Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Mike Lawler introduced the Bunker Buster Bomb Act (BBA) to the US House of Representatives on 2/7. The bill aims to "equip Israel to address the ongoing nuclear threat from Iran and strengthen US national security."

If passed, the bill would authorize the US president to transfer "GBU-57 massive ordnance penetrators and the aircraft necessary to deploy them" to Israel. This transfer would assist Israel in "defending against and eliminating Iran's underground nuclear facilities."

While the bill doesn't specify the aircraft type, the B-2 stealth bomber is currently the only aircraft capable of carrying the GBU-57 massive ordnance penetrator.

A B-2 bomber returns to Whiteman Air Force Base on 9/5. Photo: *AP*

The bill's introduction follows Iran's suspension of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Gottheimer and Lawler view this as a sign that Tehran still harbors nuclear weapon ambitions.

"Israel must be able to defend itself and prevent Iran from reconstituting its nuclear capabilities," said Gottheimer, a Democrat and member of the House Intelligence Committee. "This bipartisan bill will pave the way for the president to provide Israel with the bunker-buster bombs it needs to stop Iran in its tracks. National security should not be a partisan issue.”

Lawler, a Republican, said the bill empowers the president to provide Tel Aviv with the tools and training necessary to "deter Tehran and make the world a safer place."

This is Gottheimer's third attempt to pass this bill. Previous versions were introduced in 2022 and 2024, but both failed to advance beyond the committee stage.

This time, the bill may garner more attention. The US recently used the GBU-57 for the first time in "Operation Night Hammer," an airstrike targeting the Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities in Iran on 22/6. President Donald Trump claimed the attack completely eliminated Tehran's nuclear program.

The 37-hour journey of the B-2 bomber that struck Iran. Click for details.

The B-2 Spirit, a strategic bomber unveiled by the US in 1988, is the most expensive aircraft in history. Its original cost was 515 million USD, equivalent to 1.06 billion USD today. Including research and development costs, each Spirit costs 2.1 billion USD.

The US produced 21 B-2 bombers. One was destroyed in a 2008 takeoff accident in Guam. Another suffered severe fire damage in 2010 but was repaired and returned to service at considerable cost. Two more, the *Spirit of Hawaii* and *Spirit of Georgia*, sustained significant damage in landing incidents in 2021 and 2022. The US Air Force is repairing the *Spirit of Georgia*, while the *Spirit of Hawaii* has been retired due to high repair costs.

This leaves the US Air Force with 18 operational B-2s. However, typically only 11 to 12 are combat-ready, with the rest undergoing maintenance. The US doesn't train foreign pilots on the B-2 and has never transferred operational control of the aircraft to any ally.

Thanh Danh (*Fox News, Times of Israel*)