The B-2 “Spirit” bombers flew non-stop for 37 hours in the longest mission of its kind since 2001.
In the aftermath of Operation Midnight Hammer, all eyes have deservedly been on the US Air Force’s B-2 bomber fleet. The Pentagon recently published exclusive footage of the stealth bombers taking off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri as part of the high-stakes air campaign that struck Iran’s key nuclear facilities. The B-2 “Spirit” bombers involved flew non-stop for 37 hours in the longest mission of its kind since 2001. In the released video, the unmatched aircraft can be seen departing from the hangar at the base just after midnight and returning in the morning hours following the Iran strikes.
While the B-2 bombers arguably played the most vital role in the operation, more than 125 US aircraft took part in the air campaign that targeted nuclear facilities in Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan facilities. Aerial refueling tankers, guided missile submarines, and roughly 75 precision guided weapons together with the B-2 bombers made the high-stakes operation successful.
How Operation Midnight Hammer Went Down
This weekend’s strikes targeting Iranian nuclear assets represented the first time the US military deployed its massive, 15-ton GBU-57 bunker buster bombs in combat. Notably, 14 of these bombs were used to “totally obliterate” the nuclear sites, as President Donald Trump said during his live address to the nation in the direct aftermath of the operation. According to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, the strikes took Tehran by surprise. “We are currently unaware of any shots fired at the US strike package on the way in,” he said during a press conference with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon over the weekend. “We are unaware of any shots fired at the package on the way out.”
In the initial phase of the mission, a set of decoy B-2s flew toward the west and into the Pacific. The main strike force of seven Spirits flew eastward toward the target area. As explained by 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. When the bombers entered Iranian airspace, a US submarine launched Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles toward critical targets in infrastructure while other support aircraft swept the area to fend off potential surface-to-air threats. In all, 14 MOPs (Massive Ordnance Penetrators) were dropped on the Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites.
When it comes to stealth and ordnance capability, the B-2 Spirit platform was ideal for this operation. This bomber series is able to fly virtually to any point across the globe in a matter of hours. Its infamous flying wing design, that makes the platform appear futuristic, ensures the aircraft is undetectable by nearly all radar. The Spirit’s low observability is derived from a combination of minimized electromagnetic, acoustic, infrared, visual, and radar signatures. In terms of armament power, the B-2 is unmatched. These bombers can lug up to 40,000 pounds of weaponry within two weapons bays, including the Bunker Buster mega-bombs used in Operation Midnight Hammer.
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.
Image: DVIDS.
