Explainer: What Exactly Is the ‘Bunker Buster’ Bomb That’s Been in the News?

While the primary conflict in the Middle East involves Israel and Iran, most attention is being paid to the United States.

While the U.S. has remained generally opposed to direct military confrontation, Tehran’s steadfast refusal to negotiate on capping its uranium enrichment programs has created a stalemate.

While Trump continued to try and make a deal, Israel resorted to an actual offensive to rein in Iran’s nuclear programs.

But for as effective as the Israel offensive has been, there are some facets of Iran’s nuclear program that remain complicated.

According to an Axios report, “Israel’s mission hinges on destroying Iran’s hardest nuclear target,” which is the Fordow uranium enrichment site, burrowed deep underground and among mountains.

“Israel lacks the huge bunker busters needed to destroy this facility and the strategic bombers to carry them,” the outlet added. “The U.S. has both within flying distance of Iran.”

So what exactly are these “bunker busters” that the United States has such apparently envious access to?

While “bunker busters” can cover a wide array of munitions, according to the Associated Press, the specific model of bomb being discussed is the GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb.

The approximately 30,000-pound precision-guided bomb requires a hefty B-2 bomber to deliver the large payload.

(B-2 bombers can carry up to 40,000 pounds, according to The Hill.)

The Air Force noted that this new model is more powerful than the model that immediately preceded it, the BLU-109.

The bomb is capable of penetrating 200 feet into the ground before exploding, per the AP.

Notably, the bombs can be dropped in succession, effectively creating a drilling effect with each subsequent explosion.

🇺🇸 The GBU-57A/B MOP is the biggest non-nuclear bomb in the #US military’s arsenal – and the only thing that could destroy #Iran‘s underground #enrichment plant at #Fordo.

Dubbed the “Bunker Buster”, the bomb carries a blast of 11 tons of #TNT.

📹 @ofarry pic.twitter.com/r5DRHxAgxV

— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) June 17, 2025

Even beyond the raw destructive potential of the GBU-57 itself, there remains some mystery about the potential effects such a campaign could have in terms of radioactive contamination.

“The bomb carries a conventional warhead, but the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility,” the AP reported.

It added: “However, Israeli strikes at another Iranian nuclear site, Natanz, on a centrifuge site have caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surrounding area, the IAEA has said.”

If Iran refuses diplomacy on the matter, Israel has made clear that Fordow must go.

“This entire operation … really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordo,” Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., said of the matter.

If Leiter’s words are true, it seems Israel will need America’s access to both the GBU-57 and B-2 bombers — a pair of powerful and, evidently, difference-making weapons.

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