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First Post
25-06-2025
- General
- First Post
Catnaps, a chemical toilet and more: Inside America's 37-hour B-2 bomber mission into Iran and back
Flying a 37-hour bombing mission to Iran, B-2 pilots faced extreme physical and mental stress. They prepared with sleep simulations, strict nutritional plans and chemical assistance — using sleeping pills pre-mission and amphetamines during flight. Inside a cramped cockpit, rest came in shifts, with only cots, 'piddle packs' and personal grit for support read more Seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers from the United States Air Force embarked on a 37-hour round-trip journey from Missouri's Whiteman Air Force Base to Iranian territory and back. The mission, targeting three fortified nuclear-related facilities in Iran, marked not just a display of military precision but also of extreme endurance. The mission's scale was enormous. Over 125 aircraft were mobilised, including multiple bombers, surveillance platforms, fighter escorts and aerial refuelling tankers. Of the seven B-2s involved in the strike, each aircraft carried two crew members, executing coordinated bomb runs within a tight 30-minute window over their targets. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Although officials have not publicly confirmed specific mission details, parallels can be drawn with earlier long-range bomber operations such as the 44-hour sortie flown by now-retired US Colonel Melvin G Deaile in 2001 during the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom. Describing the Iran raid as 'an incredible feat,' CNN quoted Deaile who highlighted the uniqueness of seven B-2s operating over target areas simultaneously and executing independent bombing trajectories. What goes into a 37-hour B-2 mission Operating a B-2 Spirit over such long distances involves meticulous pre-flight conditioning for pilots. Crews assigned to missions of this length typically undergo days, sometimes weeks, of physical and mental preparation. These include regulated sleep cycles, nutritional planning, and simulator training. Pilots are also trained to manage digestion and hydration — factors that directly affect alertness and comfort in a cockpit with minimal amenities. 'The flight doc did have what we call 'go pills' authorised for use — amphetamines,' Deaile recalled of his own Afghanistan mission, though he acknowledged policy may have changed since then. He also described taking 'sleeping pills to help them rest in the days leading up to the bombings.' Retired Lieutenant General Steve Basham, a former B-2 pilot who flew combat sorties during the 1999 Kosovo conflict, confirmed that the physical strain is more than incidental. 'We go through sleep studies, we actually go through nutritional education to be able to teach each one of us: one, what wakes us up and then what helps us go to sleep,' he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Basham's preferred inflight meal was as unassuming as the mission was demanding: 'turkey sandwiches on wheat bread, no cheese,' to minimise digestion issues. The compact design of the B-2 limits crew mobility. Each cockpit includes a makeshift cot tucked behind the seats where one pilot can rest while the other remains alert. Pilots are required to be in their seats during takeoff, midair refuelling, time over hostile territory and landing — leaving little opportunity for extended rest. Even bodily functions require creative solutions. The cockpit includes a chemical toilet without partitions, leading Deaile to explain, 'Privacy is the guy looks the other way.' To manage hydration needs, pilots drink around a bottle of water per hour and use 'piddle packs,' absorbent bags designed to contain urine. Deaile and his fellow pilot once amused themselves by calculating the cumulative weight of their used packs midflight — one of the few ways to pass time on a multi-day sortie. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How the B-2 was able to stay in the air for 37 hours Despite the B-2's design capability to fly more than 6,000 nautical miles without refuelling, most long-duration missions necessitate multiple midair refuellings. This involves delicate manoeuvring at high altitude and in close formation with a tanker aircraft, whose refuelling boom must be blindly aligned with the bomber from behind. Pilots can't see the boom; instead, they rely on illuminated reference markers and practiced routines. 'Refuelling is done blind,' Basham explained. 'At night, especially on moonless flights, the task becomes what Basham called 'inherently dangerous.'' Fatigue exacerbates the difficulty of these manoeuvres, particularly on the return leg of such an extended operation. The pilots' concentration must remain razor-sharp despite dwindling energy levels and erratic sleep. 'The adrenaline goes away,' Basham said. 'You try to get a little bit of rest and you still got that one last refuelling.' Nevertheless, the prospect of returning to US airspace after hours over hostile terrain offers motivation. 