381
In a First, America Dropped 30,000-Pound Bunker-Busters—But Iran’s Concrete May Be Unbreakable, Scientists Say (www.popularmechanics.com)
submitted 3 months ago by NoSpotOfGround@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
57 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Previously, a yield strength of 5,000 pounds per square inch (psi) was enough for concrete to be rated as “high strength,” with the best going up to 10,000 psi. The new UHPC can withstand 40,000 psi or more.

The greater strength is achieved by turning concrete into a composite material with the addition of steel or other fibers. These fibers hold the concrete together and prevent cracks from spreading throughout it, negating the brittleness. “Instead of getting a few large cracks in a concrete panel, you get lots of smaller cracks,” says Barnett. “The fibers give it more fracture energy.”

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Darrell_Winfield@lemmy.world 216 points 3 months ago

Holy nothing burger, Batman!

First off, this article is from 2022, re-released to farm clicks from the current hype cycle.

Secondly, this is conjecture on top of conjecture. They discuss that we can't know the current damage from satellite, and Iran down plays the damage. Then they go on to say "concrete is strong and can be stronger".

Articles like this annoy me. It's all based on lots of unsubstantiated claims, and then one guy's theoretical research. We don't know the strength of the bombs. We don't know the strength of Iran's bunkers. We don't know how much damage was done. None of this has changed. I doubt we'll ever really know. But throw whatever political spin on it you want, and now you've got a click worthy news article.

[-] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 40 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

There's also the fact that the majority of Iran's nuclear facilities were built before UHPC, the concrete discussed in the article, was available!

[-] Saleh@feddit.org 11 points 3 months ago

In the late 2000s, for instance, rumors circulated about a bunker in Iran struck by a bunker-buster bomb. The bomb had failed to penetrate—and remained embedded in—the surface of the bunker, presumably until the occupants called in a bomb-disposal team. Rather than smashing through the concrete, the bomb had been unexpectedly stopped dead. The reason was not hard to guess: Iran was a leader in the new technology of Ultra High Performance Concrete, or UHPC, and its latest concrete advancements were evidently too much for standard bunker busters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordow_Fuel_Enrichment_Plant

Construction on the facility started in 2006, but the existence of the enrichment plant was only disclosed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by Iran on 21 September 2009,[6][7] after the site became known to Western intelligence services. Western officials strongly condemned Iran for not disclosing the site earlier;

Seems to fall into the same timeframe.

[-] Darrell_Winfield@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago

I was suspicious of that as well, but I'm not knowledgeable enough on that subject to speak on it, so didn't include it. But I doubt any country can build that extensive of a nuclear factory in so few years.

[-] tyler@programming.dev 8 points 3 months ago

I thought we do know the depth of the bunkers though. And that American bombs can’t go that deep, even multiple of them

[-] Darrell_Winfield@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

I can't speak to that aspect. But I firmly believe that if our military planned and carried out this strike, then we had very good evidence that their bunkers were at a depth these ordinance could reach.

[-] Coyote_sly@lemmy.world 21 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Consider who actually makes this decision, in this case. It's highly likely our intelligence assessment here is very accurate orr flat out denied by the dipshits actually making the call if it's not what they want to hear.

Like they did publicly. On this conflict. To the press.

[-] Saleh@feddit.org 13 points 3 months ago

The US intelligence community kept asserting that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon as late as Spring 2025.

Nothing of this was based on consistent intelligence.

[-] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

Why would we bother with that level of analysis just to distract people from ICE raids?

[-] skisnow@lemmy.ca 58 points 3 months ago

I suspect the world would be safer if everyone just let Trump think he won.

[-] x00z@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

That's impossible. "Make America Great Again" is a slogan that he can only abuse as long as there are problems. If he wants to stay in power it's in his best interest to create problems. It's what fascists dictators have been doing since forever. Even if there are no problems they will point towards something and make you think it is a problem, so they can market themselves as the solution. If he would "win" he would lose his power, which is obviously the opposite of what somebody like Trump wants.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] davepleasebehave@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

I wonder if Hasbara accounts are pressing this narrative?

[-] someguy3@lemmy.world 39 points 3 months ago

That concrete really isn't new and really isn't that special. There's a reason they built it under a mountain - because the mountain does what concrete can't.

