Profile avatar
gbrumfiel.bsky.social
I'm an editor/correspondent for NPR. Mostly smart on the radio. Mostly stupid on everywhere else. ChatGPT describes me as: "Aerospace Sleuth, Nuclear Nerd, and NPR Superfan — with a Side of Surreal Humor." Signal: https://signal.me/#eu/PoRoBSPUsb1fVLiml
1,036 posts 13,964 followers 699 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter

Iran's nuclear program has been dealt a blow, here's an overview of the current state of its facilities. From @gbrumfiel.bsky.social, Brent Jones and ‪@alykat.bsky.social‬

Feeling confused about the state of Iran's nuclear facilities? Here's a rundown of what we know at each facility (with thoughts from @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social and @coreyah.bsky.social among others). www.npr.org/2025/06/26/n...

OK, if you're one of the two DTRA officer who spent the past 15 years of your career planning for the strike on Iran's Fordo nuclear site you must be SO MAD AT ME FOR THIS ARTICLE! You know what you should do.... www.npr.org/2025/06/25/n...

Cheryl's got a great post here that brings up the question of subsidence! Even if it's not visible to the eye, SAR should be able to detect it I think! BTW, in Top Gun Maverick there WAS subsidence after the strike. One of my favorite parts.

OK, after reporting this out, I've got a few final thoughts on the B-2 strike on Fordo and whether the MOPs got through. I think there's some really interesting details that have emerged and clarified my thinking... 🧵 www.npr.org/2025/06/25/n...

The White House has distributed this statement from the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission that say Fordo is "inoperable." The Americans are believed to have hit Fordo's ventilation system and power supply, and that would render it inoperable. But inoperable is not the same as destroyed.

“Geology, it turns out, may have foiled one of the most audacious American air operations in recent memory.”

NEW: Amid reports that America's bunker-busters may not have destroyed the deeply-buried site at Fordo, here's a look at the science of earth-penetrating weapons. It turns out geology matters a lot. www.npr.org/2025/06/25/n...

NEW: DIA assessment concludes that massive bunker-busters did NOT in fact bust the bunkers. "Two of the people familiar with the assessment said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed. One of the people said the centrifuges are largely “intact.”" www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/p...

Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed, but many experts think that its been able to hold on to some of its enriched uranium. Here's why that 400+ kilograms of highly enriched uranium is REALLY important…. A brief 🧵 (WITH POORLY MADE GRAPHICS!)

BREAKING: Trump says Israel and Iran have reached a ceasefire.