According to the AP (and others)
The U.S. plans to sell Israel 1,000 buster-bunker bombs which Israeli military experts said Monday could provide a powerful new weapon against underground arsenals in Lebanon or Gaza.
The experts said they doubted, however, that the bombs could be used to deliver a crippling blow against Iran's nuclear program.
I left the statement about Iran to provide the story as AP is reporting it....
However... a little more digging brought me to an article in the Defense Industry Dailywith the following nugget buried in the thicket of techweapon verbiage...
read below the fold
Its aerodynamics, penetration, and warhead design are crafted to punch into slightly hardened targets with the force of a weapon several times its size, while giving it greater glide range than its JDAM counterparts. When facing the right array of targets, from terrorist safe houses to a concrete nuclear reactor shell, the ability to carry 8 GBU-39s in place of 2 JDAM 2,000 pound bombs would halve a fighter’s weapon payload, extend its range, raise its number of potential targets/ impact points/ attempts, and lower collateral damage. It’s a potent combination.
Let's see... "force of a weapon several times its size", "Halve a fighter's weapon payload", "extend its range"... all of which makes it great for hitting Palestinian safe houses and hardened bunkers.... or targets slightly farther away... like Iran...
And Agencie France Press (AFP) puts a slightly different spin on the probable use of these explosive valentines...
According to the Jerusalem Post, the bombs could help Israel in a possible strike against Iran's nuclear sites, some of which are protected by bunker-like structures.
Last month, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that his country will never accept Iran developing a nuclear weapons capability and refused to rule out "any options."
So let's take a quick look at how the Jerusalem Post is reporting the sale... The following excerpt is from the lead graf...
The US Department of Defense has notified Congress of a potential sale to Israel of 1,000 smart bombs capable of penetrating underground bunkers, which would likely be used in the event of a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Really builds my confidence in the AP's reporting.....
Any bets on what is quite likely to happen between now and the first Tuesday in November?
UPDATE.... Heathlander just posted this link from McClathy's Israel/Jerusalem beat reporter with more info on these little wonders... he says they are not true bunker busters, which was also called to my attention by Dcoronata, since they will only penetrate 6 feet of steel hardened concrete instead of the 20 feet of concrete that is the mark of a true bunker buster... there is also a video of just what these things look like when they explode...