Latest news with #stealthbombers
Malay Mail
6 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Bunker busters and B-2s: The tech behind the US strike on Iran
WASHINGTON, June 22 — The US Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bombers were involved in strikes on Iran's nuclear sites yesterday. Three Iranian nuclear sites were struck in a 'very successful attack,' President Donald Trump said yesterday, adding that the crown jewel of Tehran's nuclear programme, Fordow, is gone. The B-2 is one of America's most advanced strategic weapons platforms, capable of entering sophisticated air defences and delivering precision strikes against hardened targets such as Iran's buried network of nuclear research facilities. B-2 Spirit specifications: The US B-2 costs about US$2.1 billion each, making it the most expensive military aircraft ever built. Made by Northrop Grumman, the bomber, with its cutting-edge stealth technology, began its production run in the late 1980s but was curbed by the fall of the Soviet Union. Only 21 were made after the Pentagon's planned acquisition programme was truncated. The bomber's range of over 6,000 nautical miles (11,112 km) without refuelling enables global strike capabilities from continental US bases. With aerial refuelling, the B-2 can reach virtually any target worldwide, as demonstrated in missions from Missouri to Afghanistan and Libya and now Iran. Its payload capacity of more than 40,000 pounds (18,144 kg) allows the aircraft to carry a diverse array of conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber's internal weapons bays are specifically designed to maintain stealth characteristics while accommodating large ordnance loads which could include two GBU-57A/B MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator), a 30,000-pound precision-guided 'bunker buster' bomb. Reports said six bunker buster bombs were used on Iran's Fordow research site. The B-2's two-pilot crew configuration reduces personnel requirements while maintaining operational effectiveness through advanced automation systems. The B-2's stealth technology incorporates radar-absorbing materials and angular design features that minimize detection by enemy air defence systems. Its radar cross-section is reportedly comparable to that of a small bird, making it nearly invisible to conventional radar. Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP): The 30,000-pound MOP represents the largest conventional bomb in the US arsenal, specifically engineered to defeat hardened underground bunkers. Its massive size requires the B-2 to carry only one or two MOPs per mission, but provides unmatched bunker-penetration capability. The weapon's 20.5-foot (6.25-m) length and GPS-guided precision targeting system enable accurate strikes against specific underground facilities. Its penetration capability of over 200 feet through hardened concrete makes it effective against the world's most protected underground installations. Conventional payloads: Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) provide the B-2 with precision conventional strike capability against fixed targets. These GPS-guided weapons can be deployed in large numbers, with the bomber capable of simultaneously engaging multiple targets with high accuracy. Joint Standoff Weapons (JSOW) extend the aircraft's engagement range while maintaining stealth characteristics during approach. These glide bombs allow the B-2 to strike targets from outside heavily defended airspace perimeters. Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) offer long-range precision strike capability with their own stealth features. The extended-range JASSM-ER variant provides strike options against targets over 500 miles (805 km) away. Nuclear payload capabilities: The B-2 Spirit serves as a key component of America's nuclear triad, capable of delivering strategic nuclear weapons with stealth and precision. The aircraft can carry up to 16 B83 nuclear bombs. — Reuters
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Deadly stealth warplane only available to US was deployed overseas prior to military attack on three Iranian nuclear sites
The US military moved a number of deadly stealth bombers, which only they have in their arsenal, to a Air Force base in Guam prior to the attack on three Iranian nuclear sites. On Saturday morning six of the B-2 stealth bombers docked at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri were on the move to Andersen Air Force Base. The warplane is the only bomber capable of carrying a 30,000-pound bomb that was likely used in Saturday nights attack on three separate nuclear facilities in Iran. President Donald Trump announced the US carried out a 'very successful attack' on the sites in a post on Truth Social. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan ', Trump said . 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.' The bomb, known as the GBU-57 or the Massive Ordinance Penetrator, is something only the US military possesses. The Fordo fuel enrichment plant is buried deep within a mountain system in Iran, but experts don't know exactly how deep. These aircraft are capable of carrying a payload as heavy as the 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb (pictured) that the US military could use to destroy a fortified nuclear facility in Iran called Fordo Experts who spoke to The New York Times believe the facility at its shallowest is 250 feet deep, but could be as much as 30 feet deeper. Nonetheless, GBU-57 is the only way to assuredly wipe out the facility, short of using a nuclear device. Jonathan Ruhe, the director of foreign policy for the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said this type of bomb is designed to use the force of gravity to 'penetrate through any mixture of earth, rock, and concrete before the bomb itself then explodes' underground. Ruhe told Fox News that the explosion could take out the facility fully or 'collapse the structure' around the target 'without necessarily obliterating it.' The precision-guided bomb is designed to attack deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels, according to the U.S. Air Force. It's believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet below the surface before exploding. The bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. The B-2, which is capable of carrying nuclear arms, is only flown by the Air Force, and is produced by Northrop Grumman. It first saw action in 1999 in the Kosovo War, and is rarely used by the U.S. military in combat as each aircraft is worth some $1 billion. Prior to the attack in Iran, the military last used them in October of last year to combat Yemen's Houthi rebels and their underground bunkers. It has dropped bombs in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya as well. The strategic long-range heavy bomber has a range of about 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometers) without refueling and 11,500 miles (18,500 kilometers) with one refueling, and can reach any point in the world within hours, according to Northrop Grumman. America's involvement in the Middle Eastern conflict comes as Israel and Iran have been launching tit-for-tat airstrikes against one another for the last week. The war between the two countries began when Israel launched what it called Operation Rising Lion on Friday, June 13. Israel targeted nuclear sites and military sites within Iran, while also killing many of Iran's top military commanders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation against Iran would last 'as many days as it takes.' 'We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran's main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran's leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran's ballistic missile program,' he said in a seven-minute video released shortly after what Israel called pre-emptive strikes. So far, Israel's strikes have killed 657 people in Iran, while Iran has killed 24 people in Israel. Israel's objective, to stop Iran from compiling enough fissile material to make a nuke, cannot be completed until the Fordo facility is destroyed. That's why Israel has been asking the Trump administration to get involved in the conflict, since the US is the only nation with the capability to strike at Fordo. For days, Trump has been coy about whether the US will in fact enter the war and fly a mission to Fordo. On Wednesday, he told reporters who were asking him about it: 'You don't seriously think I'm going to answer that question. Will you strike the Iranian nuclear component?' 'I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble. And they want to negotiate. And I say why didn't you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction,' he said. Trump warned that Tehran has a 'maximum' of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes if they don't abandon their nuclear ambitions. At a conference on Thursday, Karoline Leavitt said Trump would be making a decision in the next 14 days. Trump recently publicly disagreed with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who testified in March that there is 'no evidence' Iran is building a nuclear weapon. 'She's wrong,' Trump said Friday in New Jersey just off to the side of Air Force One. 'My intelligence community is wrong.' Gabbard has since reversed course and clarified that Iran could produce nukes 'within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly.' 'President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree,' she added. Back in March 2023, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that some uranium at the Fordo site had been enriched to 83.7 percent purity - dangerously close to the 90 percent level necessary for nuclear bombs. Fordo is smaller than the Natanz site, which has already been targeted by Israeli strikes. As well as being some 260 feet under rock and soil, the site is reportedly protected by Iranian and Russian surface-to-air missile systems. Those air defenses, however, are believed to have been weakened by recent Israeli attacks. Additionally, any US strike carries significant political and diplomatic risks for Trump, who has long warned against entangling the US in overseas conflicts. For example, Russia has warned that US involvement could 'radically destabilize the Middle East.' Military engagement could also jeopardize any chance of Trump's desired talks with Iran over its nuclear program.
Malay Mail
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
US stealth bombers spotted over Pacific as Trump mulls strike on Iran
WASHINGTON, June 22 — US stealth bombers were flying yesterday across the Pacific Ocean, according to tracking data and media reports, fuelling speculation over their intended mission as President Donald Trump considers joining Israel's attack on Iranian nuclear sites. Multiple B-2 bomber aircraft left a base in the central United States overnight and were later tracked flying off the California coast along with aerial refueling jets, The New York Times and specialist plane tracking sites reported. The B-2 is capable of carrying America's heaviest payloads, including the bunker-busting GBU-57, a 30,000-pound (13,607 kg) warhead capable of penetrating 200 feet (61m) underground before exploding. Such a bomb, which Israel is not known to possess, is the only weapon capable of destroying Iran's deeply buried nuclear facilities. When reached for comment, the Pentagon referred AFP to the White House, which did not immediately respond. Trump, who rarely spends weekends in Washington, is due to return to the White House yesterday evening to hold an unspecified 'National Security Meeting.' The president said Friday that Iran had a 'maximum' of two weeks to avoid possible US air strikes, indicating he could take a decision before the fortnight deadline he had announced a day earlier. — AFP
Washington Post
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
B-2 bombers fly across Pacific as Trump contemplates Iran strike
Multiple B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, deployed from an Air Force base in Missouri, flew west over the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, according to a U.S. official, in a likely show of force to Iran as President Donald Trump contemplates using military force to attack a key nuclear facility there. The aircraft's likely destination is either Andersen Air Force Base in Guam or a military installation on the island of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity. Both bases have hosted strategic bombers, including the B-2 and B-52, in recent months.
