Illustrative image. (U.S. Air Force\Samuel King Jr.)
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced early on March 18 that it had successfully employed multiple “5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions” on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz.
The sites contained anti-ship cruise missiles which “posed a risk to international shipping in the strait,” the command said in a post to X, without elaborating.
The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most critical maritime chokepoint, with roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption passing through. The waterway serves as the primary gateway for energy exports from major producers like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) previously warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz would be attacked, and the waterway has effectively been closed since the start of the American-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic, with some 18 vessels hit by Iranian fire there and in nearby waters.
The latest attack targeted Gas Al Ahmadiah, a Kuwait-flagged liquefied petroleum tanker, 23 nautical miles east of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on March 17, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the IRGC Navy both showcased multiple tunnels used to store anti-ship missiles and other weapons, even missile boats, in the past.
The “5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions” CENTCOM said were used to hit such sites were most likely the GBU‐72, also known as the Advanced 5K (A5K) Penetrator.
The GBU-72 — which weights 2,300 kilograms — is said to resemble an enlarged GBU-31/B Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) fitted with a bunker-busting BLU-109 or BLU-137/B warhead. It is fitted with the GBU-31/B JDAM’s tail-mounted guidance kit, which utilizes a GPS-aided inertial navigation system, and has long fins on either side of the bomb’s underside.
No official data is available for how deep the GBU-72 can penetrate before exploding, although the weapon’s program manager has been quoted as saying that its “lethality is expected to be substantially higher compared to similar legacy weapons like the GBU-28”.
The capabilities of the later versions of the GBU-28 remain classified, but the earliest versions could reportedly penetrate 46 meters of earth and more than 4.6 meters of reinforced concrete.
The GBU-72 can be dropped by the U.S. Air Force’s B-1B Lancer strategic bombers and F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, in addition to the Israeli Air Force’s F-15I Ra’ams.
U.S. attempts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by threatening Iran with an attack on its main oil exporting hub, Kharg Island, have not succeeded. Furthermore, efforts to form an international coalition to escort vessels through the waterway are also facing problems.
The latest strikes are also unlikely to change much as Iran may have already spread many of its anti-ship missiles outside the hardened sites.
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