bomb, which has never been used in combat, was designed specifically to be used against targets in Iran and elsewhere where facilities have been built underground and protected by thick concrete.
“You make sure you save them for places like Iran and North Korea because you don’t need something that goes that deep” in normal circumstances, he said.
Ganyard noted that the bomb contains only 5,000 pounds of explosives designed to detonate once it reaches its subterranean target.
“It wouldn’t be a massive blast. “It would penetrate the ground and shoot up some debris but it won’t be a massive cloud,” he said.
No other military, including Israel, has access to the GBU-57 or the platform that can deliver the huge payload, the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, which can carry two of the giant bombs.
The Air Force bombers are currently stationed in Whiteman Air Force Base Missouri and would take 15 hours to get to Iran if deployed, according to military experts.
Gaynard noted that the stealth capabilities of the B-2 would not be a factor in a hypothetical bunker buster mission in Iran as Israel’s military has destroyed a major part of Iran’s air defense systems.
Iranian officials have dismissed Israel’s claims that it was working on a nuclear weapon.
Trump has issued warnings to Iran’s leaders about its alleged plans to build a nuclear weapon and he has backed the Israeli government’s ongoing attacks against Iranian targets.
He has remained noncommittal about possible U.S. involvement.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi issued a statement last week warning about the dangers of attacks on nuclear facilities, including the risk of nuclear contaminiation.
“Such attacks have serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security,” he said in a statement.
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