The Pentagon has successfully destroyed a replica of an underground nuclear facility using advanced bunker-buster bombs, military officials said Friday.
The underground bombing was part of a series of military field exercises, and U.S. officials said it went better than expected, Ynet News reported.
U.S. officials spread the good news among friendly nations, Ynet reported, as a means of reassuring them about America’s ability to take out Iran’s nuclear technology, if needed.
The experiment used bunker-buster bombs that were developed in July 2012 by Defense Department experts, Ynet reported. The test involved dropping a GBU-57B bomb from a B-2 bomber to see if it could penetrate the concrete ceilings of the underground site.
The cost to manufacture each bomb is about $3.5 million. The cost of the new weapon technology — which is six times larger than any other existing bunker buster — was $500 million, Ynet reported. It weighs 13 tons and is twice as fast as the speed of sound, Ynet reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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