What space images show about the strikes on Iran’s missile bases?
Iran, which does not have a modern air force, has long turned to ballistic missiles to project its power beyond its borders. Its most capable ballistic missile is the Shahab-3, which can hit targets more than 1,200 miles away. Most of these missiles and the facilities that produce them are thought to be underground.
A New York Times analysis of satellite imagery shows how these sites have been targeted since the Pentagon’s latest airstrike on Iran began on Saturday.
Here’s a look at some of the key areas hit and what they say about the US and Israeli strategy:
Underground facilities are the biggest target and are difficult to eliminate.
U.S. Central Command said in a social media post on Sunday that it used B-2 stealth bombers to attack “hardened ballistic missile facilities” with 2,000-pound penetrating bombs. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged Monday that such specialized weapons are needed because the sites are underground.
These bombs were likely based on the BLU-109, a thick-cased warhead designed to penetrate rocks or reinforced concrete before exploding. They are equipped with a GPS or laser guidance kit, depending on the precision required for the mission. Unlike an air attack on an above-ground target, where the explosive power of a bomb can be transmitted through the surrounding air and cause damage at a distance, placing the munitions on the target as precisely as possible is even more important when attacking underground areas as the surrounding rocks will absorb more of the bomb’s power.
These 1-ton penetrating bombs that Caine mentioned will be used for underground facilities that are closer to the surface than the two deeply buried nuclear sites at Fordo and Natanz that the US attacked last June. The facilities were attacked with special 30,000-pound penetrating bombs that only B-2 stealth bombers could drop.
Using the BLU-109 or similar 2,000-pound penetrating warhead to attack areas closer to the surface greatly expands the types of aircraft that can carry and use these munitions.
The US military has noted that Iran’s land mass is slightly larger than Alaska, making the already difficult task of locating entrances to underground facilities even more difficult.
The destruction at some surface ballistic missile facilities is quite extensive.
The Times analysis found evidence of damage to some of Iran’s surface ballistic missile facilities, and the damage at several facilities was extensive.
For example, many buildings were destroyed at a missile facility near Kermanshah.
Satellite images show at least nine buildings at a missile facility in Garmdareh, just outside Tehran, have been hit in two separate attacks since Saturday.
At this stage, the Times was unable to verify satellite images showing that missile production facilities had been hit. Sam Lair, a research fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, suggested that this could be a strategic move by the United States and Israel. “This could happen at a later stage of the conflict after the missile bases have been suppressed,” Lair said.
Missile sites hit last year are being targeted once again.
Last June, the Isfahan nuclear complex was heavily bombed with cruise missiles, but it escaped during four days of US and Israeli bombardment. But missile facilities near the city, including those that have been rebuilt, have been targeted since the US-Israeli strikes in June.
In the case of the ballistic missile facility in Isfahan, which was rebuilt following the US attack last June, recent satellite images show that the facility has been severely damaged since February 28.
As of Tuesday, US Central Command, which oversees all US military operations in the region, acknowledged that more than 1,700 targets had been attacked in Iran.
