Latest news with #TrevorBall
The National
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Experts identify 230kg bomb used in deadly Gaza cafe strike
According to reports from the Guardian, shrapnel recovered from the strike has revealed the weight and scale of the explosive, which killed around 30 Palestinians when it was dropped on Al-Baqa cafe on Monday. International law experts have said the use of such powerful munitions in a civilian area was likely unlawful and could constitute a war crime. READ MORE: 4 members of Palestine Action charged over RAF break-in Ordnance experts analysed fragments of the explosive through photographs of the cafe ruins and found them to be remainders of an MK-82 general purpose 230kg bomb, a US-made device that has been commonplace in bombing campaigns in recent years. Trevor Ball, a weapons researcher and former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, identified a Jdam tail section and thermal battery suggesting either an MPR500 or an MK-82 bomb was dropped, an assessment echoed by another expert with extensive experience in recent conflicts, while a third said they could not make a reliable assessment from the pictures presented by the Guardian. The experts also said the crater left in the area was further indication of a large and powerful explosive being used. Victims from the explosion include a number of women and children, a journalist, an artist and a filmmaker. Inside the destroyed eatery, which was once a popular recreational spot for young people and families in Gaza City (Image: AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Under international law, military forces are forbidden to carry out attacks that cause 'incidental loss of civilian life' that is 'excessive or disproportionate' to any potential advantages to be gained. Gerry Simpson, of Human Rights Watch, said: 'The Israeli military hasn't said exactly whom it was targeting but it said it used aerial surveillance to minimise civilian casualties, which means it knew the cafe was teeming with customers at the time. READ MORE: There will be an 'alternative' to Labour at next election, says Jeremy Corbyn 'The military would also have known that using a large guided air-dropped bomb would kill and maim many of the civilians there. 'The use of such a large weapon in an obviously crowded cafe risks that this was an unlawful disproportionate or indiscriminate attack and should be investigated as a war crime.' Al-Baqa cafe, founded over 40 years ago, was a two-storey building in Gaza City with an open upper deck and a lower floor that had views of the beach through its wide windows. The port area where Al-Baqa cafe was located was not covered by any evacuation orders issued by the IDF to warn of impending military operations.
West Australian
22-06-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Iran-Israel war: What is the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the US bunker-busting bomb?
In the event the United States enters the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a likely focus will be on degrading or destroying Tehran's underground facilities that enrich nuclear material. That task would most likely fall to a small number of Air Force strategic bombers that are capable of delivering 30,000-pound precision-guided bombs designed to destroy subterranean targets. This bomb, the GBU-57, is better known as a 'bunker buster' or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. It's in the name. The MOP is designed for deeply buried and fortified facilities, such as bunkers and tunnels. Its design, sheer weight and steel alloy construction allow it to burrow underground and then explode, according to the Air Force. Though the heaviest conventional weapon in the US arsenal, it is not designed to saturate explosives over a wide area. Commanders rely on its GPS-guided precision to hit specific, well-defended targets to destroy what ordinary bombs cannot reach. There are no public reports of the MOP being used in combat, experts have said. Defence officials have said the MOP is capable of penetrating up to 60m. But it is probably more capable now after further development over the past two decades, said Trevor Ball, a former Army explosive ordnance disposal technician. While the Israelis have relied on US munitions for its devastating air war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, their fighter jets cannot carry MOPs. The US B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is the only Air Force aircraft that can deploy the MOP, the service has said. There are 19 operational B-2s, according to the Air Force. Travelling at subsonic speeds, but capable of midair refuelling, the B-2 can fly an extraordinary distance. During the Kosovo war in the late 1990s, B-2 pilots flew round-trip trips from their home station at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to strike targets. In 2017, a pair of B-2s flew 34 hours to hit Islamic State camps in Libya. Recent upgrades to the MOP include resolving an undescribed 'integration issue' with the B-2, the Air Force said last year. The service also said it is testing technology that can help destroy targets where intelligence about substructures may be limited. A smart fuse on the MOP can detect voids on its path downward, such as rooms and floors, and explode at an optimal point, Ball said. That would be an important capability if commanders decided they needed to strike the same deep target multiple times. It is unclear whether that technology has been put into operational use. Iran's most deeply buried nuclear enrichment site is Fordow, in the desert southwest of Tehran. The facility is fully