In the early hours of June 21, 2025, the United States carried out what experts are calling the most precise and powerful tactical strike of the last decade. Using B‑2 Spirit stealth bombers, the U.S. Air Force deployed several Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs on three of Iran’s key nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, successfully hitting fortified underground targets previously considered unreachable.

The MOP, developed by Boeing and operational since 2011, is a nearly 14,000‑kilogram, 6‑meter-long bomb specifically engineered to bore deep into earth or reinforced concrete before detonation. Its mission: destroy deep-underground bunkers, like those shielding Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. According to the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the MOP can penetrate up to 60 meters of concrete or more than 100 meters of compact earth, delivering over 2.5 tons of high-explosive payload.

But this bomb cannot be launched from just any aircraft. Only the B‑2 Spirit  one of the world’s most advanced strategic bombers  can carry and deliver it with the necessary precision. Designed by Northrop Grumman, the B‑2 has a range of over 11,000 kilometers and can infiltrate heavily defended airspace thanks to its stealth technology, rendering it almost invisible to radar systems.

The United States is the only country in the world that possesses both the MOP and the B‑2. According to the Air Force Global Strike Command, only 20 operational B‑2s exist today, each costing more than $2 billion, while a single MOP is valued between $3.5 and $4 million. The June 21 strike thus represents a military and financial operation of enormous weight.

Despite Israel’s advanced air capabilities, it does not have the MOP or the aircraft to deploy it. This limitation prompted Israeli leaders to request U.S. intervention. President Trump responded, ordering the release of the bomb  a weapon “unique in the world,” as he described it.

With this strike, the U.S. not only obliterated physical targets but also reaffirmed its technological dominance and underscored a stark reality: some weapons are exclusive to superpowers.