B-2 bomber pilots had microwave, snacks and toilets on the 37-hour flight to demolish Iranian nuclear plants
B-2 bomber pilots were equipped with microwaves, snacks and even a toilet during a grueling 37-hour round-trip mission from Missouri to Iran to strike a trio of nuclear facilities.
U.S. Air Force bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base near Kansas City on Friday, flying more than 18 hours each way to target Iran's Fordow nuclear plant.
The mission, known as Operation Midnight Hammer, required multiple midair refuelings and was carried out with near-total radio silence, according to officials speaking to The Telegraph.
To survive such long and intense missions, the cockpit of the B-2 Spirit has been outfitted with key comforts, including a mini fridge, a microwave, and a toilet. The aircraft also has enough space for one pilot to lie down and rest while the other flies.
Each B-2 costs more than $2 billion and were designed during the Cold War to carry nuclear weapons.
First introduced in 1997, the Northrop aircraft is known for its batwing design and stealth capabilities. The United States currently has 19 B-2 bombers in service, following the loss of one in a 2008 crash.
With only two pilots on board, the plane relies heavily on automation to manage long missions. Past crews have brought along cots or sleeping pads to make the journey more manageable, The Atlantic reported.
The mission to Iran was the longest B-2 operation since the initial U.S. strikes in Afghanistan after September 11 attacks.
While the bombers flew the majority of the mission alone, they were joined by fighter jets and support aircraft near Iranian airspace.
'The B-2s linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex, tightly timed maneuver requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace,' said Lt. Gen. Daniel Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The actual bombing began at 6:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, lasting just 25 minutes.
The lead bomber dropped two GBU-57 'bunker buster' bombs — each weighing 15 tons — on targets at the Fordow site.
Those bombings marked the first time the United States had used the GBU-57 in combat.
Remaining bombers dropped 14 'massive ordnance penetrators,' or MOPs, on two other targets, according to Caine.
'There is not another military in the world that could have done this,' President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social announcing the strike.
The president had boasted that the nuclear facilities were 'completely and totally obliterated' in the attack, though the extent of damage is unclear, and satellite images in the wake of the attack suggest the damage is not as great as the administration initially claimed.
'The biggest damage took place far below ground level,' Trump claimed. 'Bullseye!!!'
On Monday, Iran launched missile strikes on a U.S. Air Force base in Qatar in what Iran's Tasnim news agency called the 'annunciation of victory' after Tehran vowed to retaliate in the aftermath of the bombing campaign.
The attack comes after the White House scrambled to say the president was 'simply raising a question' after Trump appeared to entertain the idea of a regime change in Tehran, following the president's claim he had taken a nuclear bomb 'right out of Iran's hands.'
Strikes between Iran and Israel have continued as world leaders demand de-escalation or risk a broader crisis across the Middle East and internationally.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
3 days ago
- Times
Inside the B-2 raid: Pick-up pills, 18 hours flying, then bombs away
It's a long haul racing the sun from Knob Noster, Missouri, to the mountains of Qom and the nuclear bunker buried deep at Fordow. At 37-hour haul, to be precise, there and back. Even before the pilots charged with flying their $2 billion B-2s to drop the world's largest non-nuclear bombs on Iran were in position, they would have already spent 18 hours in the air. Given the secrecy surrounding the B-2, a projection of military power that paradoxically exists never to be seen, little is known about who the men and women who flew the sorties that effectively forced the regime into a ceasefire with Israel. They were, the Pentagon said, as far from the macho shirt-off volleyball-playing fighter aces portrayed in Top Gun as you could care to imagine. It is, however, possible to piece together how the mission unfolded, beginning long before the planes took off from Whiteman Air Force Base, about an hour east of Kansas City, racing to strike as the Iranians slept. For the aviators and air crews from the US air force and the Missouri air national