underground, carved into a mountainside. UN inspectors who viewed the site noted tunnels with thick walls and blastproof doors, with some bunkers protected by up to 91m of rock, The Post reported in 2012. Fordow is ostensibly designed to produce uranium enriched to 20 per cent purity. But an International Atomic Energy Agency inspection report on May 31 found that Iran had significantly increased its production there of 60 per cent enriched uranium, approaching the 90 per cent level needed to fuel a nuclear weapon. Experts warn that even destroying the uranium-enriching centrifuges deep underground at Fordow would not necessarily mean the end of Iran's nuclear program. There may be enrichment sites or caches of nuclear fuel that UN inspectors are unaware of, said Richard Nephew, a lead US negotiator with Iran under the Obama administration and now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 'Even if Fordow was evaporated tomorrow, we would still have massive concerns,' Mr Nephew said. Iran's nuclear facilities were not irreversibly damaged in the first couple of waves of Israeli attacks, based on statements from both countries as well as videos and imagery of the damaged sites, The Washington Post reported. Israel appeared to have attacked near Fordow, but did not hit the underground facility itself. Strikes at Natanz, Iran's other main enrichment site, destroyed several facilities and damaged the electrical system, according to the IAEA and nonproliferation experts. Iran's only above-ground enrichment site, part of a larger complex at Natanz known as the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, was destroyed, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Monday. Analysts viewing satellite imagery had originally said the underground enrichment machinery at Natanz was unscathed. But the IAEA said in a post on Tuesday on X that its analyses 'indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at Natanz.' A uranium metal production facility in Isfahan, a military complex in Parchin and the Arak heavy water reactor southwest of Tehran and the Bushehr nuclear power plant are other nuclear sites that were hit, according to the Israel Defence Forces. Mr Grossi confirmed the facility at Isfahan was hit but said Bushehr was not targeted or affected. © 2025 , The Washington Post
Washington Post
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
What is the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the U.S. bunker-busting bomb?
In the event the United States enters the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a likely focus will be on degrading or destroying Tehran's underground facilities that enrich nuclear material. That task would most likely fall to a small number of Air Force strategic bombers that are capable of delivering 30,000-pound, precision-guided bombs designed to destroy subterranean targets. This bomb, the GBU-57, is better known as a 'bunker buster' or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. It's in the name. The MOP is designed for deeply buried and fortified facilities, such as bunkers and tunnels. Its design, sheer weight and steel alloy construction allow it to burrow underground and then explode, according to the Air Force. Though the heaviest conventional weapon in the U.S. arsenal, it is not designed to saturate explosives over a wide area. Commanders rely on its GPS-guided precision to hit specific, well-defended targets to destroy what ordinary bombs cannot reach. There are no public reports of the MOP being used in combat, experts have said. Defense officials have said the MOP is capable of penetrating up to 200 feet. But it is likely more capable now after further development over the past two decades, said Trevor Ball, a former Army explosive ordnance disposal technician. While the Israelis have relied on U.S. munitions for its devastating air war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, its fighter jets cannot carry MOPs. The U.S. B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is the only Air Force aircraft that can deploy the MOP, the service has said. There are 19 operational B-2s, according to the Air Force. Traveling at subsonic speeds, but capable of midair refueling, the B-2 can fly an extraordinary distance. During the Kosovo war in the late 1990s, B-2 pilots flew round trip from their home station at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to strike targets. In 2017, a pair of B-2s flew 34 hours to hit Islamic State camps in Libya. Recent upgrades to the MOP include resolving an undescribed 'integration issue' with the B-2, the Air Force said last year. The service also said it is testing technology that can help destroy targets where intelligence about substructures may be limited. A smart fuse on the MOP can detect voids on its path downward — such as rooms and floors — and explode at an optimal point, Ball said. That would be an important capability if commanders decided they needed to strike the same deep target multiple times. It is unclear whether that technology has been put into operational use. Iran's most deeply buried nuclear enrichment site is Fordow, in the desert southwest of Tehran. The facility is fully underground, carved into a mountainside. U.N. inspectors who viewed the site noted tunnels with thick walls and blastproof doors, with some bunkers protected by up to 300 feet of rock, The Post reported in 2012. Fordow is ostensibly designed to produce uranium enriched to 20 percent purity. But an IAEA inspection report on May 31 found that Iran had significantly increased its production there of 60 percent enriched uranium, approaching the 90 percent level needed