{"id":21691,"date":"2021-10-12T17:11:15","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T17:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/10\/12\/the-air-force-is-testing-a-new-bunker-busting-bomb-that-could-counter-north-korea-and-iran\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:36:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:36:21","slug":"the-air-force-is-testing-a-new-bunker-busting-bomb-that-could-counter-north-korea-and-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/10\/12\/the-air-force-is-testing-a-new-bunker-busting-bomb-that-could-counter-north-korea-and-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"The Air Force is testing a new bunker-busting bomb that could counter North Korea and Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Air Force weapons testers are vetting a new 5,000-pound bomb that could become a bunker-busting tool against North Korean or Iranian nuclear facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet with the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, wrapped up a slate of assessments Oct. 7 when it dropped a GBU-72 Advanced 5K Penetrator bomb from 35,000 feet over the installation\u2019s vast test range, the service said in a release Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force first tried loading, flying and releasing the weapon \u2014 which is a BLU-138 penetrator warhead combined with a modified Joint Direct Attack Munition GPS guidance kit and tail assembly \u2014 in July. The three-part series of tests aimed to prove whether the F-15E could safely fire the bomb guided by a JDAM tail kit used on a lighter, 2,000-pound bomb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The 96th Test Wing recently concluded a GBU-72 test series that featured the first-ever load, flight and release of the 5,000-pound weapon. (Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rather than letting a weapon rely on gravity to fall directly down onto a target, JDAM converts \u201cdumb\u201d bombs into GPS-guided munitions that can hit particular coordinates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn addition to the successful flight test series, the ground test series was Eglin\u2019s largest-ever arena test, surpassing the previous titleholder by more than double,\u201d the Air Force said. \u201cThe arena test, an open-air test where the warhead detonates surrounded by blast pressure sensors and fragment counting equipment, helps to determine the weapon\u2019s lethality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GBU-72 is designed to fly on fighter and bomber aircraft, though the Air Force hasn\u2019t said which airframes could take on the new weapon other than the F-15E.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force has been researching the 5,000-pound weapon since at least 2017<\/a>, and plans to begin buying them within the next year at a total cost of $36 million for 125 units, according to fiscal 2022 budget documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\t