guard, ranked from captain to colonel, the raid felt like the Super Bowl, military chiefs said this week, with 'thousands of scientists, airmen and maintainers all coming together'. • How badly damaged are Iran's nuclear sites and missiles? In the previous weeks they would have flown to Fordow and back dozens of times in a state-of-the-art simulator at Whiteman base, near Knob Noster, which includes a replica of the B-2 cockpit, complete down to the cot where they can sleep and the toilet that is used by the pilots; only if they really must. In many ways, when President Trump gave the go-ahead, the real mission would have felt similar to the simulations. One former pilot said the big difference would be over Iran, where they would 'feel the clunk' of their weapons bay doors opening, then a lightening of the aircraft as it was relieved of its two massive ordnance penetrator (MOP) bombs, each weighing 30,000 pounds. There would have been a sharp turn as soon as 'bombs away' was called as the stealth bombers headed out of Iranian airspace. Then, one pilot on the mission said, there was the 'brightest explosion I have ever seen, it literally looked like daylight'. By that time, according to pilots, the two in the cockpit may already have felt the need to take two pills that have long been issued to those who fly long missions. The so-called 'pick-up pills' or 'go pills', which are likely to be amphetamine-based to keep aviators awake, have been issued to bomber pilots about to undertake missions through the night. • The Iran-Israel conflict in maps, video and satellite images If Melvin G Deaile, who flew the longest recorded B-2 mission at 44 hours to Afghanistan and back in 2001, knows whether the pilots needed the pills, he was not saying this week. Speaking to The Times, the retired air force colonel said the pilots would have been remarkable for being unremarkable. 'The B-2 is still a technological marvel,' said Deaile, 59, of the bomber that entered service in 1997. There were originally plans to build 132 B-2s, but the cost of each and the end of the Cold War brought an end to that. The 21st and last B-2 entered service in 2000. 'The amazing thing is, whether it's the pilots this past weekend or myself or anybody, they're just average Americans who signed up to do a mission and go out and do it.' The bomber has seen action in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, where Deaile flew in October 2001 after President Bush ordered strikes on the Taliban in response to the 9/11 attacks. Though perhaps not quite as fraught with risk as attacking Iran, which once had a proud air force and strong air defences, the mission to strike the Taliban was complicated by a late change of targets while they were in the air. For military planners at the Pentagon, however, Fordow has always been the main prize in Iran. Alongside Captain Brian Neal, Deaile piloted a B-2 named Spirit of America — poignant, given the raid took place in the months after 9/11. He admitted they had been given pills to keep them alert during the mission, which included multiple refuellings and spending two hours over Afghanistan. The mission was so long because after dropping 12 JDAMs — guided bombs — on Taliban forces, commanders asked them to go back over enemy territory and release four more explosives. Deaile and Neal finally touched down on the Diego Garcia military base after being in the air for 44 hours and 20 minutes. According to some reports, the pilots who completed the Iran mission had a microwave oven on board to provide warmed-up snacks for the trip. That is a luxury Deaile, who grew up on a farm in Fresno, was not afforded. While the army has 'meals, ready-to-eat' (MREs), Deaile said the air force equivalent was kinder to the digestive system and better adapted to long flights. He also brought sandwiches on board and was allowed a flask of coffee. But sometimes the snacks would go uneaten. • The Times view: Iran crisis is putting our special relationship to the test 'Most of the time we didn't really eat that much after a day and a half in the cockpit because we weren't really exercising,' he said. 'You don't really get hungry if you're not doing much.' Even if the work is not too physically demanding, the pilots must still sleep. Deaile used to have a cot behind the two seats so that an airman could sleep when not in 'critical phases of flight' — take-off, landing, mid-air refuelling and bombing. It was not a luxury bed, but good enough. 'It's the military; you learn to sleep wherever you can,' Deaile said. 'And we'll get the job done and if it means staying awake for 40 hours, we stay awake for 40 hours.'
