Latest news with #B-1
Boston Globe
24-06-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
For B-2 pilots, a 37-hour nonstop mission to Iran and back
In the real mission, flown in the early hours of Sunday morning in Iran, the pilots would 'feel the clunk' of their weapons bay doors opening, briefly changing the shape of the stealth plane and potentially exposing it to enemy radar. The B-2s that attacked Fordo were each carrying two Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs designed to disable the deeply buried target. When the two-person crews released their payload, weighing a total of 60,000 pounds, their B-2 most likely surged briefly upward, Basham said. Advertisement For the pilots, it was almost certainly a new feeling. Other bombers in the American arsenal, such as the B-1 and B-52, played big roles in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, dropping huge numbers of bombs in support of ground troops. But the B-2 — the most expensive plane in history, at $2.2 billion a copy — played a much more specialized role. Advertisement For some of the pilots, Sunday's mission was possibly the first time that they flew the B-2 in combat and dropped bombs. The strikes also marked the first use of the GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs in combat. In the hours after the strike US military and intelligence officials were still assessing the damage both to the site at Fordo and to the Iranian leadership's psyche. 'Our hope is that the lesson that the Iranians have learned here is look, we can fly a bunker-buster bomb from Missouri to Iran completely undetected without landing once on the ground, and we can destroy whatever nuclear capacity you build up,' Vice President JD Vance told Fox News in an interview Monday. 'I think that lesson is what's going to teach them not to rebuild their nuclear capacity.' The first 30-plus hour B-2 missions took place during the 1999 war in Kosovo. At the time, the idea of flying a combat sortie and returning home in time to pick up the kids from soccer practice was still novel and a bit surreal for those flying. 'It is kind of weird to get dressed in your own bathroom and then go into combat,' one B-2 pilot told The Wall Street Journal in the early days of the Kosovo war. Since then, B-2 pilots have flown combat missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. The B-2 bombers, which were built to carry nuclear weapons, regularly fly deterrence missions in Europe and Asia from their Missouri base. The past 25 years have taught the Air Force and its pilots a lot about flying long missions. Today, staff doctors and physiologists at Whiteman Air Force Base specialize in helping B-2 pilots prepare their bodies to spend long stretches in the cockpit. Advertisement If they have sufficient notice, the pilots will try to adjust their sleep schedules so that their body clocks will be in sync with their mission. Each B-2 is flown by a two-person crew. The small cockpit has room for a toilet and space behind the plane's seats where a pilot can stretch out on a cot or a camping pad and take a brief nap. Both pilots are required to be in their seats during takeoff, landing, aerial refuelings, and for the duration of their time over enemy territory. The planes are also equipped with small heaters to warm food, but many B-2 pilots prefer simple meals like sandwiches on long missions. 'You learn to drink a lot of water,' said Basham, who flew combat missions into Kosovo. The missions most likely played out in similar fashion to the sorties that B-2 pilots flew in earlier wars. In those earlier missions in Kosovo and Iraq, pilots saw antiaircraft guns and missiles in the sky beneath them. This time, Pentagon officials said the Iranians did not get off a shot at the B-2s or the F-35 fighter jet escorts. In the earlier conflicts the B-2 pilots were dropping, at most, 2,000-pound precision-guided bombs. This time the B-2s each dropped two 30,000-pound munitions over their target. Basham could not help but wonder what it felt like to shed that kind of weight. 'It'll be interesting to hear from the pilots,' he said. This article originally appeared in .
Time of India
24-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
'With smartphones and flight tracking...': Former B-2 pilot on challenges of Operation Midnight Hammer
Retired Gen Robert Spalding who helped develop the mission plans involving B-2 bombers commented on the US's Operation Midnight Hammer that dropped bunker bombers on Iran's three nuclear sites, and said everything worked perfectly. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Speaking to ABC News, Spalding said the mission took decades of preparation, including extensive work on the weapons system and planning. Maintaining secrecy is a major challenge for this operation, Spalding said, especially in today's connected world with smartphones and flight tracking. "With smartphones and flight tracking nowadays, we have to account for all kinds of data that could tip off the enemy," Spalding said. No radar can detect B-2 bombers and its unique design contributes to the stealth feature as it does not have any tail and any conventional fuselage. "The B-2 has two bomb bays that can carry very large weapons, and these bunker-buster bombs were specifically made to fit them," Spalding said. Mid-air refuelings, strict schedule for pilots The B-2 bombers were in the air for over 30 hours, requiring six to seven midair refuelings, each taking about 30 minutes. Spalding explained that there is a strict schedule of sleep and diet before and during the flight to keep pilots alert during critical moments. With a 172-foot (52.4 m) wingspan and stealth profile, B-2 bombers can fly 6,000 nautical miles without refueling, but most missions like the Midnight Hammer require multiple mid-air refuelings. During Operation Allied Force in 1999, B-2s flew 31-hour round trips from Missouri to Kosovo, striking 33 per cent of targets in the first eight weeks, according to the Air Force, Reuters reported. In Iraq, the aircraft dropped more than 1.5 million pounds of munitions across 49 sorties. The Air Force plans to replace the B-2 and B-1 fleets with at least 100 B-21 Raiders over the coming decades. The B-2 costs about $65,000 per hour to operate, compared to $60,000 for the B-1, Pentagon data revealed.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How do pilots prepare for gruelling B-2 bomber missions?
