How Bunker Buster Bombs Work And How They Could Destroy Iran’s Fordow Nuclear Site

As Israel’s conflict to return retired Iran’s atomic capabilities continues, Iran’s astir heavily-protected atomic facility astatine Fordow, 2 hours from Tehran, remains intact.

Many subject analysts judge that a two-ton precision bunker buster developed by and successful sole possession of nan U.S. is nan only intends of eliminating nan Fordow site, which immoderate declare whitethorn beryllium tin of producing a atomic warhead successful arsenic small arsenic 2 to 3 days.

Jonathan Ruhe, Director of Foreign Policy for JINSA, said pinch Fox News Digital astir bunker-busters, and really Israel aliases nan U.S. mightiness usage them to destruct nan Fordow atomic threat. 

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Illustration showing really a GBU-57 Bunker Buster is deployed. (Fox News )

What is simply a bunker buster?

Ruhe said bunker busters are munitions designed to usage nan unit of gravity to "penetrate done immoderate substance of earth, rock, and actual earlier nan explosive itself past explodes" underground. The detonation whitethorn either return retired nan target fully, aliases "collapse nan structure" astir nan target "without needfully obliterating it," he explained.

Bunker busters travel successful aggregate weight classes. Israel possesses 2,000- and 5,000-pound varieties. Only nan U.S. possesses nan 30,000-pound GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP).

Developed nether President George W. Bush, Ruhe says nan MOP was "designed specifically" for targets for illustration Fordow, wherever atomic sites aliases bid and power bunkers are hidden acold underground.

Two abstracted bombs are dropped by a B2 Spirit stealth bomber. (Fox News)

How galore bunker busters are needed?

Ruhe said that nan number of munitions required to target Fordow depends connected nan extent of nan facility. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies states that Fordow’s installation is betwixt 60 and 90 meters (196 to 295 feet) beneath ground. The Director General of nan International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi told The Financial Times past week that nan installation reaches 800 meters underground.

Ruhe said Grossi, who has been to nan Fordow facility, whitethorn person been "trying to message, ‘hey, subject action is not nan solution here.’"

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The illustration shows nan first explosive exploding and creating a hole. (Fox News)

The MOP is said to person a penetration extent of 200 feet. Ruhe said that fixed Fordow’s region underground and nan trouble of penetrating nan rocky mountainside nan tract is dug into, nan U.S. would apt usage a method called burrowing, successful which a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber would "drop respective MOPs successful succession, 1 aft nan other."

Fordow poses a unsocial target. Ruhe said that pilots person to return into relationship nan facility’s multiple, constrictive exit tunnels, and execute nan correct perspective of effect to penetrate nan ground.

Though Israeli aerial power complete Iran has eliminated nan request for stealth aerial assets, Ruhe believes nan stealth B-2 would beryllium nan only instrumentality capable for delivering nan MOPs. Ruhe said timing constraints make nan usage of B-52 bombers "not relevant." 

Additionally, Ruhe explained that talk of loaning B-2 bombers to nan Israeli Air Force is "a vulnerable distraction." Not only is location "0.0% chance" that nan U.S. would springiness retired this strategical capability, but Ruhe says training Israeli pilots to alert nan B-2 would return respective months.

A 2nd explosive follows into nan spread and explodes, causing much damage. (Fox News)

Can Israel return retired Fordow?

Mark Dubowitz, CEO of nan Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that "destroying [Fordow] from nan aerial is simply a occupation only nan U.S. tin do." 

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Given that Israel is "very tactically inventive" and "very bully astatine maximizing nan capabilities they do have," Ruhe says that Israel could execute its goals astatine Fordow without nan MOP. 

Not only did Ruhe connection nan improbable but not intolerable script wherever Israel mightiness "storm nan tract successful a commando raid," but he said that Israel could usage F-15s, escorted by F-35s, to present aggregate 5,000-pound bunker busters complete Fordow, utilizing nan aforesaid burrowing maneuver nan U.S. would apt employ. 

FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2015, record photo, a U.S. Air Force B2 Spirit stealth bomber performs a flyover astatine nan Talladega Superspeedway successful Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/Mark Almond, File)

Such a strike, he admitted, would "achieve a much constricted meaning of success" than nan MOP could. 

Differing expectations for Fordow

The U.S. and Israel are apt to person different goals successful targeting Fordow, Ruhe said. "Americans thin to deliberation of obliterating targets," Ruhe said, whereas Israel would "probably beryllium good pinch saying they knocked backmost nan operations there by a twelvemonth aliases so."

Ruhe estimates that nan bunker busters whitethorn not wholly destruct nan facility, but that it whitethorn beryllium considered a occurrence if it were to sound retired nan powerfulness root to Iranian centrifuges, aliases making "the aerial excessively polluted" for centrifuges to operate. 

FORDO, IRAN -- JUN. 14, 2025; Maxar outer imagery overview of nan Fordo enrichment installation located astir 60 miles southwest of Tehran. No visible harm is observed.  (Maxar Technologies via Getty)

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Israel has "successfully knocked retired nan different parts of Iran’s substance cycle" successful Natanz and Isfahan, Ruhe said.  "If you want to forestall a atomic Iran, Fordow is simply a large portion of that," Ruhe said. "But it’s only conscionable a portion of what still needs to beryllium done and thought about."

Fox News' Caitlin McFall contributed to this article.