KANSAS CITY, Mo. — B-2 pilots from Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster, Missouri, completed the largest and most successful B-2 operational strike in the program’s history on Saturday.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth praised B-2 stealth pilots from Whiteman Air Force Base for their part in Operation Midnight Hammer.
“I want to recognize the pilots who flew those bombers, who flew those fighters, who flew those refuelers. Warriors. Every American involved in this operation performed flawlessly,” Hegseth said.
Secretary Hegseth spoke at a nationally televised press briefing from the Pentagon this morning, calling the U.S. military offensive against three Iranian nuclear sites “an incredible and overwhelming success.”
According to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, on Friday, B-2s departed from Whiteman headed in different directions. Those sent west were decoys.
“Seven B-2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members, proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications. Throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area, the aircraft completed multiple in-flight refuelings,” Caine said.
According to General Caine, between 6:40 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. Eastern Time, the B-2s dropped 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrator weapons on the first of several targets at Fordow Nuclear Facility in Iran.
“The remaining bombers then hit their targets as well, with a total of 14 M.O.P.s dropped against two nuclear target areas.”
According to Secretary Hegseth, the operation obliterated the Iranian nuclear program.
“Our B-2s went in and out of these nuclear sites. In and out and back without the world knowing at all. In that way, it was historic,” he said.
The strike was the longest B-2 mission since the crews flew into Afghanistan in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It is the first time crews have ever dropped the so-called “Bunker Busters.”
The B-2 Spirits are part of the 509th Bomb Wing based at Whiteman Air Force Base outside of Knob Noster, Missouri. From there, the planes can deploy anywhere in the world. They are capable of carrying conventional or nuclear weapons.
According to Caine, Saturday night’s attack was supported by U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Space Command, U.S. Space Force and U.S. European Command.
Caine said initial battle damage estimates indicate that all three nuclear sites in Iran sustained severe damage or destruction.
He says more than 125 U.S. aircraft participated in the mission, including B-2 stealth bombers, fighters, air refueling tankers, a guided missile submarine and a full array of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft.
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