Fmr. B-2 commander: US flew largest stealth bomber mission ever

(NewsNation) — A retired Air Force general who commanded the first B-2 stealth squadron described Saturday night's bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities as "remarkable" in scale, scope and precision, marking the largest B-2 strike mission in the aircraft's history.

Retired Lt. Gen. Richard Newton said seven B-2 bombers successfully penetrated Iranian airspace undetected, struck their targets at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan facilities, and exited without a single shot being fired at them.

"The aircraft actually ingressed into the target and struck the targets at Natanz and also at Fordow and then exited Iranian airspace without any detection at all, without a single shot fired," Newton said Sunday morning. "This is remarkable. It's also the largest B2 strike sortie ever."

As "Operation Midnight Hammer” got underway on Saturday, a group of B-2 bombers took off from their base in Missouri and were noticed heading out toward the Pacific island of Guam, in what experts saw as possible pre-positioning for any U.S. decision to strike Iran. However, those were a decoy and a group of seven others flew undetected into Iranian airspace.

A Pentagon-provided map shown below details the flight path of the bombers that eventually completed their mission without any returning fire.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JUNE 22: An operational timeline of a strike on Iran is displayed following a news conference with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. U.S. President Donald Trump gave an address to the nation last night after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The mission marked the first combat use of the GBU-57 bunker-buster bomb, a 30,000-pound weapon designed to penetrate heavily fortified underground facilities. Fourteen of the massive bombs were deployed during the operation, per the general.

The B-2 bombers launched from Whiteman Air Force Base in central Missouri and required multiple aerial refuelings to reach targets more than 6,000 miles away. The aircraft took off with minimal fuel loads due to the weight of their ordnance, then met KC-135 tanker aircraft to refuel to maximum capacity, according to the general

The complex strike package included intelligence and surveillance aircraft, Navy F-18 fighters providing electronic warfare support, and Air Force and Navy fighters conducting suppression of enemy air defenses before the B-2s entered Iranian airspace, the general said.

Newton emphasized the operation's complexity, noting that Iranian airspace over the nuclear facilities is "very tight airspace, highly controlled," making the successful penetration particularly challenging.

The retired general credited Israeli military operations over the past 10 days with creating the strategic opportunity for the U.S. mission. Israel's ongoing air campaign helped provide conditions that enabled American forces to operate effectively in the region.

"We have a tendency in the U.S. military to make this look easy, but it's very complex," Newton said. "The planning and the execution of this was just exquisite."