President
Donald Trump
on Saturday night announced American
warplanes dropped bombs
on three nuclear sites in Iran, with the U.S. officially entering the war more than a week after
Israel’s initial attack
.
Trump disclosed the bombing on
social media
shortly before 8 p.m. ET, saying that a “full payload” of bombs had been dropped on Fordo, the underground facility considered critical to the country’s nuclear program, and two other sites, and that “all planes are now outside of Iran air space” and on their way home.
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Trump and his administration have been considering U.S. involvement following Israel’s attack in Iran on June 12, with specific interest from Israeli officials in the American-made ‘bunker buster’ bomb, which can penetrate deep, fortified targets like Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility,
buried about 300 feet underground
. Only U.S.-made B-2 warplanes can carry these bombs, though it is uncertain whether they were used in the attack.
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Israel’s penetrating weapons cannot reach these underground facilities, a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly told
USA TODAY
, as they require 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs, or “bunker-busters.”
Here’s what to know about this “bunker buster” bomb, the GBU-57.
What is the Massive Ordnance Penetrator?
The Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) is a weapon system designed to destroy weapons of mass destruction located in well-protected facilities, according to the
U.S. Air Force
. It can only be delivered by the U.S.
B-2 Spirit
stealth bomber.
How deep can a ‘bunker buster’ bomb go?
The Guided Bomb Unit (GBU) 57, also called the “bunker buster,” is a large, GPS-guided, penetrating weapon designed to attack deeply buried targets such as bunkers and tunnels, according to the Department of Defense’s office for weapons
tests and evaluations
. It weighs 30,000 pounds, and while previous
reports
suggest it can penetrate 200 feet into the ground, there have been a number of updates to the bomb over the past several years, including a
$21 million update
contract in 2019, that could have increased its reach and other capabilities.
Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman and Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY; Reuters.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at
kapalmer@
and on X @
KathrynPlmr
.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:
US bombs Iran: What to know about possible weapon, the ‘bunker buster’
