Only the U.S. Has the Aircraft and Firepower to Strike Iran’s Deepest Nuclear Site, Military Experts Say
As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, a retired U.S. Air Force general has confirmed that only one aircraft in the world is capable of delivering the devastating 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) — and it belongs to the United States.
Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Weatherington, a former commander of the 8th Air Force and experienced pilot of the stealthy B-2 Spirit bomber, told Fox News that this iconic aircraft is the only plane in the world capable of carrying and deploying the GBU-57 — a precision bunker-buster weapon powerful enough to target Iran’s highly fortified Fordow nuclear facility, which is buried hundreds of feet beneath a mountainside.
“The B-2 is a very unique aircraft in the American arsenal,” Weatherington said. “No other airplane like it exists in the world. It’s stealthy, long-range, and has the payload capacity required to carry the MOP.”
Why Only the B-2 Spirit Can Handle the Mission
Designed for deep penetration and undetectable strikes, the B-2 bomber’s stealth capabilities make it the only viable option for such a complex mission. It is housed exclusively at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, and its extreme range — roughly 6,000 miles to Fordow — means it would require multiple in-flight refuelings.
While the B-2 is not entirely silent, it is designed to evade radar detection and reach targets undisturbed — giving it a strategic edge no other aircraft, including those from Russia or China, currently possesses.
“The B-2 isn’t just about power. It’s about access,” Weatherington emphasized. “It can get to places nothing else can.”
Can the MOP Destroy Fordow? Experts Say ‘Yes — If Executed Precisely’
Todd Sawhill, a former CENTCOM intelligence officer and current Naval intelligence adviser, also spoke on the potential success of such a strike. According to him, the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, while tested to reach depths of 200 feet, may still be able to destroy Fordow, which lies around 300 feet underground, especially with multi-hit tactics or precision targeting.
“Absolutely — if deployed correctly,” Sawhill noted. “Success will depend on the accuracy of the strike, the behavior of the ordnance, and the overall execution of the mission.”
He also addressed concerns about forward-staging the B-2 in the Middle East, emphasizing that the aircraft’s high value makes it too vulnerable to pre-position in a volatile region. Instead, launching directly from the U.S. remains the most secure and strategic option.
Why the B-2 and MOP Combo Is America’s Strategic Trump Card
As Israel and Iran continue to trade missile fire, America holds a unique advantage — the only existing combination of aircraft and ordnance capable of destroying heavily fortified, subterranean targets like Fordow.
Despite advances in aerospace technology by rivals such as China and Russia, both Weatherington and Sawhill insist that no other military currently matches the B-2’s stealth, precision, and power projection capabilities.
