The 30,000-lb Bomb Trump Struck Iran's Nuclear Sites With: GBU-57 MOP | WSJ Equipped

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Israel, Massive Ordnance Penetrator, Cheyenne Mountain, Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant
2. 3:00 – 3:42: Israel

Notable quotes from "The 30,000-lb Bomb Trump Struck Iran's Nuclear Sites With: GBU-57 MOP | WSJ Equipped"

• [Narrator] Here's why the MOP represents Israel's best chance at destroying Iran's facilities and why it can't do it alone.

  about Israel · at 0:30

• According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran already has enough highly enriched uranium to make around 10 nuclear weapons.

  about International Atomic Energy Agency · at 2:07

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

Companies & orgs

• International Atomic Energy Agency — Company · 1 mention · first at 2:07
• NORAD — Company · 1 mention

Products & tech

• Massive Ordnance Penetrator — Product · 2 mentions · first at 0:02
  [Narrator] This is a GBU-57, known as a Massive Ordnance Penetrator.
• GBU-57 — Product · 1 mention · first at 0:00
  [Narrator] This is a GBU-57, known as a Massive Ordnance Penetrator.
• B-2 — Product · 1 mention

Places & events

• Israel — Place · 4 mentions · first at 0:31
• Natanz — Place · 1 mention · first at 2:19
  Satellite images have shown damage at nuclear facilities, including Iran's largest enrichment facility, Natanz.
• Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant — Place · 1 mention · first at 2:25
  The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, where Iran produces highly enriched uranium.
• Cheyenne Mountain — Place · 1 mention · first at 2:40
  Look, the US put NORAD under Cheyenne Mountain.
• Iran — Place · 1 mention
• United States (states) — Place · 1 mention

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 - [Narrator] This is a GBU-57, known as a Massive Ordnance Penetrator. At 20 feet long and weighing 30,000 pounds, it is the world's largest non-nuclear bomb and can destroy targets buried deep underground, earning it the name "Bunker Buster". to destroy Iran's heavily fortified nuclear facilities, experts say these are the conventional weapons with the best chance of success. - This is a big sucker. It is called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which basically sums up what it is. - [Narrator] Here's why the MOP represents Israel's best chance at destroying Iran's facilities and why it can't do it alone.

0:38 The MOP is the largest Bunker Buster bomb in the US arsenal. It's designed to penetrate hardened targets and plow through almost 200 feet of rock before detonating. Due to the MOP's weight, they can only be carried by the biggest bombers, such as B-2s. One bomb is unlikely to burrow deep enough to hit Iran's nuclear facilities by itself. - The metal is gonna melt at some point and so it does have limitations in terms of how far it can penetrate and that's why you may have to follow it up with multiple instances. You drive a wedge in, it expands, and then you continue to drive it in the second time.

1:13 And each time it's more effective. In a sense, you're trying to create an earthquake, you're trying to crack the mountain and to channel that seismic energy down to make whatever is under there, whatever facility is under there, shake around a lot. - [Narrator] The MOP is equipped with advanced guidance systems, including GPS, to allow for accurate targeting. It is also fitted with a delayed fuse, which allows the bomb to explode after it has penetrated its target. - You kind of wait until it gets down in there before it blows up 'cause if you wanna maximize the energy, every foot counts in order to get it deeper, to burrow down and to have the effect.

1:53 - [Narrator] Since it launched its campaign against Iran's nuclear program, Israel has damaged critical nuclear infrastructure and killed scientists. Iran has denied trying to build nuclear weapons and says its nuclear program is peaceful. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran already has enough highly enriched uranium to make around 10 nuclear weapons. Satellite images have shown damage at nuclear facilities, including Iran's largest enrichment facility, Natanz. But one key location remains unscathed.

2:25 The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, where Iran produces highly enriched uranium. It's hidden in the mountains and is believed to be buried up to 295 feet below ground. - It's harder to hit deliberately so because the Iranians buried it under a mountain. Look, the US put NORAD under Cheyenne Mountain. It's way down under a lot of granite and a lot of rock, and you wanna raise the threshold for your adversaries to hit something. Sometimes it's just really useful to bury it. - [Narrator] While Israel has Bunker Busters, none of the ones in its arsenal are powerful enough to penetrate deep enough to hit Fordow.

3:00 - This is why the Israelis probably need US assistance. Israelis have a lot of bombs, but they need things that can kind of crack the mountain and create a wedge to create the tremors, and to create vibrations that will be helpful to destroy the facility. - [Narrator] In addition to lacking the weapons to destroy Fordow, Israel also lacks the heavy bombers. Its ally, the US, has both. - Now fundamentally, there's a choice here to be made about whether it is in the US national interest to take out Fordow, to take out the the Iranian nuclear program once and for all.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "The 30,000-lb Bomb Trump Struck Iran's Nuclear Sites With: GBU-57 MOP | WSJ Equipped"?

In order: 0:00 Israel, Massive Ordnance Penetrator, Cheyenne Mountain, Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant; 3:00 Israel.

What is mentioned in this The Wall Street Journal episode?

11 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Israel, Massive Ordnance Penetrator, GBU-57, International Atomic Energy Agency, Natanz, Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The 30,000-lb Bomb Trump Struck Iran's Nuclear Sites With: GBU-57 MOP | WSJ Equipped"?

The episode runs 4 min; the transcript is about 622 words in 6 timestamped sections.

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