US' B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber strikes Iran's most powerful, impenetrable nuke facility, know its strength, cost is...; Why it should fear US’ bunker-busting bomb GBU-57

As the Iran Israel war has been ongoing for a week now, US President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran’s three nuclear sites of Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan on Sunday. This came after Israel launched fresh and second airstrikes on Iran's Isfahan nuclear facility soon after Tehran also attacked with five ballistic missiles at central Israel. As the war between the two Middle Eastern countries rages high, US has also actively involved itself by taking out one of its most powerful weapons to strike Iran’s not one but three nuclear facilities, that is, long-range B-2 stealth bombers.  

Trump described the strikes, as “very successful,” as its primary target was Fordo which is Uranium rich which Israel failed to have destroyed. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency also confirmed attacks at these nuclear sites. 

Reportedly, the US transported the stealth bomber from the Whiteman Air Force location in Missouri for a key location in Guam in the western Pacific.  

How powerful is the US B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber? 

The B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber is the most strategic and cutting-edge arm in the US’ most advanced arsenal. Its striking capability is such that it can penetrate the most high-tech and sophisticated air defense systems with a strong precision attack on targets that are said to be impenetrable, an example of which is the dense network of Iran’s nuclear sites.  

Northrop Grumman started manufacturing the stealth bomber during the late 1980s with state-of-the-art stealth technology, but the production was stopped with the fall of the Soviet Union. The US bomber has no limitation on territory as it possesses the capability to attack anywhere in the world from continental US bases to its more than 6,000 nautical mile range as it can move to long distances without refueling.  

The B-2 has airborne refueling which allows it to reach almost any target in the world an example of which was its long operations from Missouri to Afghanistan and Libya.  

B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber price 

The B-2 stealth bomber is the most expensive US military aircraft till now. The estimated cost of a single B-2 is USD 1.1 billion. Initially, only 21 B-2 bombers initially were built but one was destroyed in a crash in 2008 and another was retired after being damaged in a 2022 crash. The US Air Force fleet currently has 19 B-2 bombers a single of which can have two pilots. The wingspan of the bomber is 172 feet (52 meters) and it can fly 6,000 nautical miles (11,112 kilometers) without refueling. The B-2 can fly upto 50,000 feet (15,240 meters). 

The US stealth bomber was recently deployed to Camp Thunder Bay on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The B-2 has been used in combat to target the Houthis in the past. One-third of all the B-2s America possesses were deployed to Diego Garcia. The US has acknowledged to have once used the B-2 in Yemen since the Israel-Hamas war began. 

GBU-57 the “Massive Ordnance Penetrator” 

To destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, Israel appealed to Trump for the bunker-busting American bomb known as the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The bomb is currently delivered only by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal. The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator has a weight of 12,300 kilograms (27,125 pounds). If deployed in the attack, it would be the first combat use of the weapon. 

The bomb carries a conventional warhead and is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. 

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.