Bunker Buster
Bunker Busterframe of video

The United States is likely to offer Saudi Arabia its advanced GBU-28 bunker buster bombs – so far only provided to Israel – as Washington seeks to beef up Saudi Arabia's ability to lead Gulf countries in defending themselves against Iranian moves in the region.

According to the report in the Washington Times, Secretary of State John Kerry will propose the idea to Saudi officials on his visit to that country this week.

In tests, the GBU-28 bombs proved capable of penetrating over 30 meters (100 ft) of earth or 6 meters (20 ft) of solid concrete.

There has been speculation that the bombs would not be effective against Iranian nuclear facilities, as they may be buried further underground and reinforced with larger amounts of concrete.

The US also intends, the report said, to create a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) defense system (a land-based version of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System), an anti-missile system similar to the Patriot and Iron Dome systems, for Gulf allies to defend themselves against possible nuclear aggression by Iran.

According to the report, implementing such a system would require the consent of Israel, as the THAAD system would operate off-shore, as well as on-shore, and protective missiles could fly through Israeli airspace.