President Trump on Monday announced the Pentagon is ordering 28 new B-2 Spirit stealth bombers — the military jet that has for decades been the tip of the spear of America’s air defense and global operations, most recently against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In June, seven of the stealth bombers flew a 36-hour mission called Operation Midnight Hammer to hit three Iranian nuclear facilities.
“I think in terms of my lifetime, as an airman, this will be one of the most consequential raids that we’ve executed,” Col. Josh Wiitala told CBS News.
Wiitala commands the 509th Bomb Wing, based out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri — home to roughly 20 B-2 stealth bombers.
“I’ll tell you, the biggest moment of my career, not just as a commander, is when I knew our guys were safe,” he said of the operation.
Wiitala explains what makes the B-2 such an important aircraft: “There’s a lot of long-range aircraft out there. There’s a lot of aircraft that have a high payload. There’s also other stealth aircraft out there. But the only one that combines all three is the B-2.”
CBS News was given a rare up-close look at the bombers, but much of the design, which helps the plane slip into enemy airspace undetected by radar, remains classified.
“Stealth matters, and stealth matters even more today than it did when at its inception,” said Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost of Global Strike Command.
“Stealth is many things. It’s shape, it’s materials, it’s tactics,” Armagost said. “And so, we protect our stealth capabilities in a way, such that the advantages don’t accumulate to anyone else.”
It was Armagost who received the order from President Trump to carry out the strikes on Iran.
“My confidence was very high once we hit that tripwire,” he said.
Armagost acknowledged the strikes involved sending the B-2 stealth bombers into the airspace of the most advanced military adversary they’ve faced so far, but that still didn’t shake his confidence.
“We also know, you know, they’re not alone,” he said.
Stealth F-22 and F-35 tactical fighters escorted the B-2s into Iranian airspace.
“The performance was perfect,” Armagost said.
The 30,000-pound bombs, called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, used in the strikes were specifically designed to hit deep underground targets. Chief Master Sgt. Frank Espinoza and his team loaded 14 of them into the bombers for the mission to Iran.
“They all made it happen. Yeah. Flawlessly,” Espinoza said. “Any time we get the call, we’re going to deliver and we’re not going to miss a step.”
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