Bunker-buster bombs unleashed on Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility

By David Rising, Associated Press

Bangkok (AP) – Inserted in the War of Israel against Iran, Washington has unleashed its huge “Bunker -Buster” bombs on the Fordo Fordo enrichment factory in Iran.

These bombs were largely considered to be the best chances of damaging or destroying Fordo, built deep in a mountain and intact during the offensive of a week of Israel. An American official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation before an official briefing, confirmed his use in Sunday attack.

The United States is the only soldiers capable of dropping arms, and the B2 stealth bomber movement to Asia on Saturday had reported a possible activity by American Israeli leaders had not hidden their hope that President Donald Trump would join their war of a week against Iran, although they also suggested that they had safeguarding plans to destroy the site.

He remained clear early on Sunday how much damage had been inflicted on Fordo. The mission could have vast ramifications, especially in danger of any chance that Iran will give itself to Trump desired talks on its nuclear program and drag the United States in another war in the Middle East.

Here is a more in -depth look.

What is the bunker-business bomb?

“Bunker Buster” is a wide term used to describe the bombs designed to penetrate deep under the surface before exploding. In this case, he refers to the last GBBU-57 A / B massive penetration bomb in the American Arsenal. The bomb of approximately 30,000 pounds guided by precision is designed to attack the deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels, according to the US Air Force.

It is supposed to be able to penetrate around 200 feet below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be abandoned one after the other, drilling effectively more and more deeply with each successive explosion. It was not immediately known how much were used in the Sunday morning strike.

The bomb has a conventional warhead, but the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran produces uranium highly enriched with the Fordo, which raises the possibility that nuclear materials can be released in the region if GBU-57 A / B was used to strike the installation. However, Israeli strikes on another Iranian nuclear site Natanz, on a centrifuge site, only caused contamination on the site itself, and not in the surroundings, said IEA. American war planes also struck Natanz.

How difficult is a target?

Fordo is the second nuclear enrichment installation of Iran after Natanz, its main installation, which has already been targeted by Israeli air strikes. The IAEA says that she thinks that these strikes have had “direct impacts” on the underground centrifuge rooms of the establishment.

Fordo is smaller than Natanz and is built on the side of a mountain near the city of Qom, about 60 miles southwest of Tehran. The construction would have started around 2006 and became the first operational in 2009 – the same year, Tehran publicly recognized its existence.

In addition to being around 260 feet under the rock and the ground, the site would be protected by Iranian and Russian air surface missile systems. These aerial defenses, however, have probably already been struck in the Israeli countryside, which claims to have eliminated most of Iran’s aerial defenses.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the objective of attacking Iran was to eliminate his missile and nuclear program, which he described as an existential threat to Israel, and officials said Fordo was part of this plan.

“All this operation … must really be completed with the elimination of Fordo,” Fox News Yechiel Leiter, Ambassador of Israel, told Fox News.

Why should the United States be involved?

In theory, the GBU-57 A / B could be abandoned by any bomber capable of bringing the weight, but for the moment, the United States has configured and programmed its B-2 stealth bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the Air Force.

The B-2 is not controlled by the Air Force and is produced by Northrop Grumman.

According to the manufacturer, the B-2 can carry a payload of 40,000 pounds, but the US Air Force said it had successfully tested the B-2 charged with two Bunker A / B GBU-57-a total weight of around 60,000 pounds.

The long -range strategic bombardier has a range of around 7,000 miles without making refueling and 11,500 miles with supply, and can reach any point in the world in a few hours, according to Northrop Grumman.