Israel’s ambassador to the United States says that only the American Air Force has the weapon that can destroy the deeply buried nuclear sites of Iran. But analysts are cautious that there is no guarantee that even this bomb can do the work.
The Fordow factory is buried deep in the mountains near Qom, in northern Iran. Its exact depth is not publicly known, but some estimates place it 80 to 90 meters deep.
“For Fordow to be removed by a sky bomb, the only country in the world that has this bomb is the United States,” said ambassador Yechiel Leiter.
The Leiter bomb refers to GBU -57 / B – also known as a massive ammunition penetrator.
Also known as “Bunker Buster”, it is a munition guided by GPS of 30,000 pounds with an explosive warhead of 5,740 pounds which is so heavy that it can only be deleted from B-2 bombers from the Air Force.
“The case is made from a special high performance steel alloy”, allowing it to deeply dig into the ground and destroy bunkers and hardened tunnels, according to an American military information sheet.
A report by the Royal United Services Institute said that GBU-57 can enter a depth of 61 meters (200 feet). It would be about 20 meters less than the Iranian installation of the Fords, according to estimates of the report.
Other analysts are agreeing, saying that if the United States should try to hit Fordow, it could probably not be done with a bomb.
“I would put a bank on repeated strikes against Fordow,” said CNN military analyst Leighton, a former American Air Force colonel.
“Repeated strikes could work, but uncertain,” said Peter Layton, a former Royal Australian Air Force officer now a scholarship holder at Griffith Asia Institute, adding that there would be “no guarantee of success or ability to prove (Fordow) has been withdrawn” if it was touched.
