Could the US Finally Use Its 'Bunker Buster'?

Buried deep beneath an Iranian mountain lies a nuclear facility that only a handful of weapons on Earth—America's giant "bunker buster" bomb chief among them—could hope to reach. As President Trump flirts with the idea of getting involved in the Israel-Iran conflict, speculation is mounting over whether the US might put the GBU-57, or Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), to use in combat for the first time. The weapon weighs 30,000 pounds and is meant to punch through nearly 200 feet of rock before detonating. Both ABC News and the Wall Street Journal point out that if someone's going to hit the Fordo facility, this is the tool to do so.

Israel alleges that Iran is close to a nuclear weapon and keeps its enriched uranium inside Fordo. Israel has attacked Iran's other sites—Natanz, for example—but Fordo is still standing. No military except the US has the GBU-57 (the New York Times reports the US has blocked Israel from getting one) or the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber needed to carry it; those bombers are stationed in Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and could reach Iran in 15 hours. The Journal reports about 20 of these bombs exist, and a former US defense official says it would take about a half dozen of them to destroy Fordo.

A former researcher with Israel's Ministry of Defense tells the Journal that Israel could attempt to go it alone using work-arounds—smaller penetrator bombs in large numbers, a commando raid, or even a cyberattack. It could also target adjacent sites, like power plants that help run the facility. But a US strike using the MOP is seen as the surest bet. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)