Inside the B-2 stealth bomber on Iranian nuclear sites

Knob noster, MO – The details of the longest B-2 bombing mission on the story are currently concentrated, while Fox News Digital has had rare access to Whiteman Air Force and the commanders who directed the Midnight Hammer operation, striking Iran.

In interviews on the basis, Colonel Josh Wiitala and his crews described how 4,000 staff members worked in secret to send seven stealth bombers in a 30 -hour mission to Iranian airspace – the first time that the massive penetrator of 30,000 pounds in America was used in combat. They called the raid a flawless performance and offered lively stories of the tension, training and coordination necessary to remove it.

“We have a low observable culture – everyone works in secret to carry out the mission,” WiiTala told Fox News Digital, speaking publicly for the first time since the June strikes. “It is the whole team that worked together by taking advantage of the lessons of the years of exercise.”

While thousands of people supported the mission thanks to the interview, ammunition, operations and doctors, 14 of the “dozens” of pilots formed on the B-2 stealth bomber finally traveled to enemy territory to drop the massive GBU-57 GBU-57 (MOPS) on the nuclear sites of Iran.

Experts evaluate the success of “Bunker Buster” bombs fallen by us on Iranian nuclear sites

A B-2 bomber is seen at Whiteman Air Force Base on September 8, 2025. (Morgan Phillips / Fox News Digital)

To decide who went, Wiitala said that he has prioritized the experience on everything else. “This team had piloted the red flag after a red flag, a major exercise after a major exercise,” he said. “I watched the crews prepare, I was just thinking about the number of rehearsals they had had, how long they had trained for it. And it was a very experienced crew.”

The colonel would not discuss details such as the quantity of notice of the crew, whether it be an electronic war or other countermeasures, or measurable evidence to explain why the commanders thought that the bombs reach their planned targets. These details remain classified, letting foreigners rely on satellite imaging and independent verification assessments.

Wiitala said the selected team was “triggered” to carry out the mission. “What I told them is:” I think it will remain in memories as one of the most substantial raids of our life. “They absolutely understood the historical nature of the mission.”

The pilots returned to the 30 -hour “completely exhausted” mission house, according to Wiitala – it was the longest mission for large -scale bombing with seven planes. Each plane had two pilots, and they are based in turn for 45 minutes at one hour at a time, especially between complex air supplies. Certain boxes of energy drinks on board to remain vigilant.

The longest combat mission for any plane was 44.3 hours, when the pilots hit targets from Al-Qaeda and Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Rest periods are trying to be horizontal on the small metal floor plot behind the pilot seats.

Colonel Josh Wiitala talks about piloting the B-2 Stealth bomber during a digital visit to Fox News at the base of Whiteman Air Force on September 8, 2028. (Morgan Phillips / Fox News Digital)

A stealth b-2 bomber exhibited at Whiteman Air Force Base, September 8, 2025. (Morgan Phillips / Fox News Digital)

Operation Midnight Hammer: The historic mission of the B-2 bomber flew from the Missouri to strike Iranian nuclear sites

Aerial refueling, according to Wiitala, “is the hardest stick and rudder and the helping hand of what we do”. The process is to line up as close as 10 feet under an oil tanker KC-135, KC-10 or KC-46, where a hose and a nozzle at the bottom of the plane attach to a fuel opening at the top of the B-2. The B-2 must fly parallel under the KC oil tanker for 15 to 30 minutes to take charge of fuel up to 167,000 pounds.

Wiitala said the “biggest moment” of his 22 -year career in the Air Force was when the pilots returned safely. “When I knew that the crews were safe, when I knew they were in friendly airspace and that they were safe. It was the most important thing for me. In terms of mission success, it was 14 weapons on the target.

The B-2 is the only long-range furtive plane that can transport bunker bunker bombs of 30,000 pounds. But the $ 2 billion plane is aging: 20 of them have been active for almost 30 years. Combined with rapidly evolving aerial defenses – drone swarms, missiles and long -range air surface sensors – the B -2 has been built for an earlier generation of aerial combat.

Front view of a B-2 stealth bomber to Whiteman Air Force Base on September 8, 2025. (Morgan Phillips / Fox News Digital)

A B-2 bomber seen during the digital visit of Fox News to Whiteman Air Force Base, on September 8, 2025. (Morgan Phillips / Fox News Digital)

“We are constantly evolving how we use the plane,” said Wiitala. “It’s always a very effective plane, but the B-21 is the next step.”

The B-21 should be more profitable, less than $ 1 billion per plane, and the Air Force plans to buy 175 to 200.

Vadrouilles are stored on the basis with bombs of 500 pounds and 2,000 pounds. They are kept to be ready to be used at any time. The weapons chargers train for 21 days to become certified to maintain and load the bombs of 30,000 pounds, which lock in the body of the plane at two points of steel contact, according to the master chief. Frank Espinoza, 509th MAINTENANCE GROUP Wing Weapon Manager.

Those who take care of weapons train each month to load the ammunition for flight missions. When they fell, the weapons penetrate deep into the ground before exploding. Iran’s underground bunkers were the first combat targets for weapons.

Fifteen years of multiple tests and iterations have led to the ready version for the combat of the MOP. The finalized version is now tested for “several years”, according to Espinoza.

The maintenance manager, Frank Espinoza, explains how the massive ammunition penetrator, or bunker bomb bomb, is kept in combat. (Morgan Phillips / Fox News Digital)

A penetrator of massive ammunition, known as the Buster bomb, at the base of Whiteman Air Force, on September 8, 2025. (Morgan Phillips / Fox News Digital)

A massive penetrator of 30,000 pounds exposed to Whiteman Air Force Base, September 8, 2025. (Morgan Phillips / Fox News Digital)

The bombs were abandoned on targets in two Iranian nuclear installations: 12 wading were abandoned on the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, buried under 300 feet of rock and two on Natanz’s nuclear installation. Israeli air strikes have eliminated Iran’s aerial defenses, creating a ripe opportunity for American bombers to enter Iranian aerial space with relatively lower risks.

A recent assessment of nuclear weapons expert David Albright and a team of researchers analyzing data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revealed that after American strikes, Iran has no way to produce weapon quality uranium in one of its known centrifuge factories “for the first time in 15 years”.

“Military attacks have destroyed or ineffective all the installed centrifuges of Iran – nearly 22,000 gas centrifuges – on the three Iran enrichment sites,” said the analysis. But the researchers noted that it is not clear how long it would take Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, because the country can have other centrifuges which are not yet used and not destroyed in strikes.

A wall paint with Whiteman Air Force Base represents a massive ammunition penetrator from a B-2 bomber. (Morgan Phillips / Foxnews Digital)

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President Donald Trump immediately proclaimed that Iran’s nuclear program was “completely and completely erased”, although skeptics and opponents of strikes expressed prudence to declare the mission to be successful before the end of a final damage assessment.

While Iran has stopped cooperation with the nuclear authorities following the strike, its reprisals on US military personnel were stifled. Tehran launched a strike on an American air base in Qatar, but informed both parties in advance. No one was injured in the counter-peels.