They have plenty of C-130s though.





(How bizarre, the reply appears before the question. Must be powered by neutrinos)

Casting aside the usual assumptions
 

Don't assume the Israeli AF would have to fly non-stop across unfriendly nations. Instead, imagine an Israeli aircraft landing in Saudi and collecting pre-positioned items ;) Unholy alliance? No, simply expedient for both parties. Time will tell. subject to media being allowed to report the full truth, which would certainly make a change.

Edit: How does this answer get posted before the Op ????

15 ton "Big blu"
 

One wonders why the USA has spent some $169 million on producing only 8 of these enormous "bunker busting - to 200 metre underground" bombs.

Could it perchance be that they are going to be given to Israel to use in the next few weeks on Iranian nuclear facilities?

I doubt that Israel has any capability to have an A/C to carry a 15 ton bomb across the middle east, Soverein states deliver it & get home safely.
Therefore I predict that the failing Obama administration will use B2's to deliver exactly 8 conventional warheads (TNT - call it what you will) on the Iranian underground facilities before Xmas.

The Isralies will claim that they did it - but they have no A/C that could, without AAR, or the capability of carrying a 15 ton bomb.

Watch this space...:ok:

I suggest you make that prediction a bet.

I am willing to take that bet.


I suggest that the loser never posts on Pprune again.

Brave enough to put your money where your mouth is, or are you all bull...talk

What bet do you want? Why should the USA develop a conventional ( as opposed to a neccessary small nuclear bomb) to depose the Iranian Government?

However, they could not in the 70's stop Israel, Pakistan or India gaining nuclear weapons. That is now the "Catch 22".

Post your bet old son. Iran WILL be hit by the 8 Blu's within 6 weeks - delivered by USA B2's & followed up by Israli air strikes to say to the world "don't mess with Israel.

Watch & wait sir.

SAM

Where is the link to your information ?

The US Gov't released info the other week that they had taken delivery of 20 x 30,000 lb bombs for a similar purpose to what you described and to be carried by B52's and B2's.

totally off-the wall question, but how practical would it be to use one of the heavier-lift Jericho missile variants to launch a penetration warhead? It may only be able to lift around a tonne or so, but the kinetic energy due to the re-entry speed would be high.
Could you accurately designate a target to a bomb moving that fast?

Bench Mark your calendar.....October 2012!

US Presidential elections in November.....and Obama very definitely needs an October Surprise to survive this election!

In this case....I pray the bombs are a dud....and the Dud bombs!:E

11 months is a very long time in politics, but Obama will win the election. The GOP has no surefire opponent for him. If Gingrich really is at the top of the list right now, they're in a lot of trouble.

The GOP's best and brightest hopes come across as a bunch of flip-flopping attention whore fruitbats. The problem with having to appeal to your support base of 'the rich and powerful' is that you need the votes of the 'superstitious sheep' - the net result is you have candidates that any rational, intelligent & sympathetic people can see are self indulgent batshit crazy numpties.

Not exactly electable.

People seem to assume the Israelis will be able to just float around seemingly at will, unmolested at any level they like!

I would think it a fairly safe assumption to say so.

Sorry guys, the site is plagued by a time lord called IB, the owners.

The whole site has posts that should have a sequential place but if the time 'given' to you is 6 hrs BEFORE you post that place moves back those 6hrs (LA time) and is placed in FRONT of a question. That just makes it daft, as some of you have already commented.

Nothing we mods can do about but we are giving IB a bad time to correct it.

PPP

I'll put money on the US not striking against Iran before xmas.

Hi
Is the destructive power as much as the 22.000lb Grand Slam Bomb ?

So will Obama give his Nobel Peace Prize back before this first strike, or will the B2s have hastily painted six pointed stars on the wings?

Seem to remember something about a bet being placed before on here. And it being WELSHED on!

Bum cheeks and a rose any one? :p

Load Toad

You don't know much about American electoral politics, do you? The " rich and powerful" aren't near enough votes and they went for Obama last time out, anyway. The "base" of the Republican party is virtually everywhere outside of the coasts and big cities. Even in the 2008 blowout, you could have driven coast-to-coast and not passed thru a county that went for Obama. It is the rural states that make up the Republican party, not the rich and powerful.

GF

Last year I read an article that said it was a small number of B1B Bombers that had been modified to carry this weapon. I would imagine any attack would be launched from DG rather than compromising allies in the Middle East.

Some B52's & all B2a's can carry TWO of these MOP GBU57/A/B weapons. I may be wrong about the figures, but as I understand it the USAF have only taken delivery of EIGHT bombs to date (despite figures of 20 being mentioned)...

Have a look at USAF takes delivery of the GBU-57A/B Penetrator - now there's nowhere to hide

Given the politics involved I would doubt that the US would use these bombs from DG - as A/C movements would be noticed immediately via satellite intel. I would expect B2's to be launched direct from the USA with Hom as the primary target. The State Department will probably have co-ordinated the attack with the Israeli AF to ensure that Israeli A/C attack the same facilities at the time of GBU57 detonations. The B2's will not be detected over Middle East airspace & the Israelis will take full responsibility.

Of course, for the Israelis to reach Iran, they would have to overfly either Syria or Iraq, without permission (which Syria would not give). They will overfly Iraq as the US controls the airspace....

Then Israel will have to rely on the notoriously failure prone US supplied Patriot batteries to attempt to shoot down any "misguided" missiles launched by Iran in the next 24 hours. Sadly, any Iranian missiles destroyed mid-air will fall on Syria.

Result: A MAJOR Middle East conflagration.

The simple fact is that if Irans deep underground nuclear manufacturing facilities are to be destroyed, only a several megaton nuclear weapon or the GBU 57 will do the job. Obviously Israel doesn't want to use the nuclear option as it would become an international parhia for all time, & could indeed invite China/Russia/N.Korea to launch an ICBM strike. Therefore I predict a joint US/Israeli strike on all Iranian Nuclear plants followed up by a purely Israeli air assault (with covert US assistance using B2's, drones & Iraq based assets) on Iranian air defences. No ground assault - just destroying Irans nuclear base.

The ramblings of a mad Englishman on what is a "rumour" forum....:ok: