Latest news with #GBU-57s
News18
17-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
Trump Rejected Army's Iran Attack Plan, US Damaged Only 1 Of 3 Key Nuke Sites: Report
Last Updated: US President Donald Trump did not want to engage the US in a prolonged conflict in West Asia with Iran. US President Donald Trump personally rejected a sweeping military plan to expand US strikes on Iran, broadcaster NBC News said in a new report, citing current and former officials familiar with the deliberations. The proposal, drawn up by the US Central Command (CENTCOM), would have targeted three more nuclear sites and unfolded over several weeks. The report said that the plan stretched far beyond the limited strikes Trump eventually authorized last month. The report highlighted that the US President wanted to be consistent with his desire to avoid prolonged foreign entanglements for the US military and is said to have pushed back on the idea. Officials told the broadcaster that Trump was wary of dragging the US into a deeper conflict with Tehran and concerned about potential casualties on both sides. The CENTCOM plan, dubbed the 'All-In Plan" by some officials, had envisioned a sustained offensive, but the NBC News report said Trump's instinct was to opt for a shorter, more targeted action. The US strikes last month targeted three key nuclear enrichment sites in Iran — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. According to two serving officials, the attack on Fordow, considered a cornerstone of Iran's nuclear ambitions, was the most significant, with US intelligence assessing that it may have set back enrichment operations there by up to two years. Much of the Trump administration's public messaging after the strikes has zeroed in on Fordow. In a Pentagon briefing responding to early Defense Intelligence Agency assessments, which suggested Iran's nuclear program overall had been delayed by only three to six months, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine focused heavily on Fordow's impact, offering little comment on the strikes at Natanz and Isfahan. Before the strikes, US officials were aware that Iran had hardened facilities and stockpiles of enriched uranium at Natanz and Isfahan and some likely buried too deep even for the US military's 30,000-pound GBU-57 'bunker buster" bombs, the NBC News report said. These massive bombs, which had never been used in combat until the Iran operation, were specifically designed for deeply fortified sites like Fordow, built into the side of a mountain. However, by 2023, intelligence suggested that Iran was expanding tunnel networks at Natanz, possibly digging deeper than the GBU-57's reach. Isfahan, too, was believed to have underground tunnels. While the US deployed GBU-57s at Natanz, it opted for Tomahawk missile strikes on surface targets at Isfahan, avoiding the bunker busters there altogether. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 20:08 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India.com
30-06-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Bad news for Pakistan, China as India to build US-like bunker buster bombs weighing..., will be carried by new Agni-5 variant, can hit up to...
The bunker buster bombs will be carried by new variants of the Agni-5 ballistic missile. (File) In a major development post Operation Sindoor which is likely to send shivers down the spine of New Delhi's rivals like Pakistan, China and Bangladesh, India is preparing to build heavy buster bombs akin to the US-made GBU-57s which recently annihilated nuclear sites inside Iran. Who is building India's bunker buster bombs? According to media reports, India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing two new variants of the Agni-5 ballistic missile, one of which will have the capability to carry 7500 kg bunker buster warhead, heavier than the GBU-57, over a range of more than 2500 kilometres. The bunker buster, will have the capability to penetrate up to a depth of 80-100 meters, and is being designed to destroy heavily fortified enemy military structures like nuclear facilities, arsenals, radar stations, control centers, and deep underground bunkers. Older versions of the Agni-5 can carry nuclear or conventional warheads up to a longer distance of 5,000 kilometers, but the new variants can also carry bunker buster bombs weighing 7500 kg, albeit at half the range of 2500 km. As per details, one the new Agni V missiles will have the capability to carry an airburst warhead for above-ground targets, while other is designed to carry a ground penetrating heavy bunker buster warhead, akin to the US' 30,000 pound GBU-57. Why indigenous bunker buster could be a gamechanger for India? Post Operation Sindoor, India has focused development on building indigenous bunker-busting missiles, especially after witnessing the devastation caused by the US' GBU-57s on Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this month. In case of a war, the bunker buster missiles could be used to target fortified underground bases built by Pakistan and China on their respective borders, which would significantly impact the enemy's military strength in such a scenario. Pakistan and China have built strong underground bases on their borders. This missile will play a big role in mountainous regions and high altitudes. It will destroy enemy command centers and weapon depots near the border. How powerful is US' GBU-57 bunker buster? Earlier this month, the United States decimated Iranian nuclear sites as they used the B-2 stealth bombers to drop the massive 30,000lbs (13.6 tonne) GBU-57 Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP), aka the bunker buster bombs, on Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow nuclear facilities, which purportedly 'completely obliterated' these locations, according to US President Donald Trump. According to the US military, the GBU-57 Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP), dubbed the 'bunker buster', took as many as 15 years to develop, and was specifically designed to destroy deep underground facilities like Iran's Fordow Enrichment Plant, after the US found out about the site in 2009.