[-] Saleh@feddit.org 13 points 3 months ago

It is not that it can do what concrete cannot. It is just that digging a tunnel under a mountain is much easier than making a mountain out of concrete.

[-] Nougat@fedia.io 37 points 3 months ago

Nothing is unbreakable.

[-] FaceDeer@fedia.io 17 points 3 months ago

And no bomb is irresistible.

[-] sundray@lemmus.org 7 points 3 months ago

That's why we need the Orbital Ion Cannon.

[-] Empricorn@feddit.nl 3 points 3 months ago

"Hey there, you sexy bomb... I can't stay away!"

load more comments (9 replies)
[-] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago

Except copeium.

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 30 points 3 months ago

From this article it sounds very likely that the bunker buster attack failed.

[-] FaceDeer@fedia.io 21 points 3 months ago

And I read that the US used more than half of its stock of these bunker-buster bombs in this attack, the largest conventional bunker-busters in existence. So they can't simply try again.

[-] MangoCats@feddit.it 25 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

By your math, they absolutely can simply try again: one more time.

By my math, the bunker-buster bomb makers just got a big new contract.

something something DOGE of WAR something...

[-] match@pawb.social 12 points 3 months ago

They can try one more time but worse

[-] Zorque@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago

I mean they usually only do about 30 damage anyways.

Source

[-] dalekcaan@lemm.ee 3 points 3 months ago

I love how unhinged random fan wikis sound without context. Here for instance: Bunker Buster, see also: Concrete Donkey and Buffalo of Lies

[-] JustinTheGM@ttrpg.network 2 points 3 months ago

I hadn't clicked the link yet, but Concrete Donkey told me what it was immediately

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

So Iran knew EXACTLY how strong they needed to make their defenses!
Pretty stupid of the American military to give that info to a game developer, that would obviously use it.

[-] MangoCats@feddit.it 9 points 3 months ago

My guess: that bunker buster attack was twice as successful as the missile attack on the the airfield in Qatar.

2 x 0 = 0.

Now accepting bets on when we will find out that Trump had a secret call with Ali Khamenei where they negotiated the whole thing ahead of time, thus explaining the movement of the Uranium out of the facility, the movement of our servicemen out of the airbase, etc. etc.

[-] Paradox@lemdro.id 8 points 3 months ago

The article is 3 years old

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

But the information still seems valid.

[-] 3abas@lemm.ee 5 points 3 months ago

It's confirming your bias so you like it...

[-] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 6 points 3 months ago

Why? The kinds of UHPC being discussed in the article weren't available even in the United States until the year 2000 but most of Iran's nuclear facilities were built between 1974 and 2005. Even their primary enrichment facility in Fordow, which was struck with MOPs, was started no earlier than the mid-2000s as it was still unfinished in 2009.

Basically the majority of Iran's facilities, even their major ones, are too old to have the kind of concrete being discussed in the article.

[-] Darrell_Winfield@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

That's what they want you to think, but we have no evidence to either direction. And I doubt we will ever have a definitive answer.

[-] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 23 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Basically they used pyramid age tech to outplay billions of dollars worth of weapons tech.

[-] Saleh@feddit.org 2 points 3 months ago

Arguably letting a big weight fall down after being brought into the air somehow is also pyramid age tech.

[-] 3abas@lemm.ee 2 points 3 months ago

These bombs are not just dead weights. These bunker busters are equipped with precision guidance and fly to and hit a person on the head if they desired. It's also designed to deliver a huge explosion AFTER it penetrates with the kinetic impact.

It can also be set to explode right before impact, like Israel really likes to do when attaching residential high-rises, to deliver maximum destruction and death.

[-] paraphrand@lemmy.world 19 points 3 months ago

Impressive.

[-] Ledericas@lemm.ee 5 points 3 months ago

If it's reinforced steel concrete, it would be much harder to bunker bust.

[-] AJ1@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 months ago

I sure would like to read this article, it seems fascinating, but it's paywalled.

[-] BakedCatboy@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 months ago

They used nagarjuna cement

https://youtu.be/95-KgsbjZ_s

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2025
381 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

75867 readers
2901 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
technopagan@lemmy.world
L4s@lemmy.world
L3s@hackingne.ws
L4s@hackingne.ws