The United States Air Force dropped 14 massive “bunker buster” bombs Sunday in the “Operation Midnight Hammer” surprise attack on three Iranian nuclear sites — the first time the 30,000-pound devices have been used in combat.

Let’s look at the particulars of those gigantic bombs and the other weapons and delivery systems used in the raid. We’ll also do our best to put price tags on the hardware and trace its origins to the defense contractors that produced it.

The US deployed more than 125 aircraft and used one submarine to unleash 75 precision guided weapons. Besides dropping the bunker busters from seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, it fired about 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles from a submarine, probably the USS Georgia. The bombers were escorted by fighter planes, including F-35s, and were refueled in flight by KC-135 Stratotankers and KC-46 Pegasus tankers.

But the world’s attention has focused on one weapon in particular, even though its success in the Iran conflict remains difficult to determine.

The bunker buster

America’s most lethal non-nuclear device, nicknamed the bunker buster, is more formally known as the GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator or MOP. The bombs measure 20.5 feet long and 6 feet across at their widest point. They really do weigh 30,000 pounds, but the polymer-bonded explosives they contain weigh just 5,300 pounds. The thick high-density steel alloy walls of the bomb account for about 80% of the Weight.

Those heavy walls help the bomb penetrate soil, reinforced concrete or rock, and it can travel 200 feet underground before a smart fuse detonates it. To attack an installation deeper in the ground, B-2s can drop a series of the bunker busters, each going farther down into the earth.

By 2002, Northrup Grumman (NOC) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) were already working to develop a 30,000-pound bunker buster but abandoned the project because of technical challenges and funding shortfalls. Yet smaller versions of the device proved inadequate during the 2003 invasion of Iraq because they failed to penetrate deeply enough or didn’t cause enough destruction.

That prompted the Air Force to again commission development of the 30,000-pound MOP in 2004. Boeing (BA) got the contract and went to work. In 2007, the bomb was tested in New Mexico. It was ready to deploy by 2010. In February 2011, Boeing received a $15 million contract to modify and test the bomb.

The Air Force ordered eight MOPs, plus supporting equipment, for $28 million in 2011. Congress approved $81.6 million to further develop and improve the weapon in 2011. The Pentagon requested $82 million in 2012 to develop greater penetration power for the weapon.

At least 20 of the bombs were produced by November 2015.^[*] In 2019, Boeing received a $21 million contract modification to produce more bombs. In October 2019, the Air Force procured warheads to use with the bomb.

It’s difficult to pin down how much the bunker buster has cost, but some estimates place the total for development at $400 million and others place it at $500 million. Contracts often cited in the press awarded Boeing $70 million in 2019 to continue work on the device and another $77 million in 2021. Some estimates peg the cost of each bomb at $20 million, but that can vary as conditions change. Plus, calculating the total is open to discussion depending upon what costs are included.

Whatever the price, the bombs can’t deliver themselves, and that’s where the B-2 comes in.

A flying saucer?

Some have opined that the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber looks a bit like an alien spacecraft, but the “futuristic” shape of the plane makes it “slippery” to radar and difficult to detect. Northrup Grumman produced 21 of them between 1988 and 2000, and 19 remain in service.

The original plan was to make 132, not just 21. Funding was undoubtedly a factor because they cost an average of $2.13 billion to make. Yes, that’s with a “B.” They also require 119 hours of expensive maintenance for each hour they fly. The end of the Cold War brought a “peace dividend” that also discouraged production of a big fleet.

B-2s are the only aircraft in the world capable of carrying the MOP into combat. However, some early versions of the bomb were dropped in tests from Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses, the giant bombers often associated with the Vietnam War. Nearly 750 B-52s were manufactured between 1952 and 1962, and many remain in service with the Air Force. But back to the B-2. In 2007, Northrop Grumman was granted a $2.5 million contract to retrofit B-2s to carry two MOPs each. The modifications were complete by early 2013.

All of the B-2s are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. They can fly about 7,000 miles without refueling. Their crews, which consist of two pilots and no other personnel, made the 37-hour round trip to Iran without landing before they touched ground back in Missouri. The pilots had a cot for short naps and a microwave to heat food.

Although the B-2s and the bunker busters have captured attention in the raid, they weren’t the only weaponry deployed on the mission.

Other military hardware

Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles like the ones that rained down upon Iran were probably made by Raytheon, which is now part of RTX (RTX). It’s been the sole producer of the weapon since the 1990s. The missiles were designed by the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University and were initially produced in 1983 by General Dynamics (GD). Later versions were built by McDonnell Douglas, which is now part of Boeing, and by Hughes Aircraft, which was acquired by General Motors (GM).

The missiles can be launched from the ground but are more commonly fired by planes, ships or subs. They’re more than 18 feet long and can weigh as much as 3,500 pounds if they have a booster. The damage they can cause depends on the warhead. A 1,000-pound high explosive warhead, for example, can destroy a house and create a large crater.

The cost averages of about $2 million each, but the price varies according to the configuration and ancillary equipment. Japan, for example, recently paid $2.35 billion for 400 of them.

An Ohio Class submarine capable of carrying 154 Tomahawks reportedly fired the 30 that landed on Iran. If it was indeed the USS Georgia, as reported by several sources, it was built byh the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics and launched in 1982. It would have cost about $2 billion at the time, and was among 18 that went into service between 1976 and 1997.

The planes supporting the mission would have had some big price tags, too. F-35 stealth fighters reportedly used in the attack are produced primarily by Lockheed Martin in partnership with Northrup Grumman and BAE Systems (BAESY). The cost of an F-35, not counting research and development, varies from $83 million to $102 million, depending on the variant.

Boeing developed the KC-135 Stratotanker alongside the slightly larger 707 airliner and made them from 1955 to 1965 for a price of $114 million in today’s dollars. The company designed the KC-46 Pegasus in tandem with the 767 to replace the KC-135 and began delivering them in 2019 for $287 million each.

Ed McKinley is Luckbox editor-in-chief.