It's a bunker buster, conceptually it's not supposed to leave a crater, it's supposed to leave a relatively small tunnel entrance at the surface where it drills down, and a big mess deep underground
I don't know enough about bunker buster impact craters to know if this is a legit assessment. Let me call a guy who knows more about this:
Bunker busters can create impact craters, depending on their design and the nature of the target. These weapons are engineered to penetrate deep into the ground or through fortified structures before detonating, which often results in significant damage to the surrounding area. The explosion can produce a crater, especially if the bomb is designed to detonate after penetrating the target. For instance, the GBU-57, a 30,000-pound bunker buster, is capable of penetrating up to 60 meters beneath the surface to destroy its target.
The size of the crater and the extent of the damage depend on factors such as the type of ground, the depth of the explosion, and the yield of the weapon. In the case of nuclear bunker busters, the explosion can lead to a large crater and significant radioactive fallout.
The GBU-57 was used in Iran. The type of ground and depth of explosion is hard to find, but the depth of the Fordow facility is said to me 80 meters underground.
An impact crater of some kind seems to be expected in the image from this strike.
That IS an "enormous crater" ffs.
It's what? 40 feet wide and 200 feet long? That's HUGE for a single, non-atomic bomb. Here's a BIG crater, from a 155mm probably and the damage at Fordo is 10X that size from a single bomb.
Also: a ground penetration bomb is supposed to blow up deep underground. That means it doesn't make as big a crater as a surface explosion (illustrated above) would.
It's a bunker buster, conceptually it's not supposed to leave a crater, it's supposed to leave a relatively small tunnel entrance at the surface where it drills down, and a big mess deep underground
Which then creates a crater as the land fills in the explosion.
I don't know enough about bunker buster impact craters to know if this is a legit assessment. Let me call a guy who knows more about this:
The GBU-57 was used in Iran. The type of ground and depth of explosion is hard to find, but the depth of the Fordow facility is said to me 80 meters underground.
An impact crater of some kind seems to be expected in the image from this strike.
They used six bunker busters. I have no clue if that would reach 80 metres deep.
https://x.com/ronnieadkins_/status/1936785358596796632
It doesn't "blow up" the bunker it scrambles or collapses it.
That IS an "enormous crater" ffs.
It's what? 40 feet wide and 200 feet long? That's HUGE for a single, non-atomic bomb.
Here's a BIG crater, from a 155mm probably and the damage at Fordo is 10X that size from a single bomb.
Also: a ground penetration bomb is supposed to blow up deep underground. That means it doesn't make as big a crater as a surface explosion (illustrated above) would.