to fuel a nuclear weapon. Experts warn that even destroying the uranium-enriching centrifuges deep underground at Fordow would not necessarily mean the end of Iran's nuclear program. There may be enrichment sites or caches of nuclear fuel that U.N. inspectors are unaware of, said Richard Nephew, a lead U.S. negotiator with Iran under the Obama administration and now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 'Even if Fordow was evaporated tomorrow, we would still have massive concerns,' Nephew said. Iran's nuclear facilities were not irreversibly damaged in the first couple waves of Israeli attacks, based on statements from both countries as well as videos and imagery of the damaged sites, The Washington Post reported. Israel appeared to have attacked near Fordow, but did not hit the underground facility itself. Strikes at Natanz, Iran's other main enrichment site, destroyed several facilities and damaged the electrical system, according to the IAEA and nonproliferation experts. Iran's only above-ground enrichment site, part of a larger complex at Natanz known as the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, was destroyed, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Monday. Analysts viewing satellite imagery had originally said the underground enrichment machinery at Natanz was unscathed. But the IAEA said in a post Tuesday on X that its analyses 'indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at Natanz.' A uranium metal production facility in Isfahan, a military complex in Parchin and the Arak heavy water reactor southwest of Tehran and the Bushehr nuclear power plant are other nuclear sites that were hit, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Grossi confirmed the facility at Isfahan was hit, but says Bushehr was not targeted or affected.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
It looks like a StormBreaker may have landed intact in Yemen, raising the risk the US bomb could fall into the wrong hands
The US Navy appears to be using new "StormBreaker" glide bombs against the Houthis. What appeared to be one of these guided munitions was spotted in the sand in Yemen this week. Fully intact wreckage could be exploited by US adversaries, including Iran. US fighter jets appear to be using advanced "StormBreaker" precision glide bombs in combat against the Houthis, part of the intense bombing campaign against the Iran-backed rebels. An image of what looked like an unexploded, US-made bomb half-buried in the sand began circulating on social media Thursday. Open-source intelligence accounts geolocated the image to Yemen's southern Shabwah governorate. Trevor Ball, a former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, identified the munition as the GBU-53/B StormBreaker, a relatively new munition in the American arsenal. He told Business Insider that the discovery of the bomb, seemingly fully intact, highlights a problem: it could fall into the wrong hands. The GBU-53/B, known as the Small Diameter Bomb Increment II, is an air-launched standoff weapon with precision guidance and pop-out wings. The 200-pound bomb is made by US defense contractor Raytheon, now RTX, and can be released from carrier-based fighter aircraft like the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The weapon can be used against moving and stationary targets and is capable of operating in inclement weather, according to Naval Air Systems Command. The bomb can also receive updated target coordinates mid-flight. In October 2023, the Navy declared early operational capability for the StormBreaker and said its Super Hornets would be the first platforms to carry the bomb. US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, published footage last month appearing to show the StormBreaker among other ordnance aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which has been at the forefront of the Houthi conflict. The War Zone, which first reported on Friday on the StormBreaker's discovery in Yemen, spotted evidence last month that the Navy had used the munition for the first time in combat. The image of the apparent StormBreaker looks to be the clearest sign that the US is using this weapon against the Houthis. That the munition is fully intact suggests air defenses did not take it out. A defense official declined to answer BI's questions about the incident or provide further details. Ball, a researcher at Armament Research Services, said the risk in this situation is that Iran, which has long supported the Houthis, could get its hands on the StormBreaker. "The Iranians are notorious for reverse engineering weapons systems and creating their own versions," Ball said. "The quicker Iran can acquire weapons to exploit relative to the US fielding them, the more Iran can try to narrow gaps in their capabilities." This could even go on to benefit Russia, which has enjoyed increasingly close defense ties with Iran since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ball explained that although the StormBreaker was reportedly found in an area of Yemen that the Houthis don't control, "it highlights the risk of unexploded munitions ending up in Iranian possession," especially given that there are likely highly classified components in the munition. "The greater the scale of airstrikes and use, the more likely this becomes," Ball said, adding that the same risk applies to the AGM-158, which the US has been using against the Houthis. The AGM-158, or Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), is a stealthy, long-range cruise missile developed by Lockheed Martin. The JASSM and StormBreaker are standoff weapons, meaning that aircraft can release them from a distance and avoid Houthi air defenses, unlike conventional gravity bombs dropped directly over a target. The US also appears to be using the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), among other advanced munitions, against the Houthis. The US has been bombing the Houthis for six weeks straight to get the rebels to stop their attacks on Red Sea shipping. The military has publicly disclosed very few details about the intense campaign since the early days, though it acknowledged striking a major Houthi-controlled oil terminal last week. Dozens of people were reportedly killed in the attack. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the US has attacked hundreds of Houthi targets since the campaign began and decimated its leadership. However, analysts have cast doubt that the strikes will effectively eliminate the rebels' capabilities; previous stikres haven't. Just a few days ago, for instance, they fired missiles at Israel. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
25-04-2025
- General
- Business Insider
It looks like a StormBreaker may have landed intact in Yemen, raising the risk the US bomb could fall into the wrong hands
US fighter jets appear to be using advanced "StormBreaker" precision glide bombs in combat against the Houthis, part of the intense bombing campaign against the Iran-backed rebels. An image of what looked like an unexploded, US-made bomb half-buried in the sand began circulating on social media Thursday. Open-source intelligence accounts geolocated the image to Yemen's southern Shabwah governorate. Trevor Ball, a former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, identified the munition as the GBU-53/B StormBreaker, a relatively new munition in the American arsenal. He told Business Insider that the discovery of the bomb, seemingly fully intact, highlights a problem: it could fall into the wrong hands. حُطام صاروخ عثر عليه مواطنون في منطقة عسيلان محافظة شبوة شمالي شرق اليمن. — ديفانس لاين (@defenseliney) April 24, 2025 The GBU-53/B, known as the Small Diameter Bomb Increment II, is an air-launched standoff weapon with precision guidance and pop-out wings. The 200-pound bomb is made by US defense contractor Raytheon, now RTX, and can be released from carrier-based fighter aircraft like the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The weapon can be used against moving and stationary targets and is capable of operating in inclement weather, according to Naval Air Systems Command. The bomb can also receive updated target coordinates mid-flight. In October 2023, the Navy declared early operational capability for the StormBreaker and said its Super Hornets would be the first platforms to carry the bomb. US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, published footage last month appearing to show the StormBreaker among other ordnance aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which has been at the forefront of the Houthi conflict. The War Zone, which first reported on Friday on the StormBreaker's discovery in Yemen, spotted evidence last month that the Navy had used the munition for the first time in combat. The image of the apparent StormBreaker looks to be the clearest sign that the US is using this weapon against the Houthis. That the munition is fully intact suggests air defenses did not take it out. A defense official declined to answer BI's questions about the incident or provide further details. Ball, a researcher at Armament Research Services, said the risk in this situation is that Iran, which has long supported the Houthis, could get its hands on the StormBreaker. "The Iranians are notorious for reverse engineering weapons systems and creating their own versions," Ball said. "The quicker Iran can acquire weapons to exploit relative to the US fielding them, the more Iran can try to narrow gaps in their capabilities." This could even go on to benefit Russia, which has enjoyed increasingly close defense ties with Iran since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ball explained that although the StormBreaker was reportedly found in an area of Yemen that the Houthis don't control, "it highlights the risk of unexploded munitions ending up in Iranian possession," especially given that there are likely highly classified components in the munition. "The greater the scale of airstrikes and use, the more likely this becomes," Ball said, adding that the same risk applies to the AGM-158, which the US has been using against the Houthis. The AGM-158, or Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), is a stealthy, long-range cruise missile developed by Lockheed Martin. The JASSM and StormBreaker are standoff weapons, meaning that aircraft can release them from a distance and avoid Houthi air defenses, unlike conventional gravity bombs dropped directly over a target. The US also appears to be using the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), among other advanced munitions, against the Houthis. The US has been bombing the Houthis for six weeks straight to get the rebels to stop their attacks on Red Sea shipping. The military has publicly disclosed very few details about the intense campaign since the early days, though it acknowledged striking a major Houthi-controlled oil terminal last week. Dozens of people were reportedly killed in the attack. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the US has attacked hundreds of Houthi targets since the campaign began and decimated its leadership. However, analysts have cast doubt that the strikes will effectively eliminate the rebels' capabilities; previous stikres haven't. Just a few days ago, for instance, they fired missiles at Israel.