The National
4 days ago
- The National
RTS switch-off in July will put vulnerable Scots at risk
Good evening! This week's edition of the In Common newsletter comes from Dr Ron Mould, net carbon manager at Bield Housing. AFTER 14 years of missed deadlines and shifting timetables, we've now entered the final month before the nationwide switch-off of the radio tele-switch (RTS) signal and the reality is looking increasingly grim. With tens of thousands of homes still awaiting smart meter installation, we are now in a desperate scramble to avoid a full-blown crisis. This is no small problem. An estimated 30% of the UK's remaining RTS meters are in Scotland, disproportionately affecting rural, elderly, and vulnerable households. The consequences of failure are significant and at this late stage, feel inevitable. As Net Carbon Manager at Bield, a housing provider supporting older people across Scotland, I've seen first-hand how badly this transition has been handled. Our tenants are among those directly affected, people who rely on electric storage heating and trusted the RTS system to manage their energy needs affordably and safely. Many are now facing anxiety, confusion and rising costs, with little to no support from the systems meant to protect them. Across the country, residents reliant on RTS for their heating are experiencing a barrage of issues, repeatedly aborted meter installations, often with no communication or learning applied to subsequent attempts. READ MORE: 'Deep concerns' over lack of urgency to replace soon to be switched off meters Some can't even get appointments, with suppliers routinely stating there are 'no engineers available in your area.' Even when installations do go ahead, the problems don't stop. New meters can trip electrics, prompting a game of finger-pointing between energy suppliers and electricians. More commonly, the issue lies in the specification of the new meters themselves. Despite supplier claims of a like-for-like swap, many smart meters provide a continuous 24-hour supply, in contrast to the timed circuits of RTS systems. Without integrated timers for heaters and hot water (previously controlled by the RTS signal) householders are left with systems that run around the clock, racking up unnecessary costs. Timers, if installed at all, often don't align with off-peak periods, which themselves have been allowed to erode, some tariffs now offer just a 1p difference between peak and off-peak. The BBC's longwave broadcasting equipment, which transmits the RTS signal, has genuinely reached the end of its life. But while the technology may be out of date, the strategy to replace it is even worse. Ofgem has not delivered a clearly communicated, nationally coordinated plan. Instead of a well-managed transition, we've had vague reassurances and rumours of a phased switch-off—starting with regions that have the fewest RTS meters remaining. READ MORE: 'Strength has emerged': Ex-Iran prisoner looks back on life in notorious jail Ofgem's own position is not especially reassuring: they admit they 'don't know what will happen.' Whether we experience a complete signal loss or a cascading failure across zones, one thing is certain- there will be no further UK-wide delays. Even a phased switch-off is expected to take place over just a few months, with no guarantee of any extension for Scotland. This is the sort of groundwork that should have been laid months ago, not weeks before the switch-off. Ad campaigns fronted by Lorraine Kelly have only recently hit the airwaves- despite repeated warnings that the RTS switch-off would create confusion and difficulty if not properly addressed early on. These last-minute efforts, while welcome, reflect a broader lack of long-term planning. At Bield, we're doing all we can to support our tenants — helping them navigate bookings, installations, and even explaining why their heating now works differently. But the scale of the issue is bigger than any one organisation can solve alone. We're seeing the real-world consequences for those left in limbo by unclear processes and mixed messaging. For those with electric heating, I urge you to contact your energy supplier immediately and request a smart meter. If you've already had a failed visit, rebook — and keep rebooking until the job is done. If you already have a smart meter, check that your hot water and heating systems have timers. Confirm they match your tariff's off-peak hours. If they don't, you'll need to adjust or retrofit them—otherwise, the promised cost savings will be lost. The RTS switch-off is no longer a future event — it's here. The headlines this July are, sadly, predictable. A lack of coordination, planning, and urgency from energy suppliers and regulators alike has led us to the brink of a national energy blunder. And as someone working closely with the people now facing the fallout, I can say this with confidence: Scotland deserves better.
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
Rare demonstration of how the Bunker Buster bombs dropped by the US on Iran work
The Pentagon has released a demonstration of how the Bunker Buster bombs, which were used on three nuclear facilities in Iran, work. On Wednesday (25 June), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine showed the media a video of a test run of the explosive. In the clip, the bomb can be seen penetrating the earth before exploding, with various angles of the impact being captured. Mr Caine explained that unlike other bombs, there is no impact crater as the munition is 'designed to deeply bury and then function'. The US struck three nuclear facilities in Iran - Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan - on Sunday (22 June). Centrifuges at the Fordo site are now 'no longer operational', the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on Thursday (26 June).
