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At 02.35hrs this morning, the US struck Iranian nuclear sites.
That is: US bombers flew an air strike on the underground nuclear fuel-enrichment facility at Fordow, the (already claimed as destroyed by Israel) underground nuclear fuel-enrichment facility at Natanz, while US Navy run a missile strike on Esfahan.
That is: according to official release by the Pentagon, seven Northrop-Grumman B-2A Spirit bombers of the US Air Force (USAF) were deployed:
The Iranians living and/or underway in the Fordow area report that the strike caused a minor fire that was extinguished within 3 minutes. So much so, seems, nobody managed to capture a ‘serious’ video. ‘Ground shaking’ was reported from the Fordow area, but then: that was also that.
The image below features a view in direction of the Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, taken by an Iranian journalist as of this morning.
Me thinks: this is little surprising considering GBU-57s were made to penetrate deep under the ground – depending on the type of soil at the targeted site: some 50-60 metres at least – before detonating. I.e. one is unlikely to see ‘their fuel-filled explosions’: more likely to feel the resulting ‘earthquakes’.
That might mean that the core of the Natanz facility – buried some 30 metres deep – was hit and destroyed. Whether anything similar is valid for the Fordow facility – usually assessed to be 80-90 metres deep, but Grossi (chief of the IAEA) said it’s 800 metres deep – … well, not so sure. Certainly enough, RUMINT has it the B-2s actually aimed their GBU-57s for the entrances to this complex (which sounds far more plausible to me).
As for Esfahan, the locals are report ‘nothing special’ was hit, nor happened.
Arguably, the 13,607-kilogram-heavy GBU-57Bs are meant to penetrate deep under the ground before detonating. Depending on the type of soil in question, one is to penetrate up to 60m deep before going off.
…the most important part of the Fordow facility is said to be some 800 metres deep, though. (Natanz is likely to be ‘easier’, since its core is some 30-60 metres deep, while facilities in Esfahan are on the surface).
Thus, ‘it’s not really surprising’ if there’s not much to be seen. But still…
In turn, this morning, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Air & Space Force (IRGCASF) targeted Israel by (according to Israel), two waves with a total of 27 ballistic missiles (22 in the first and 5 in the second). Israel reported ‘one impact in Haifa’ and 11 wounded.
According to the IRGC, the 19th Wave of its Operation True Promise III, saw the deployment of a mix of old and new IRBMs, including Khorramshahr-4 (the heaviest IRBM in Iran’s arsenal), to strike
Of particular interest is that facility in Ness Ziona, some 20km outside downtown Tel Aviv. As far as is known (foremost from Iranian sources), this is… or was… (see attachments) a facility for development of biological and chemical weaponry,
By the way, this IRGCASF’s ballistic missile strike was either combined with an UAV-strike, or the latter took place slightly earlier (simply not yet sure).
Iran’s nuclear programme was launched in 1974, when the country started buying 8 reactors from Germany and France. And the Shah was cooperating with Israel and paying it to develop the Dassault MD.620 into the Yericho II. So, an ‘Iranian nuke’ was in the making since earlier.
The USAF moved B-2 Spirit strategic stealth bombers to the Pacific island of Guam on Jun. 21, as President Donald Trump weighed whether the US should have had to take part in Israel’s strikes against Iran.
The B-2 can carry 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), designed to destroy targets deep underground such as the nuclear fuel-enrichment facility at Fordow.
The MOP is a weapon system designed to accomplish a difficult, complicated mission of reaching and destroying weapons of mass destruction located in well protected facilities. It is more powerful than its predecessor, the BLU-109.
Flight tests have been successfully conducted at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The Air Force managed and funded the program, supported by Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
Early tests of MOP were conducted by DTRA under the MOP Technology Demonstration effort. These tests began in 2004 with DTRA partnering with the Air Force Research Laboratory. DTRA conducted flight tests from 2008 to 2010. In February 2010, the DTRA MOP Technology Demonstration transitioned to the Air Force as a Quick Reaction Capability Program. The tests demonstrated MOP capabilities to attack hard and deeply-buried facilities. The USAF has had a long-standing requirement for this capability.
Check out the blog Sarcastosaurus and Helion & Company website for books featuring interesting stories written by The Aviation Geek Club contributor Tom Cooper.
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force
