Overview

• The strike force included seven B-2 Spirits within a 125-aircraft formation that delivered 14 GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs.
• The mission launched from Whiteman AFB in Missouri flew nonstop over Sicily and the Mediterranean on a 40-hour sortie enabled by repeated in-flight refueling.
• The B-2s targeted Iran’s fortified nuclear enrichment sites at Fordow and Natanz, significantly degrading underground fissile material operations.
• Pilots endured cramped, windowless cockpits with minimal rest and hygiene facilities while relying on MRE rations to sustain them.
• Each Spirit, worth about $2.1 billion, underscored the U.S. Air Force’s long-range stealth capability despite its operational discomfort.