STORY: :: File The U.S. Air Force's B-2 stealth bomber played a key role in strikes against Iran's nuclear sites on Saturday. The U.S. military said seven of the bombers were used in "Operation Midnight Hammer'... :: Whiteman Air Force Base ...to fly for 18 hours from an air force base in Missouri to Iran to drop precision-guided munitions on three nuclear sites. The cutting-edge design of the B-2 includes features that make it stealthy, and reduce infrared, radar and acoustic signatures. But the flying wing's success ultimately hinges on human performance, and intercontinental, multi-day flights demand extraordinary endurance from its two-person crew. Diet is carefully considered, and pilots go through sleep studies in advance of missions to see what wakes them up and helps them sleep. Reuters spoke with one retired B-2 pilot who said his go-to meal for the multi-day flights was turkey sandwiches, without cheese. The blander the better, he said. Some pilots also sneak in sunflower seeds to stay alert between meals. The B-2's cockpit includes a small area behind the seats, where pilots can lie down on a cot. While the B-2 can fly 6,000 nautical miles on a full tank, most missions require multiple mid-air refuelings. It's one of the most dangerous aspects of these missions. Refueling is done blind. Pilots can't see the boom extending from a tanker full of gas attaching to the B-2 16 feet behind their heads. Instead, they rely on visual cues from the tanker's lights and memorized reference points. While updates to the B-2's software since its 1989 debut have improved responsiveness to pilot commands, flying in tight formation at high altitude remains a challenge. And the process becomes increasingly difficult as pilot fatigue sets in. The B-2 costs about $65,000 per hour to operate. Over the coming decades, the Air Force says it plans to replace the B-2 and B-1 fleets with at least 100 B-21 Raiders.
Time of India
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Third world war': MAGA star Steve Bannon says it's a big weekend for Israel-Iran unfolding
Steve Bannon called this a big weekend in the unfolding aspect of a 'third world war'. Donald Trump 's former aide and MAGA star Steve Bannon Saturday said 'the party is on' and it's another weekend in this unfolding aspect of the third world war. "I'm just reporting what I'm hearing from pretty good sources," Bannon said while several B-1 bombers moved to Guam. It was not known whether the bomber deployment was connected to Middle East tensions. The B-2 can be equipped to carry America's 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy targets deep underground. One official said no forward orders had been given yet to move the bombers beyond Guam. They did not say how many B-2 bombers are being moved. Experts are now closely watching whether the B-2 bombers will move forward to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, which is an ideal position to operate in the Middle East. 'Steve Bannon playing outsized role in Trump's Iran decision' According to an ABC News report, Steve Bannon sat down for lunch with Donald Trump Thursday as Bannon has been playing an outsized role in Trump's Iran decisions. Before Thursday, Trump reportedly approved a plan on how the US might attack an Iranian nuclear facility. The USS Nimitz – an aircraft carrier that can carry some 60 fighter jets – was set to arrive in the Middle East by the weekend with several smaller ships by its side. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Officials said the extraordinary show of force would be needed if Trump pulled the trigger on the military option, both to strike Iran's nuclear facility and to protect the some 40,000 US troops. Bannon was the chief strategist to Trump during his first administration and now on the Israel-Iran issue, Bannon sides against authorizing military action against Iran. Bannon believes that Israelis have to finish what they started. 'We can't do this again. We'll tear the country apart. We can't have another Iraq.' Bannon, however, said he is aligned with the White House on the issue.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Ukraine's Defence Ministry codifies Volyniaka bomber drone
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has codified and approved the use of a domestically-produced Volyniaka unmanned aerial system by the armed forces. Source: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, as reported by Mezha Media, a technology and IT news platform within Ukrainska Pravda's holding company Details: The ministry stated that Volyniaka is a bomb-dropping hexacopter designed to destroy various enemy targets. The first modifications of this drone have been deployed at the front since the early months of the full-scale war. Quote: "They have destroyed hundreds of pieces of enemy military equipment, dugouts and concentrations of enemy personnel. They can carry out combat missions in any weather, at dusk and in strong winds. The latest versions have significantly improved specifications." Details: The ministry noted that the unmanned system consists of a control panel, pilot goggles, a signal repeater and a reusable hexacopter equipped with six powerful brushless motors. The UAV is specially designed to transport cargo under challenging combat conditions. Quote: "It can drop munitions on enemy targets with enough destructive power to destroy heavily armoured targets. In addition, the Volyniaka can perform logistical tasks by delivering essential equipment to frontline positions." Background: In April, the ministry codified the domestically produced B-1 unmanned aerial system – an ultralight strike drone for attacking enemy personnel, vehicles, armoured targets and military facilities both at the line of contact and in the rear. In May, the ministry approved the use of the strike drone system White Wolf by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which includes a UAV with a digital combined camera, a control and monitoring station, a set of power batteries, and more. At the beginning of June, the ministry codified the Chief-1 unmanned aerial system. This drone is designed to strike enemy aircraft or personnel using a module that fires shotgun shells. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
