How the B-2 stealth bombers made it safely across the globe involved many moving pieces.
While the US Air Force’s B-2 stealth bomber has become synonymous with the military’s high-stakes air campaign in Iran, other key aerial platforms helped make Operation Midnight Hammer possible and successful. Last week, President Donald Trump revealed that F-35 Lightning IIs and F-22 Raptors also participated in the air campaign targeting Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. Initially following the attack, the Pentagon did not disclose the specific fighter platforms involved, only noting that aircraft were used ahead of the bombers in order to fend off surface-to-missile batteries and potentially enemy jets. “The pilots flew about 36 hours — two ways, far distance — in those incredible B-2s,” Trump remarked about the stealth bombers. “We then had the F-22s and we had the F-35s, and we had other planes. And we had, I think, a total of 52 tankers. That means the big tankers, because the refueling was a lot for all of the different planes that we sent. Incredible operation,” he added.
Operation Midnight Hammer
The crux of the US military’s Operation Midnight Hammer were the gigantic 30,000-pound GBU-57 “bunker-busting” bombs that were dropped upon Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, how the B-2 “Spirit” stealth bombers made it safely and undetected halfway across the globe involved many other moving pieces. Initially, a decoy fleet of Spirits was tasked with flying toward the west and into the Pacific, while the main B-2s flew eastward. In order for the bombers to make it on their 36-hour-long mission, aerial refueling was required. As explained by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, the B-2 bombers were refueled multiple times while in flight, requiring a “complex, tightly timed maneuver” involving multiple aircraft platforms and minimal communications. Prior to the arrival of the B-2s in Iranian airspace, a contingent of fighters including F-22s and F-35s were dispatched to preemptively target Iran’s air defense sites.
The F-22 Raptor
As the first ever fifth-generation fighter jet to fly the skies across the globe, the Raptor is perhaps the most respected aircraft among military experts and aviation buffs alike. In terms of stealth, speed, and maneuverability, the Raptor even has its F-35 successor beat in several areas. The platform’s reduced radar cross-section and twin thrust vectoring engines enable it to fly at speeds in excess of Mach 1.9, outpacing its near peers while remaining undetected.
The F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin-designed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is widely considered to represent the most advanced fifth-generation fighter series in service today. From its stealth, advanced sensors, and data fusion capabilities, the Lightning II is hard to beat. In fact, its avionics and electronic warfare suite are so top-tier that the F-35 would have a significant advantage in contested airspace. Its data link connectively also ensures the platform will remain relevant down the line, as new technologies can be more seamlessly integrated into the aircraft as they emerge.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
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