'The one thing that's going to lift them up is they're going to enter the coast of the United States again and they're going to get that 'welcome home' from a US controller,' Basham added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The first combat use of US' most powerful bomb Saturday's operation marked a significant moment in US military history with the first-ever combat deployment of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). Weighing 30,000 pounds, the bomb is designed to destroy hardened underground facilities, such as the fortified installations reportedly targeted in Iran. Only the B-2 is capable of carrying these weapons due to their size and weight. Each of the seven B-2s in the raid is believed to have carried two of these munitions, totalling over a dozen MOPs dropped in the operation. Basham, reflecting on this unprecedented payload, remarked, 'It'll be interesting to hear from the pilots,' referencing the unusual shift in aircraft weight that occurs after releasing such enormous bombs. Despite the increased firepower and operational intensity, Pentagon officials reported no direct engagement from Iranian defence systems. Unlike earlier combat zones where B-2s flew amidst anti-aircraft fire or visible missile trails, this operation proceeded without a single shot being fired at either the bombers or their F-35 escorts. The human touch behind a $2 billion aircraft Despite its cutting-edge technology — including stealth capabilities that reduce detection by radar, heat, and sound — the success of any B-2 mission ultimately rests on its crew. The aircraft's two-person team assumes responsibilities once distributed across larger crews on older platforms like the B-1B or B-52. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The B-2's fly-by-wire control system, once lag-prone in its earlier iterations, has seen software improvements over the decades. These enhancements have made precision flight and refueling operations more responsive, but the human element remains irreplaceable. 'Our pilots make it look easy, but it's far from easy,' Basham noted. The complexity of a mission like this one extends beyond the cockpit. Hundreds of personnel on the ground worldwide are involved in mission planning, logistics, and maintenance. From simulator operators and intelligence analysts to aircraft technicians and mission briefers, a globe-spanning support infrastructure undergirds every moment in the air. What will replace the B-2 Spirit bombers Though the B-2 Spirit remains an elite symbol of US airpower, its era is winding down. The US Air Force plans to replace the B-2 and B-1 fleets with at least 100 B-21 Raiders over the coming decades. Still, with a per-hour operating cost of $65,000, the B-2 continues to deliver what other platforms cannot — deep-penetration stealth capability over great distances. The 37-hour Iran mission demonstrated the extraordinary resilience of its pilots. As Deaile reflected from his own record-setting flight decades ago: 'We just knew that if the president made the call, we were going to fly.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
Business Insider
24-06-2025
- General
- Business Insider
What's it like to fly a B-2 bomber for 2 days straight? Here's what record-holding pilots say.
Seven American stealth bombers flew roughly 37 hours to bomb Iran's nuclear sites over the weekend. The Pentagon called the Operation Midnight Hammer bombing run the longest B-2 Spirit flight in decades. The record for the longest B-2 bomber flight belongs to Melvin Deaile and Brian "Jethro" Neal, two retired Air Force pilots who in October 2001 flew a 44-hour flight, executing one of the first bombing missions into Afghanistan in the wake of the tragic 9/11 terror attacks. They shared what it's like to carry out these exceedingly long bombing missions and navigate the stressful aerial refuelings needed to keep the B-2 flying on only a few hours of sleep and some beef jerky. The longest B-2 bomber flight The September 11, 2001, attacks unfolded as the duo was in the middle of an annual nuclear capabilities training exercise, Neal told Business Insider. Amid confusing reports of hijacked planes, Neal first thought they were part of the training. But soon it was clear, and his unit was preparing mission options for top Bush administration officials in Washington eager to respond with force. Neal and Deaile were among a handful of B-2 crews that headed to Afghanistan that week, Deaile said. The pair knew the B-2 Spirit well enough; however, they only flew the plane a couple of times a month to help preserve the expensive aircraft and mitigate maintenance issues. They spent most of their time training on the T-38 training aircraft, a less costly option to keep flight skills sharp. While they occasionally flew their B-2 bomber cross-country to practice long-haul flights, they'd never flown it for a wartime operation until one evening in early October, when the pair took off in the wee hours of the morning from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where all B-2s are housed, heading west to Afghanistan. Before they took off for the mission, the airmen responsible for furnishing the pilots with mission-appropriate gear had thoughtfully purchased a cot for the back of the bomber, one just long enough to