India Today
30-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
India's Agni-5 'bunker buster' missile to carry largest conventional warhead
In the wake of the US deploying GBU-57/A Massive Ordnance Penetrators against Iran's Fordow nuclear facility on June 22, India is accelerating its own efforts to develop advanced bunker-buster capabilities. Drawing lessons from recent global conflicts, the country is preparing for future wars by building a powerful new missile system capable of penetrating fortified underground Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing a modified version of the Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile. Unlike the original, which has a range exceeding 5000 kilometres and typically carries nuclear warheads, the new variant will be a conventional weapon capable of carrying a massive 7500-kilogram bunker-buster to strike hardened enemy facilities buried beneath layers of reinforced concrete, the missile is expected to penetrate 80 to 100 metres underground before detonation. This development signals India's intent to match the capabilities of the United States, which recently used 14 GBU-57s—the world's largest conventional bunker-buster bombs—in a show of force against Iranian nuclear infrastructure. The GBU-57 and its predecessor, the GBU-43 (popularly known as the 'Mother of All Bombs'), have set benchmarks in deep-penetration indigenous version aims to go further. Rather than rely on large, expensive bomber aircraft for delivery, as the US does, India is designing its bunker buster to be missile-delivered, offering a more flexible and cost-effective platform. This adaptation could reshape strategic planning in the new variants of the Agni-5 are reportedly under development. One will feature an airburst warhead for above-ground targets, while the other will be a deep-penetrating missile designed to burrow into hardened subterranean infrastructure—similar in concept to the GBU-57, but potentially with a larger warhead could weigh up to eight tons, which would make them among the most powerful conventional warheads the reduced range of 2500 kilometres in the new variants compared to the original Agni-5, their destructive capacity and precision are expected to make them formidable assets in India's strategic will be particularly crucial for targeting command-and-control centres, missile silos, and critical military infrastructure in adversarial nations like Pakistan and missiles are expected to reach speeds between Mach 8 and Mach 20, classifying them as hypersonic weapons—comparable in velocity to the US bunker-buster systems but with significantly enhanced push to indigenously develop and deploy such systems underscores its growing military capabilities and its commitment to self-reliance in defence technology.- EndsMust Watch
Hindustan Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
US to hit Iran again? Trump makes major one word statement as he likens recent strikes to atomic bombing of Hiroshima
'Sure', stated President Donald Trump in response to a question about whether the US would launch another attack if Iran resumed its nuclear enrichment program. US' President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not pictured) during the NATO summit of heads of state and government in The Hague on June 25, 2025. (Photo by Piroschka Van De Wouw / POOL / AFP)(AFP) Following the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear installations, Trump stated on Wednesday that the information was ambiguous but that the damage caused may have been significant. 'The intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelligence says we don't know. It could've been very severe. That's what the intelligence suggests,' Trump told reporters before he spoke with global leaders at a NATO Summit. 'It was very severe. There was obliteration. Iran's nuclear program has been put back decades,' he continued. He went on to say that the Iran-Israel truce is proceeding well and that it was great win for everyone. Also Read: Laura Loomer claps back at Tucker Carlson for calling her 'world's creepiest human', mocks his 'Demon' attack claims Trump's strikes on Iran In his Saturday night speech to the nation following the operation, Trump declared that the United States fully demolished Iran's enrichment installations at Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow. 'The strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,' Trump asserted in his address from White House. In the US strikes on Iran's nuclear installations, B2 bombers dropped two GBU-57s on Natanz and twelve GBU-57s on Fordow. During a press briefing on Sunday, US military officials reported that a US naval submarine fired about 30 Tomahawk missiles on Isfahan. Trump compares US airstrikes on Iran with atomic bombing of Hiroshima Meanwhile, Trump compared the US attack on Iran to his nation's move to unleash atomic bombs on Japan during World War II. "They spent trillions of dollars trying to do this thing, and they didn't come up with it, and we're actually getting along with them very well right now," Trump stated during his speech in The Hague. 'But had we not succeeded with that hit? That hit ended the war. That hit ended the war. I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing that ended that war. This ended that, this ended that war. If we didn't take that out, they would have been they'd be fighting right now.'
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Atom Of Truth
Experience shows economic strength and conventional military superiority matter more than nukes in a war Trump's truce may prove only as permanent as his tariffs, with both Israel and Iran alleging attacks through Tuesday, but if it holds, Iran might want to rethink deterrence. Israel made this war a campaign against Iran's alleged nuclear programme. US pummelled Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in pursuit of the same phantom, even though Iran maintains its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, and the discovery of 83.7% pure uranium at Fordow in 2023 – better than the 82.7% purity of 'Little Boy' dropped on Hiroshima – was a case of malicious contamination. But assume that Netanyahu and Trump are right, and the centrifuges at Fordow, etc, are indeed spinning uranium hexafluoride to concentrate fissile U-235 for one or more bombs. The likely explanation is that Iran wants a nuclear deterrent – a bomb that discourages others from attacking it. Nuclear deterrence has been a seductive idea for 80 years and USSR/Russia, China, UK, France, India, Israel, Pakistan and N Korea have realised it. For three years now, it's been argued that Russia couldn't have invaded a nuclear-armed Ukraine. But data from 348 territorial disputes shows nuclear-armed sides enjoy no advantage. Some years ago, University Of Washington professor David Barash challenged the notion of nuclear deterrence in an essay, pointing out that nuclear America couldn't prevent revolutions in China, Cuba, Iran and Nicaragua. It stalled in Korea against a non-nuclear China, and failed miserably in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Nuclear USSR likewise failed in Afghanistan. Saddam fired Scuds at nuclear Israel in 1991. Even the idea that MAD – mutually assured destruction – prevented the Cold War from turning 'hot' is doubtful, Barash argued, because US and Russia had never fought a war anyway, and USSR never showed intent to invade Western Europe. Besides, modern guided munitions are so precise – America's GBU-57s at Fordow followed one another down the same shaft – your nukes may be taken out before they can fly. Over the years, Iran has paid a huge price for its real or imaginary nuclear pursuit. Sanctions have kept it from realising its economic potential – its GDP was roughly level with Saudi Arabia's in 1979, now it's at the 40% mark – and the absence of its air force and air defences in this 12-day war was telling. While autocratic regimes blindly pursue nukes as a guarantee of survival, a strong economy and conventional military strength seem to be better bets. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
