America Dropped Bunker Buster by Piercing 200 Feet of Earth in Fordo, Iran - Know the cost of Mission

American B-2 bombers flew for 37 hours non-stop to attack Iran's nuclear sites. As per the media report, an unnamed American official said that America's B-2 Spirit bombers flew from Missouri for about 37 hours without stopping. After which these planes attacked Iran's nuclear sites early on Sunday morning. The stealth bombers refuelled several times in mid-air and attacked Iran's three major nuclear sites: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. America dropped the GBU-57 bomb from the B-2 bomber, which is the world's largest bunker buster. President Donald Trump claims that the GBU-57 bomb has destroyed Iran's nuclear sites. According to the report, this operation was carried out by 7 B-2 bombers.

The world is watching this operation of America's GBU-57 bomb and B-2 bomber, so people are very interested in the cost of this plane and this bomb and the total cost of this operation. According to the media reports, the average cost of each flight of the B-2 bomber is considered to be 1.5 lakh dollars per hour. Since this mission of America was about 37 hours, on this basis the total cost of the flight comes to about 39 million dollars. This does not include the cost of weapons, flights of refuelling tanker aircraft and all other assets used to support the mission.

Estimated Costs of the US Attack on Iran

According to Taylor Rogway, editor-in-chief of The War Zone, in this operation, B-2 bombers took off from American airspace, crossed several air borders, went straight deep inside Iran and dropped their weapons and then returned safely. This mission was a demonstration of America's power not only from a technical point of view but also on the geopolitical and psychological front. He has said that apart from VC-25A and E-4B, B-2 bombers are the most expensive aircraft to fly. In recent years, the US has not added new aircraft to their number because a B-2 bomber costs about $2 billion. He has written that "The B-2 bomber was considered a disaster program. The poster child of the Pentagon's cycle of death. After 30 years, no one would argue that it was not an absolutely vital investment." The B-2 Spirit is the world's most expensive operational aircraft. The cost of operating and maintaining it is very high. During the mission, these bombers needed in-flight refuelling at least 3 to 4 times, for which tanker aircraft like the KC-135 and KC-46 were included in the mission. Given the range and operational speed of these aircraft, the mission was planned very meticulously so that its targets could be targeted without penetrating the Iranian air defence system. He has said that initially the B-2 aircraft project was considered a failure and only 21 aircraft were built, but now America has 20 aircraft.

B-2 Bomber Drops GBU-57

The B-2 bomber has dropped GBU-57 bombs on the Fordo nuclear site after a 37-hour non-stop flight. GBU-57A/B is called MOP, i.e., the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, and it is a bunker buster bomb. Its total weight is about 30 thousand pounds, i.e., about 13 thousand kilograms, and it is one of the heaviest non-nuclear bombs in the world. It has the capability to penetrate concrete or granite up to 200 feet, i.e., about 60 metres, deep and explode. That is why it is called a bunker buster, i.e., a bomb that destroys underground bases. Its main target is to destroy deep underground military bases, nuclear weapon manufacturing centres and tunnels, such as Iran's Fordo nuclear site. It is a GPS-guided smart bomb that hits targets with extreme accuracy, especially deep underground structures. The US declared this bomb operational in 2011, and several upgraded versions of it are now present in the arsenal of the B-2 bomber.

The cost of a GBU-57 bomb is around 30 crore to 38 crore Indian rupees. This price is spent on making the bomb, using a GPS guidance system and special elements in it and designing its ability to penetrate deep bunkers and then blast. This does not include the logistical and operational cost of dropping it from a B-2 bomber. This bomb is used in a very limited way; like this time, it has been used to attack Iran's nuclear sites.