Potential of the Ford Factory and the GBU-57/B Massive Bomb in U.S. Fantasy

Today 10:28

Satellite image of the Ford factory.

U.S. military engineers have developed the GBU-57/B bomb for the purpose of destroying deeply buried facilities without releasing radiation. Senior technology reporter Danny Ellis Beshar of Scientific American said that this is the only non-nuclear weapon capable of targeting Iran's most complex objectives.

This seems to be an impossible task: how to create an opening in a granite mountain to destroy the facilities underneath, while not crossing the "nuclear weapons red line"? The solution is a bomb weighing 13,600 kilograms — equivalent to a city bus compressed into a cylinder six meters long and 75 centimeters in diameter.

Escalation of Conflict: GBU-57/B as the Focus

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Iran conflict last week, the GBU-57/B bomb has frequently appeared in various speculations and discussions. As the strongest non-nuclear weapon for destroying underground deep targets, many people are speculating whether Israel will acquire this weapon. To understand the essence of the GBU-57/B and why Netanyahu needs it, let us first look at its intended strike targets.

The Ford factory is Iran's most advanced uranium enrichment facility, located 30 kilometers northeast of Qom City in central Iran. According to data from the Institute for Science and International Security, the high-enriched uranium produced by this facility could theoretically make a nuclear warhead within days (though clearly this claim is false — making a nuclear bomb requires 15-20 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium with at least 90% enrichment, which would take years, and the Ford factory’s centrifuges can only enrich up to 60%. — EADaily note). Additionally, it is buried 80-90 meters deep under rock layers reinforced with concrete, surrounded by anti-aircraft missile positions.

Following Israel's destruction of Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981 and Syria's nuclear facility in 2007, Iran decided to disperse its nuclear program across multiple locations and bury key facilities deep underground — even Israel's 2250-kilogram bunker-buster bombs cannot reach them. Intelligence indicates that the facility was built in 2002 (Iran claims 2007), but Tehran did not admit its existence until September 2009.

Weapon Analysis: Technical Breakthroughs of the GBU-57/B

The first three letters of GBU-57/B stand for "Guided Bomb Unit" (high-precision self-guided bomb), being the 57th design in this series, with the suffix B indicating the version (letters such as A/B, B/B, C/B represent each improvement by military engineers). After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, engineers studied the effects of using older small GBU bombs against bunkers and found their penetration depth insufficient, causing only surface damage.

The military needed a more powerful weapon without crossing the "nuclear taboo" (the internationally recognized moral consensus: using nuclear weapons is dangerous, creates radioactive fallout, triggers escalation, and may provoke diplomatic backlash from allies and neutral countries). Thus, the GBU-57/B, also known as the "Massive Penetrator," was born. The U.S. Air Force described it as a "weapons system designed to destroy large-scale weapons hidden deep within enemy hardened facilities."

The GBU-57/B is dropped from a B-2 "Spirit" bomber at a cruising altitude of 15,200 meters, guided toward the target through a complex stabilizer system. Its precise impact speed remains undisclosed, but estimates suggest it exceeds Mach 1 (speed of sound, 1234 km/h). At impact, it releases 800-900 megajoules of kinetic energy (approximately 758,000 to 853,000 British thermal units) — equivalent to the kinetic energy of a Boeing 747-400 landing at 270 km/h or a 565-ton Amtrak Acela Express train traveling at 190 km/h.

Penetration Principle: Precision Design of Kinetic Energy and Structure

This immense energy is concentrated on an extremely small contact point. A 2012 report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service showed that the GBU-57/B can penetrate 60 meters of concrete or rock (density equivalent to bridge pavement or concrete slabs) before detonating approximately 2,400 kilograms of explosives.

Its design optimizes drilling: the warhead has an elliptical shape resembling a Gothic arch, effectively dispersing weight like pointed arches; the smooth shape of the warhead reduces air resistance; upon impact, the curved design evenly distributes the initial shock force across the steel body, preventing stress concentration, ensuring the body remains intact after penetrating the rock layer. Additionally, the body has a high cross-sectional load — the ratio of the body's mass to the area of its first contact with the rock layer.

To illustrate with a hammer and pillow analogy: a hammer concentrates mass over a small area, with a high cross-sectional density; a pillow is the opposite. The GBU-57/B concentrates most of its mass and momentum behind the tiny contact point, minimizing resistance and "rock avalanche effect," while the high cross-sectional density focuses speed and power, achieving deep penetration.

Practical Dilemmas: Technological Dependence and Political Restrictions

Although Israel is suspected of possessing a nuclear arsenal, it has strictly adhered to the nuclear taboo. If Israel wishes to destroy the Ford factory without using nuclear weapons, it requires both the GBU-57/B and the B-2 bomber (each B-2 bomber can carry only two GBU-57/B bombs, one in each bomb bay). Otherwise, Israel could theoretically only attack the periphery of the Ford factory — such as damaging the power supply system, blowing up entrances, or sending special forces, but the uranium enrichment equipment is deep underground.

The Ford factory is extremely well protected. An article from the Royal United Services Institute noted: "Even with the GBU-57/B, multiple precise strikes might be required to destroy this target." Although there have been media reports stating that the GBU-57/B was used against Houthi targets in Yemen, the U.S. Air Force claims that the weapon has never been used in combat, and there are only dozens in inventory.

Until now, the U.S. has not agreed to transfer a single GBU-57/B to Israel — let alone the B-2 bombers required for deployment (clearly the U.S. wants to test the performance of the bombs and bombers themselves).

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7517977829061984831/

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