Main points
- The United States used GBU-57 bunker buster bombs for the first time, attacking nuclear facilities in Iran on June 22.
- At the time of the operation, the US had several hundred GBU-57s.
American GBU-57 bombs are considered the only ammunition capable of hitting targets at a depth of tens of meters. It was with them that B-2 bombers attacked underground nuclear facilities in Iran on June 22. Thus, the United States used these bunker-busting bombs for the first time.
A total of 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs were dropped on nuclear sites. In 2015, the US had only 20 such bombs in service, Channel 24 reports, citing Defense Express.
How many GBU-57 MOPs does the US have?
In May 2024, Bloomberg reported on the expansion of an ammunition plant in Oklahoma with the aim of increasing the volume of MOPs.
The publication stated that the MOP production rate is two bombs per month, or 24 GBU-57s per year.
The expansion of the plant was expected to increase this figure to at least 6 or even 8 bombs per month (from 72 to 96 bombs per year).
It is known that the expansion work of the plant was supposed to be completed at the beginning of autumn 2024 at the latest.
Given this data, it can be assumed that at the time of Operation Midnight Hammer on the night of June 22, the United States as a whole may have had several hundred GBU-57 bombs at its disposal.
Analysts note that this is not a very large number, considering that it took 12 bombs to strike just the Fordow facility.
