 "Here's how 'bunker buster' bombs work that Trump used to hit Iran's nuclear sites")
President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that the United States had bombed Iran's three nuclear sites at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan.
Of these three sites, the Fordow site is the most significant as it is built inside a mountain and is buried deep inside the earth. It is where Iran enriched uranium to near-weapons grade level. No Israeli weapons could reach the underground site.
**_Follow our live coverage of the Israeli-Iran conflict_**Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that six GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs were dropped on Fordow.
As Firstpost previously reported , only B-2 stealth bombers can launch GBU-57A/B bombs, which belong to the ‘bunker buster’ class of ordnances.
The destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities was the principal objective of ‘Operation Rising Lion’ that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel launched last Friday. Even as Israel devastated Israeli military infrastructure and assassinated military brass , the damage to underground nuclear sites was minimal. Netanyahu needed the United States for to bomb sites like Fordow from the very beginning — the most important part of the campaign.
ALSO READ: As Netanyahu dares Khamenei, here's timeline of Israel-Iran conflict
As Trump has fulfilled Netanyahu’s desire, here we tell you how that happened with B-2 aircraft and ‘bunker buster’ munitions.
These are bunker buster bombs that Trump used
Trump told Fox’s Hannity that the US military hit the Fordow nuclear site with six GBU-57A/B MOP bombs and Natanz and Isfahan from 30 submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles.
Trump said that all three nuclear facilities were completely destroyed.
The GBU-57A/B MOP can only be launched from a B-2 stealth bomber.
The GBU-57A/B MOP is a precision-guided bomb that weighs around 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) and is around 6 metres in length. It is the largest conventional bomb with the United States. It can penetrate up to 60 metres underground.
The GBU-57A/B MOP was specifically made to destroy targets that are deep underground and are heavily fortified, such as underground nuclear sites, command centers, and weapons storage facilities.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHow B-2 & bunker busters would’ve struck Fordow
American GBU-57A/B MOP bombs can penetrate up to 60 metres of concrete and multiple bombs would be needed to breach through concretes and earth to hit the Fordow site, according to Daphne Richemond Barak, an Israeli specialist in underground warfare.
While most sources, including International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi, say that the Fordow site is half a mile underground, Barak previously told Firstpost's Madhur Sharma that the facility reaches the depth of 60-100 metres, which would still be beyond the scope of Israeli munitions.
Barak explained how GBU-57A/B MOP from work, “These bombs have hardened metal tips and are heavy by themselves even without explosives. With their weight and speed that they are launched from, these bombs penetrate their target whether it’s soil or concrete. They do not explode immediately on impact.
“Instead, they explode after they have penetrated the target. The delayed explosion after penetration means the damage is concentrated inside the target structure and not on top of it. This also increases the radius of the area these bombs damage.”
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