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.



Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Has Secured Three Patriot Systems, Looking to Finance Seven More

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the parliament session in Kyiv, Ukraine Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP) 
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the parliament session in Kyiv, Ukraine Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP) 
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Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Has Secured Three Patriot Systems, Looking to Finance Seven More

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the parliament session in Kyiv, Ukraine Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP) 
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the parliament session in Kyiv, Ukraine Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP) 

Ukraine has received confirmation from partners that they will provide three Patriot missile defense systems and discussions are underway to obtain seven more, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.

"I have officially received confirmation from Germany for two systems, and from Norway for one. We are currently working with Dutch partners," he told reporters.

President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that billions of dollars of US weapons would go to Ukraine, including Patriot missiles. This set off negotiations around which partners could contribute to the weapons purchasing scheme -- a process that will determine the support Ukraine receives, Reuters said.

The Patriot systems have proven effective at destroying Russian ballistic missiles aimed at Ukraine's cities.

In addition to securing air defense supplies, Ukraine needs to cover a financing gap of $40 billion next year, Zelenskiy said in remarks released by his office.

An additional $25 billion will be needed for missiles, drones and electronic warfare systems production, he added.