DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As tensions with Iran have escalated over its nuclear program, the U.S. navy this month posted photos of a robust bomb designed to penetrate deep into the earth and destroy underground amenities that could possibly be used to counterpoint uranium.
The U.S. Air Force on May 2 launched uncommon pictures of the weapon, the GBU-57, often known as the “Massive Ordnance Penetrator.” Then it took the pictures down — apparently as a result of the pictures revealed delicate particulars in regards to the weapon’s composition and punch.
The publication of the pictures comes as The Associated Press reported that Iran is making regular progress in developing a nuclear facility that’s possible past the vary of the GBU-57, which is taken into account the U.S. navy last-ditch weapon to take out underground bunkers.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT AMERICA’S MASSIVE ORDNANCE PENETRATOR?
The U.S. developed the Massive Ordnance Penetrator within the 2000s as issues grew over Iran hardening its nuclear websites by constructing them underground.
The Air Force posted pictures of the bombs on the Facebook web page for Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The base is dwelling to the fleet of B-2 stealth bombers, the one plane that may deploy the bomb.
In a caption, the bottom mentioned it had obtained two Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs so a munitions squadron there might “test their performance.”
It shouldn’t be the primary time the Air Force has revealed pictures and movies of the bomb that coincided with rising acrimony with Tehran over its nuclear program. In 2019, the U.S. navy launched a video of a B-2 bomber dropping two of the bombs. The Air Force didn’t reply to requests for touch upon why it posted — and eliminated — the latest set of pictures.
WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM THE PHOTOS?
The newest pictures revealed stenciling on the bombs that listed their weight as 12,300 kilograms (27,125 kilos). It additionally described the bomb as carrying a mixture of AFX-757 — a regular explosive — and PBXN-114, a comparatively new explosive compound, mentioned Rahul Udoshi, a senior weapons analyst at Janes, an open-source intelligence agency.
The weight of the bomb, judging from the stenciling, reveals the vast majority of it comes from its thick metal body, which permits it to chew by concrete and soil earlier than exploding. However, it stays unclear what the precise effectiveness of the weapon could be.
The Warzone, an Internet information website, first reported on the publication of the pictures. The AP contacted Whiteman Air Force Base and the Air Force’s Global Strike Command with questions in regards to the pictures. Within a day, the Facebook publish vanished.
Udoshi mentioned the Air Force possible took them down as a result of they revealed an excessive amount of information in regards to the bombs. “Immediate removal from the internet without comment (or) justification means there is a potential lapse,” Udoshi mentioned.
WHAT ROLE WOULD THIS BOMB PLAY IN POTENTIALLY TARGETING IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM?
The AP reported on Monday that satellite tv for pc imagery from Planet Labs PBC reveals Tehran has been digging tunnels within the mountain close to the Natanz nuclear website in central Iran. Excavation mounds on the website counsel the ability could possibly be between 80 meters (260 ft) and 100 meters (328 ft) beneath the bottom, in keeping with the consultants and AP’s evaluation.
Experts say the scale of the development challenge signifies Iran possible would be capable to use the underground facility to counterpoint uranium as effectively — not simply to construct centrifuges. Those tube-shaped centrifuges, organized in giant cascades of dozens of machines, quickly spin uranium gasoline to counterpoint it. Additional machines would permit Iran to rapidly enrich uranium beneath the mountain’s safety.
That could possibly be an issue for the GBU-57: In beforehand describing the bomb’s capabilities, the Air Force has mentioned it might tear by 60 meters (200 ft) of floor and cement earlier than detonating.
COULD THE UNITED STATES STILL TRY TO DROP THE BOMB?
U.S. officers have mentioned utilizing two such bombs in succession to make sure a website is destroyed. But even then, the brand new depth of the Natanz tunnels possible presents a critical problem.
Further complicating any doable U.S. navy strike is that the B-2 has been grounded since December when one caught hearth after an emergency touchdown. The U.S. nonetheless might fly the plane “if there’s an operational need,” mentioned Col. Brus E. Vidal, a spokesperson for the Air Force’s Global Strike Command.
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The Associated Press receives help for nuclear safety protection from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely liable for all content material. https://outrider.org/
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