Pentagon Deploys Warplanes with ‘Bunker Busting’ Bombs to Deter Iran

A-10 Thunderbolt II reconnaissance support aircraft arrive at al-Dhafra Airport in the UAE (US airforce)
A-10 Thunderbolt II reconnaissance support aircraft arrive at al-Dhafra Airport in the UAE (US airforce)
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Pentagon Deploys Warplanes with ‘Bunker Busting’ Bombs to Deter Iran

A-10 Thunderbolt II reconnaissance support aircraft arrive at al-Dhafra Airport in the UAE (US airforce)
A-10 Thunderbolt II reconnaissance support aircraft arrive at al-Dhafra Airport in the UAE (US airforce)

The US mil­i­tary is for the first time putting 250-pound “bunker bust­ing” bombs on at­tack air­craft re­cently sent to the Mid­dle East in the lat­est move to de­ter Iran, US of­fi­cials said.

Wall Street Journal reported that the de­ci­sion to put more pow­er­ful weapons on a squadron of A-10 Warthogs was de­signed to give pi­lots a greater chance of suc­cess in de­stroy­ing am­mu­ni­tion bunkers and other en­trenched tar­gets in Iraq and Syria, where US forces have been re­peat­edly tar­geted by Iran-backed fight­ers.

The move marks the first time that the US mil­i­tary will put these pre­ci­sion-guided weapons on board the Warthogs, which were re­cently re­fit­ted so that they could each carry up to 16 bunker busters, known for­mally as GBU-39/B bombs.

The pow­er­ful bombs are ar­riv­ing in the Mid­dle East at a time of height­ened ten­sions with Iran.

On Thurs­day, Iran’s Rev­o­lu­tion­ary Guard Corps (IRGC) de­tained an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman as it car­ried crude to the US from Kuwait.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said the A-10s are highly ef­fec­tive at some things we need to do.

Grynkewich over­sees US mil­i­tary op­er­a­tions in the skies above Syria and 20 other na­tions in the Mid­dle East and South­east Asia as head of the US Air Forces Cen­tral Com­mand.

The new squadron rep­re­sents a 50 percent in­crease in the num­ber of at­tack air­craft in the re­gion, Grynkewich said.

The Pen­tagon sent the Warthog squadron, usu­ally around 12 planes, to the Mid­dle East last month af­ter Iran-backed forces car­ried out a se­ries of at­tacks on US bases in Syria, in­clud­ing one sui­cide-drone strike that killed a US con­trac­tor.

US Pres­i­dent Joe Biden re­sponded to the at­tacks by or­der­ing airstrikes on Iran-backed mil­i­tants in Syria.

Mov­ing the Warthogs into the Mid­dle East was part of a broader ef­fort to beef up the US mil­i­tary pres­ence amid ris­ing con­cerns about at­tacks by Iran and its mil­i­tant al­lies across the re­gion.

The up­grade will give the Warthogs more fire­power than F-15 jet fight­ers, US of­fi­cials said.

It also rep­re­sents an ad­vance on the mil­i­tary’s ef­forts to demon­strate the value of the ag­ing Warthog fleet that Pen­tagon of­fi­cials have been try­ing to re­tire for more than a decade.

The US mil­i­tary also an­nounced the ar­rival last month of a guided-mis­sile sub­ma­rine in the Mid­dle East, a pub­lic show of force.
At the time, US of­fi­cials said they had in­tel­li­gence that Iran was pre­paring to carry out a drone at­tack on a com­mer­cial ship in the re­gion, some­thing Wash­ing­ton has ac­cused Tehran of do­ing sev­eral times in re­cent years.

Meanwhile, new research by Uk-based Conflict Armament Research (CAR) revealed that the Shahed-136 drones sold to Russia by Iran are powered by an engine based on German technology – technology illicitly acquired by Iran almost 20 years ago.

The finding – made through a detailed examination of components recovered in Ukraine and shared exclusively with CNN – underlines Iran’s ability to mimic and finesse military technology it has obtained illegitimately.

CNN reported that Western officials are also concerned that Russia may share Western-made weapons and equipment recovered on the Ukrainian battlefield with the Iranians. So far, there’s no firm evidence that this has happened.



Trade on Agenda as Trump Heads to Scotland for Diplomacy and Golf

 President Donald Trump waves from the stairs of Air Force One as he boards upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP)
President Donald Trump waves from the stairs of Air Force One as he boards upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP)
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Trade on Agenda as Trump Heads to Scotland for Diplomacy and Golf

 President Donald Trump waves from the stairs of Air Force One as he boards upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP)
President Donald Trump waves from the stairs of Air Force One as he boards upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP)

US President Donald Trump departed for Scotland on Friday for a mix of diplomacy, business and leisure, as a huge UK security operation swung into place amid planned protests near his family-owned golf resorts.

The president, whose mother was born in Scotland, is expected to split his time between two seaside golf courses bearing his name, in Turnberry on the southwestern coast and Aberdeen in the northeast.

Air Force One was due to arrive around at 8:20 pm local time (1920 GMT) with the president and White House staff, and Trump has no public events scheduled for Saturday or Sunday, the White House said.

However, he is due to meet with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the trip.

"We're going to do a little celebrating together, because we got along very well," Trump told reporters as he left the White House Friday, calling Starmer "a good guy" doing "a very good job".

He said they would discuss "fine tuning" the bilateral trade deal struck in May, and would "maybe even improve it".

But the unpredictable American leader appeared unwilling to cede to a UK demand for flexibility over reduced steel and aluminium tariffs.

Trump has exempted London from blanket 50 percent tariffs on imports of both metals, but the fate of that carve-out remains unclear.

"If I do it for one, I have to do it for all," Trump told reporters, when asked if he had any "wiggle room" for the UK on the issue.

The international outcry over the conflict in Gaza may also be on the pair's agenda, as Starmer faces growing pressure to follow French President Emmanuel Macron and announce that Britain will also recognize a Palestinian state.

- Protests -

Trump is expected to return to the UK in September for a state visit -- his second -- at the invitation of King Charles III, which promises to be lavish.

During a 2023 visit, Trump said he felt at home in Scotland, where his mother Mary Anne MacLeod grew up on the remote Isle of Lewis before emigrating to the United States at age 18.

Residents, environmentalists and elected officials have voiced discontent over the Trump family's construction of a new golf course, which he is expected to open before he departs the UK on Tuesday.

Police Scotland, which is bracing for mass protests in Edinburgh and Aberdeen as well as close to Trump's golf courses, have said there will be a "significant operation across the country over many days".

Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who will also meet Trump during the visit, said the nation "shares a strong friendship with the United States that goes back centuries".

He added it would provide Scotland with a "platform to make its voice heard on the issues that matter, including war and peace, justice and democracy".

Trump has also stepped into the sensitive debate in the UK about green energy and reaching net zero, with Aberdeen being the heart of Scotland's oil industry.

In May, he wrote on his Truth Social platform that the UK should "stop with the costly and unsightly windmills" as he urged incentivizing drilling for oil in the North Sea.