Iran Could Reverse-engineer Unexploded Tomahawk Missiles, GBU-57 Bombs

Iran could gain access to sensitive American weapons technology after unexploded Tomahawk cruise missiles and the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-busting bomb were recovered by it following recent strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

As per unconfirmed reports, the country’s foreign minister reportedly said that some weapons failed to detonate and are now in Iranian custody. Such unexploded munition have intact components, including guidance, navigation, and sensor suites. These can be studied and reverse-engineered to extract technical insights.

Recovery efforts by the U.S. after conflicts or strikes aim to secure such weapons before rivals do, drawing on lessons from Syria in 2018, where Russia allegedly examined unexploded Tomahawk missiles.

Tehran has previously taken similar opportunities to study foreign systems. Back in 2011, Iran captured a Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel stealth reconnaissance drone after it entered Iranian airspace. It subsequently developed Iranian variants such as the Shahed-171 Simorgh based on that design. An Iranian derivative, the Saegheh, was reported shot down over Syrian airspace in 2018. Israel claimed that its design bore similarities to the original RQ-170.

Iran has also reverse-engineered older Western weapons such as the BGM-71 TOW anti-tank guided missile (Toophan), U.S. ScanEagle reconnaissance drone (Qods Yasir UAV), etc.