US’ near-invisible warplane and massive earth-penetrating bomb it dropped on Iranian nuclear sites
On June 22, the eastern hemisphere woke up to the US President Donald Trump announcing that American aircraft had successfully carried out precision strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran.
Speaking from the White House, he said that B-2 stealth bombers were used to attack facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. Six Bunker Buster bombs were used against Fordow and 30 Tomahawk missiles were launched at the other two sites.
This marks the first combat use of the GBU-57 Bunker Buster, arguably the world’s largest conventional bomb designed to neutralise fortified bunkers buried deep underground. Israel had been pressing the US to employ the GBU-57 to destroy underground Iranian nuclear sites which were beyond its own capability.
The US joining Israel in its ongoing war against Iran comes within days of Trump leaving the G-7 summit, held in Canada from June 15-17, midway, citing developments in the Middle East as the reason.
Thereafter, even as Trump said that he would decide in two weeks’ time whether to join Israel in striking targets in Iran, the US Air Force moved some B-2 bombers from their home base at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Guam, a US territory lying in the western Pacific Ocean roughly 2,000 km east of Philippines, a US ally.
While US officials and open source satellite imagery confirmed the movement of B-2s to Guam, there is no information on the aircraft’s further movements. One possibility is that they could have thereafter deployed to the island of Diego Garcia, a strategic US base located in the Indian Ocean about 1,750 km south of the Indian mainland’s southern tip and 3,800 km from the Iranian coast.
In the run-up to the strikes, there have been some curious developments. Trump has contradicted and rebuked his top spymaster, Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence. He first said that she was wrong about her earlier assessment given before the Senate a few months ago that Iran was not building nuclear weapons. He then expressed displeasure over her remarks on the use of nuclear weapons during a recent visit to Horishima in Japan, a city on which the US had dropped an atomic bomb during the Second World War.
Also being analysed keenly is the visit of Pakistan army chief, Asim Munir, to the White House on June 18, along with the head of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik. No details of what transpired during the lunch meeting between Trump and Munir have been released, though observers have pointed to the absence of any civilian Pakistani leader or official, including the ambassador, and labelled the US president hosting a foreign military chief as unusual.
Also to be noted here are Trump’s repeated claims that he brokered peace between India and Pakistan and prevented a nuclear war after India’s retribution to the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 by carrying out precision strikes deep inside Pakistan. While Pakistan had endorsed Trump’s claims, India had rejected them.
Besides being adjoining coastal nations, Pakistan and Iran share a land border of over 900 km and have deep bilateral relations that go back to the creation of Pakistan. Both countries are also strong allies of China. Pakistan is also an important player in the community of Islamic nations.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s relations with the US had diminished in recent years, more so after Osama Bin Laden, once the most sought-after fugitive in the US, and said to be the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in the US, was found hiding in Pakistan. The US winding down operations in Afghanistan also reduced Pakistan’s importance. Pakistani ports and airbases had been an important staging point for US military personnel and equipment headed for Afghanistan.
Though it is unlikely that the US may have used Pakistani assets for attacks on Iran, it could have been roped in for other reasons such as intelligence inputs or engagement with other Muslim nations in support of the US. Many Muslim nations are aligned against Israel.
The Northrop B-2 Spirit bombers deployed for the strikes have the capability of carrying out their missions from bases located thousands of kilometres away from the intended targets. Its stealth features enable it to fly undetected over many parts of the world, charting course over areas where air defence systems do not pose a threat.
A subsonic “flying wing” with a crew of two, 21 aircraft were produced from 1988 to 2000 and 19 are said to be currently in service. Most of these are deployed to the 13th Bomb Squadron, one of the oldest units of the USAF, and the 393rd Bomb Squadron, both of which are part of the 509th Operations Group of the Air Force Global Strike Command. B-2s are also assigned to testing, evaluation and training establishments.
A range of 11,000 km along with inflight refuelling capability gives the B-2 enormous reach. It has two internal bays that can carry up to 23,000 kg of ordnance. Depending upon the mission, the weapon options include 80×230 kg Mk-82, GBU-38 bombs, 36×340 kg CBU bombs, 16×910 kgMk-84, GBU-31 bombs and 16×B61 or B83 nuclear bombs on RLA (strategic mission).
The standoff weapons that it can air launch include the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon and AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile or two GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs.
The AGM-154 is a medium-range precision-guided weapon developed for engagement of defended targets from outside the range of standard anti-aircraft weapons. It has a range of 130 km when dropped from an altitude of 50,000 feet. The AGM 158 is a low-detection standoff long range air-launched cruise missile. Its extended range variant has a reach of over 900 km.
The GBU-57, perhaps the most talked about bomb, is a massive piece of ordnance that is 20 feet long, weighs 13,600 kg, carries 2,400 kg explosives and is designed to destroy heavily fortified, deep underground bunkers. Simply put, it is a huge bomb without any self-propulsion unit that is dropped from high altitude. Its inbuilt satellite-based navigation unit controls its fins to guide it to its target.
Its launch height, weight and density create enough kinetic energy to enable it to penetrate 60 meters below the Earth’s surface, where a delayed fuse detonates the warhead, creating an explosion having seismic dimensions.
The B-2 is the only aircraft that can carry the GBU-57. The upcoming B-21 stealth bomber, that is similar to the B-2 and would replace it, is the other aircraft that would be able to launch this bunker buster.
The total number of GBU-57s built is estimated to be about two dozen. While the AGM 154 and AGM 158 have been exported to other countries, the US is the sole operator of the GBU-57.
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Caption – B-2 bombers on the tarmac at the Whitman Air Force Base. Pic: USAF
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