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Israel-Iran conflict: A deep investigation into the GBU-57 bunker-buster bomb—the only US weapon capable of reaching Iran’s fortified Fordo nuclear facility—as tensions escalate in the Middle East.
Israel-Iran conflict: In the high-stakes showdown unfolding in the Middle East, one piece remains out of reach — buried deep beneath a mountain in Iran. The Fordo uranium enrichment facility, fortified under hundreds of feet of rock and concrete, has withstood the latest wave of Israeli airstrikes. But military analysts say it may not survive an attack from a single weapon — the American-made GBU-57 bunker buster.
This 30,000-pound behemoth, capable of burrowing 200 feet underground before detonating, is the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal. And it might soon become US President Donald Trump’s most decisive card if he chooses to actively back Israel’s campaign against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
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The Bomb Israel Doesn’t Have
In less than a week, Israel has launched an unrelenting blitz on Iran’s military infrastructure — strikes that have killed senior commanders and crippled multiple installations. But experts warn that despite the optics of success, the real question is whether these attacks have made a dent in the core of Iran’s nuclear program.
“The regime's missile stockpiles, launchers, military bases, production facilities, nuclear scientists, military command and control has taken a very severe beating,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, director of the Iran program at the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) was quoted as saying in an AFP report.
"But there are still outsized questions as to how efficacious of a strike Israel had against the beating hearts of Iran's nuclear program," he added.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors nuclear sites globally, confirmed there was no visible damage to Fordo, Iran's most secure nuclear facility located near the city of Qom.
Unlike the more accessible Natanz and Isfahan enrichment facilities, Fordo is entombed beneath roughly 300 feet of rock — an impenetrable shield against traditional Israeli munitions.
"All eyes will be on Fordo, which is buried under about 300 feet of rock in central Iran," said Taleblu.
What Makes the GBU-57 So Devastating?
The GBU-57, formally known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), was developed specifically for hardened underground targets. It doesn’t explode on contact. Instead, it punches deep through reinforced structures — rock, steel, concrete — before its delayed fuse detonates the payload.
“The US military says the GBU-57 is designed to penetrate up to 200 feet underground before exploding,” navigating through layers that no other conventional bomb can breach.
To accomplish this, the bomb relies on a dense steel casing and a specialised detonation system.
"To defeat these deeply buried targets, these weapons need to be designed with rather thick casings of steel, hardened steel, to sort of punch through these layers of rock," Masao Dahlgren, a missile defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), explained to AFP.
“You need an explosive that's not going to immediately explode under that much shock and pressure,” Dahlgren added, referring to the engineering challenges that shaped the bomb’s unique fuse mechanism.
First conceived in the early 2000s, the GBU-57 became operational in 2009 after the US placed an order for 20 units with Boeing. Today, it remains a tool of last resort — precisely because of the magnitude of what it can do.
B-2 Bombers: The Only Delivery Option
There’s only one aircraft that can carry the GBU-57: the American B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Capable of traveling across continents without refueling and evading radar detection, the B-2 is as elite as the bomb it carries.
According to satellite imagery reviewed by Planet Labs, several B-2 bombers were deployed to the UK-US joint military base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in early May. By mid-June, they were no longer visible — a movement that raises more questions than it answers.
Dahlgren further told the news agency, “With their long-range capabilities, B-2s departing from the United States are able to fly all the way to the Middle East to do bombing runs. That’s been done before.”
Each B-2 can carry two GBU-57s. But experts say Fordo may require multiple direct hits to neutralise.
"They're not going to just be one and done," said Mark Schwartz, former US Army lieutenant general and defense researcher at the Rand Corporation.
According to Schwartz, the air superiority Israel has established over Iran could ease the path for any American B-2 mission, reducing exposure and risk. But it would still be a calculated gamble.
The Political Fallout
As straightforward as the military logic might seem, the decision to use the GBU-57 comes with heavy political consequences. An overt US strike would risk igniting a broader conflict in the region and could strain Washington’s already fragile diplomacy with European allies and Gulf states.
“Such a US intervention would come with a lot of political baggage for America,” Taleblu cautioned, emphasising on the complexity of launching such a strike in the current geopolitical climate.
The bomb, after all, is not just steel and explosives — it’s a symbol. Its use signals that every other option, from diplomacy to cyber sabotage, has failed or been deemed insufficient.
Taleblu argues that alternatives still exist. Short of American intervention, Israel may continue its tactics of disrupting access to Fordo, striking entrances, collapsing tunnel routes, or cutting off power supplies — strategies reportedly used at Natanz in the past.
Without access to the GBU-57, however, such efforts may amount to little more than pinpricks against one of the world’s most heavily shielded nuclear facilities.
A Question That Could Define the Next Decade
As tension escalates, so does the weight of one decision — will America deploy its most fearsome conventional weapon to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb? Or will it keep the GBU-57 locked away, betting on diplomacy and deterrence to win the day?
For now, Fordo remains untouched. But the bomb that could change everything is real, ready, and waiting.
The world watches. And history, perhaps, waits just beneath 300 feet of Iranian rock.