lie down on, Neal said, recalling the ad hoc sleeping arrangements in the $2 billion stealth aircraft with a chuckle. "When the ladder comes up and you enter the cockpit, there is a flat spot on the floor that is about a little over six feet long," Neal said of the sleeping area. "And so I think over the two days that I was in that little space, I spent about five hours in that cot total." Five hours isn't much sleep for a 44-hour flight. Pilots are often provided a stimulant by flight surgeons to help stay awake, Neal said. He declined to take his stimulant, known colloquially as a "go pill," but Deaile did. "You're young and you're doing something that you're trained to do, and there's a bit of excitement and a lot of adrenaline," Neal remembered. The two took turns trying to get some naps, though pre-mission nerves kept either from getting much rest. Also, flying west toward Afghanistan meant that the sun was up all day. "You don't feel like sleeping when the sun's staring you in the eyes," Neal said. Flying a B-2 bomber Compared to aircraft like the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-22 Raptor fighter jets, both of which Neal flew throughout his career, a bomber like the B-2 is like driving a semi-truck after spending years in a sports car, he explained. Deaile already had bomber experience, working with B-52 strategic bombers before joining the B-2 community, but the Spirit is a very different plane. A B-2 humming along in the air only requires one pilot to stay alert, meaning the second can rest. But landing, taking off, dropping bombs, and refueling require both crew members. Refueling a B-2, a requirement for these long flights, especially with a heavy payload, is no easy task. Tanker crews must be specifically certified to fuel different aircraft, including the B-2, to account for each platform's unique characteristics. The nerve-racking ordeal usually lasts about 30 minutes each time, and it's as tough on the bomber pilots as it is on those in the tanker. The Northrop Grumman-built B-2 is unique not just for its unusual flying-wing design but also because it's stealthy, with the sleek design and coatings to evade radar. The aircraft's surface is an important contributor to its low observability. Even small scratches to the surface, such as one caused by an errant refueling boom, can affect its stealth, Deaile said. "It's very intensive," he said of the refueling process, adding that he and Neal received seven different refuels from tankers during the lengthy two-day mission. Neal estimated they needed a total of 750,000 pounds of JP-8 fuel. The goal was to take on as much fuel as possible since so much flight time was spent over the ocean. "You're at the gas station going hundreds of miles an hour," Neal said, describing navigating the refueling as a tense workout, especially since the B-2's design generates lift that oddly pushes the tanker away during refueling. Setting a record Refueling — and a last-minute order from headquarters — are how Neal and Deaile ended up with the record for the longest B-2 flight. Deaile and Neal dropped a dozen bombs from their B-2 before departing Afghan airspace. But just as the pilots were catching their breath, word unexpectedly arrived ordering them back to Afghanistan to deploy their four remaining bombs, the last remaining out of their 16 total Joint Direct Attack Munition stock, each bomb weighing 2,000 pounds. JDAMs, as they are known, are unguided bombs that have been fitted with a GPS-guidance kit. To return, though, they needed even more fuel. A tanker was dispatched to their bomber, named the Spirit of America, only for Neal and Deaile to learn that the tanker crew had never refueled a B-2 before. They were forced to wait until a B-2-certified tanker crew nearby could be found and routed their way. By this point in the mission, neither pilot was consuming much food, instead preferring to focus on water intake since they weren't burning many calories. A cooler in the back was packed with snacks, Neal said, probably beef jerky and grapes, maybe a sandwich. After dropping their final bombs, the pilots turned south for Diego Garcia, home to a small air base in the Indian Ocean. Knowing they'd finish on the island, Neal had packed a piece of gear not commonly seen in a B-2 bomber — his fishing rod. Another crew took over the Spirit of America on Diego Garcia, and Neal and Deaile hopped on a military transport aircraft back to Missouri. "That was a little bit more comfortable than the way we got there," Deaile said. In an email to BI, Air Force public affairs officials declined to say whether or not the same Spirit of America aircraft participated in the Iran mission, citing operational security concerns. Looking at the recent B-2 bomber mission into Iran, Deaile shared that he was most impressed by the maintenance and management of the fleet. The entire B-2 fleet is less than two dozen aircraft, meaning that the Iran mission, including aircraft used as decoys, required much of the US fleet to fly for days without any apparent breakdowns. "The Air Force put up a third of its bomber fleet in one night to do this mission with precision," Deaile said. "That's incredible."
