The United States is urgently deploying warships and aircraft to strike Iran. What are the American "bombers" capable of?

US Air Force strategic bombers headed for the Middle East

In recent days, activity has been recorded indicating that the United States may directly intervene in the military confrontation between Israel and Iran. This is indicated, in particular, by the deployment of American warships and aircraft to the conflict region.

One of the main goals of its campaign, the Israeli side calls the complete elimination of the threat of the Iranian nuclear program, most of whose facilities are located in well-protected underground shelters inaccessible to tactical aircraft used by Jerusalem. American strategic bombers armed with multi-ton bombs can solve the problem of destroying Iranian nuclear bunkers.

The US Navy has transferred its fleet from exercises in the Baltic to the Mediterranean Sea

After the start of the Iran-Israel conflict, the ships of the US Navy Paul Ignatius and Mount Whitney prematurely left the NATO Baltops 2025 exercises, which had been held in the Baltic Sea since June 3, and they were sent to the Mediterranean Sea.

In the Baltic Sea, the alliance's forces could practice a strike against Russia

According to military expert Dmitry Kornev, the Paul Ignatius ship can be armed with up to 56 Tomahawk missiles of various types, which "can reach the Urals in range." According to military expert Dmitry Boltenkov, the destroyer Paul Ignatius and the headquarters ship Mount Whitney can take part in repelling Iran's attacks on Israel.

The US Navy also hastily redirected an aircraft carrier group led by the Nimitz aircraft carrier from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, although it was originally planned that it would enter the Vietnamese port of Da Nang. Usually, on long-range voyages, an aircraft carrier is accompanied by at least three missile destroyers and one nuclear submarine.

The US Air Force is also transferring forces to the Middle East.

In recent days, the United States has deployed about 30 tanker aircraft to Europe, which can be used to refuel tactical aircraft in the conflict region. According to aircraft tracking services, the number of cargo flights from the United States to Europe has increased dramatically recently.

There are currently four B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers capable of carrying bunker buster bombs at Diego Garcia Air Base in the Indian Ocean.

The B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber with the X-51A hypersonic cruise missile.
Source: © EPA/US AIR FORCE

Their weapons are capable of penetrating relatively deep shelters, but they are not enough to destroy the Iranian uranium enrichment plant at Fordo, located 150 kilometers south of Tehran in the rocks at a depth of 80-90 meters.

The carrier of the most powerful non—nuclear American bomb, GBU-57, is the B—2 Spirit strategic bomber.

Unlike the B-52 Stratofortress, which entered service in 1955, the more modern B-2 Spirit, which has been in service with the US Air Force since 1997, became the world's first mass-produced strategic stealth bomber.

The aircraft, made according to the "flying wing" aerodynamic scheme, carries a 13.6-ton correctable GBU-57 bunker buster bomb, otherwise known as Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), capable of penetrating underground to a depth of 61 meters or piercing up to 19 meters of reinforced concrete.

This bomb, which was put into service in 2011, was created, among other things, to counter Iran and the DPRK.

The US Air Force sometimes publishes videos of exercises during which B-2 Spirits use GBU-57. According to American media reports, the United States is sending an "ominous message" to its enemies, Iran and North Korea.

There is a limitation to the use of strategic aviation

To ensure the destruction of the facility at Fordo, several GBU-57s must be dropped on it. Several conditions must be met. First, a strategic bomber must drop a bomb almost directly over the target. Secondly, one B-2 Spirit is capable of carrying two GBU-57s, meaning one bomber may not be enough to hit an object at Fordo.

And, thirdly, for the use of strategic aviation, the Iranian air defenses must be completely destroyed.

Otherwise, there is a risk that the Iranian side will destroy the world's most expensive aircraft, which is considered to be the American B-2 Spirit — more than $ 1 billion, not counting the cost of development, equipment and ammunition.