What Is the B-2 Bomber and the GBU-57 'Bunker Buster'?

New Delhi, Jun 22: The US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites were carried out using B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, among the most advanced aircraft in the world. Capable of flying undetected deep into hostile territory, the B-2 can deliver both conventional and nuclear weapons. In this operation, the B-2s deployed the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP),  a 13,600-kg precision-guided bomb designed to destroy deeply buried and heavily fortified targets like Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility, which is placed deep under a mountain.

According to the BBC, the GBU-57 is the only known non-nuclear weapon capable of penetrating such reinforced structures, making it the weapon of choice for this high-stakes mission. The bomb can burrow through up to 200 feet of concrete and rock before detonating. These bombers were reportedly repositioned to Guam last week, a move that Reuters notes raised early speculation about impending strikes.

The strikes mark the most direct U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict to date. Experts say the move could alter the strategic balance in the region, “The B-2 bombers were pre-positioned in Guam days before,” noted a defence official quoted by the BBC, “suggesting this operation had long been in planning.” Fordo, carved deep into a mountain to shield it from such attacks, had long been seen as a symbol of Iran’s nuclear resilience.  The question now is whether this act of high-stakes military intervention will bring about a resolution or plunge the region into an even more volatile and deadly chapter. For now, missile trails still arc across the skies above Israel, and sirens echo as both sides brace for the next phase in a war that has now gone global, which will directly affect the business and raise oil prices across the globe.