US is firing 5,000lb ‘penetrator’ bombs on Iran – how do they work?

The new advanced GBU-75 5K penetrator bombs have been deployed to Iran (Picture: USAF)

US Central Command said the US military has fired 5,000lb penetrator bombs on missile sites along Iran’s coastline.

The munitions, named by a government official as GBU-72 Advanced 5k Penetrator bombs, were first released in 2021.

The US released them over Iran in hopes of reaching ‘hardened, deeply buried target challenges’ – namely, missile silos along the Strait of Hormuz.

The Air Force describes it as...