The US ambassador for Israel says that only the US Air Force has weapons that can destroy Iran’s deep buried nuclear sites. However, analysts note that there is no guarantee that even bombs can do their job.
The Fordau Plant is buried deep in the mountains near Koh in northern Iran. Its exact depth is not publicly known, but some estimates it will be 80-90 meters deep.
“The only country in the world that has Fordow is taken from the sky to a bomb,” said Ambassador Yethiel Leiter.
The bomb lighter refers to GBU-57/B.
Also known as the “Bunker Buster,” it is a 30,000-pound GPS guided ammunition with a 5,740-pound high-explosion warhead that can only be dropped from the Air Force B-2 bomber.
“The warhead case is made from a special high-performance steel alloy,” according to a fact sheet from the US military, which allows holes to be drilled deep into the ground and destroy hardened bunkers and tunnels.
According to a report by the Royal United Services Institute, the GBU-57 could penetrate a depth of 61 meters (200 feet). According to the report estimates, it is about 20 meters short of the Iranian Foudau facility.
“GBU-57/B is likely to require multiple impacts at the same target point because it is likely to penetrate the facility,” the report said.
Other analysts agree that if the US tried to attack Fordow, it probably wouldn’t have been possible with one bomb.
“I will deposit my banks in the bank on repeated strikes against Fordor,” said CNN military analyst CNN.
“A repetitive strike may work, but I’m not sure,” said Peter Leighton, a former Royal Australian Air Force officer at the Griffith Institute of Asia.