NYP: Iran’s mountain-hardened Fordow nuclear site needs US mega-bomb Israel Can’t Reach It / photo

Israel cannot destroy Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow nuclear site without US support, experts say, as only the US-made GBU-57A/B bunker buster — the most powerful non-nuclear bomb — can penetrate it.

The 15-ton bomb, developed by Boeing for the US Air Force, is designed to strike deeply buried targets, Caliber.Az reports, citing The New York Post.

Fordow, located about 300 feet inside a mountain near the Iranian city of Qom, is considered Tehran’s most secure enrichment plant.

Due to its massive weight, the bomb can only be deployed using a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber — an aircraft the Israeli Air Force does not operate. “The United States controls the bomber and the bomb,” said John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. “It would be an American plane and an American munition.”

The bomb’s development cost over $500 million, and according to a 2013 Wall Street Journal report, at least 20 units were produced for the US military. Its delayed explosion mechanism allows it to burrow deep underground before detonating, maximising damage to fortified sites.

“By weight and kinetic force, the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator is designed to penetrate a certain amount of distance into the ground before it blows,” Spencer said. “That’s why these bunker busters are called Penetrators. They penetrate the ground before they explode. The explosion is strategically delayed.”

Although Israel has acquired smaller bunker busters from the US, Washington has consistently withheld the GBU-57A/B, reportedly to maintain its strategic edge.

As for the scale of destruction, Spencer said: “I’ve seen 500 pounders, and they’ll shake your teeth when they go off. It’s like an earthquake. This will be much more than that.” However, he noted the risk of a nuclear explosion is low: “This [explosion] is pretty contained. The risk is for leakage, not an explosion.”

Fordow is widely regarded by US intelligence as critical to Iran’s ability to produce weapons-grade material. “If you don’t get Fordow, you haven’t eliminated their ability to produce weapons-grade material,” Brett McGurk, a former US Middle East envoy, told The New York Times.

In a less ideal scenario, Spencer said Israel could attempt a layered bombing technique, but warned it is riskier. “The GBU is one and done,” he added.

By Aghakazim Guliyev