{"id":180596,"date":"2025-06-21T19:48:38","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T17:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=180596"},"modified":"2025-06-21T20:30:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T18:30:49","slug":"iranians-in-great-fear-what-is-known-about-the-13-6-ton-american-bunker-buster-bomb-that-can-destroy-nuclear-facilities-in-seconds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/iranians-in-great-fear-what-is-known-about-the-13-6-ton-american-bunker-buster-bomb-that-can-destroy-nuclear-facilities-in-seconds\/","title":{"rendered":"IRANIANS IN GREAT FEAR: What is Known About the 13.6-Ton American “Bunker Buster” Bomb That Can Destroy Nuclear Facilities in Seconds!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the options the U.S. could use against Iran to destroy its nuclear facilities is a deadly 13.6-ton bomb designed to penetrate underground targets.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The possibility of using a powerful American “bunker buster” bomb<\/strong> against Iranian nuclear facilities continues to loom over that country’s conflict with Israel. U.S. President Trump<\/strong> is keeping the world in suspense regarding whether he will join Israeli bombardments of Iranian nuclear sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Maybe I’ll do it, maybe I won’t,” Trump<\/strong> told reporters when asked about potentially joining the attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House later announced that the U.S. President would make a decision on whether the U.S. will enter the war within the next two weeks<\/strong>, depending on whether Iran agrees to negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That decision also depends on whether the GBU-57 A\/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) or “bunker bomb”<\/strong> can penetrate one of Iran’s key nuclear facilities, which is deeply buried in a mountain<\/strong>, a U.S. official told Axios on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Garibabadi said on state television on Thursday that Iran “will have to use all its means to teach the attackers a lesson and defend its national security and national interests,”<\/strong> if the U.S. decides to intervene in the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the “Bunker Bomb”?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The GBU-57 MOP is a weapon system intended for attacks on “hard and deeply buried targets, such as bunkers and tunnels,”<\/strong> according to a 2024 U.S. Air Force report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archived information from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) states that it is a 13.6-ton bomb<\/strong>, approximately 6.2 meters long<\/strong> and with a diameter of 80 centimeters<\/strong>. DTRA adds that the weapon can carry more than 2.4 tons of explosives<\/strong> and provides “ten times” greater explosive power<\/strong> compared to its predecessor, the BLU-109 bomb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) first hired Boeing<\/strong> in 2004 to develop MOPs, with an initial contract worth $30 million. The weapon was developed in three phases, according to DTRA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first bombs were received for testing in 2011, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weapon was tested at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, a military base in the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where Would the U.S. Use the Bomb?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP) is located deep beneath a mountain near the city of Qom in Iran and is considered one of Iran’s key uranium enrichment facilities within their nuclear program<\/strong>, according to Heather Williams, director of the nuclear issues project at the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stated on June 16 that there is currently no damage at the Fordow site<\/strong>, unlike the facility in Natanz, where pilot fuel enrichment plants were destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent IAEA report estimates that 166.6 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent<\/strong> has been produced at Fordow out of a total of 408.6 kilograms of uranium of that enrichment percentage that Iran possesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uranium fuel needs to be enriched to approximately 90 percent to become a nuclear weapon, but experts have previously pointed out that Iran can make a nuclear weapon with as little as 60 percent enrichment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel does not have enough weapons to destroy Fordow on its own, but, as Williams stated, “multiple strikes”<\/strong> by American “bunker bombs” deployed on B-2 bombers could destroy the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If President Trump decides to use the GBU-57, it would represent “direct support for Israel and could lead to escalation and draw the U.S. into another war in the region,”<\/strong> Williams wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other options Israel can use to attack Fordow, Williams added, such as continuous strikes on the facility by GPU-28 or BLU-109 weapons<\/strong>, which can penetrate targets and potentially attack surface entrances or exits of the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: <\/strong>Euronews, Photo:<\/strong> AP\/U.S. Air Force via AP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the options the U.S. could use against Iran to destroy its nuclear facilities is a deadly 13.6-ton bomb designed to penetrate underground targets. The possibility of using a powerful American “bunker buster” bomb against Iranian nuclear facilities continues to loom over that country’s conflict with Israel. U.S. President Trump is keeping the world […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":100000186782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7217,75,145,135],"class_list":["post-180596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america","tag-bunker-buster","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-usa","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t