Two days after launching missile strikes on Iran's three nuclear sites amid the ongoing conflict with Israel, the United States on Tuesday released a video of its B-2 Spirit stealth bombers taking off from the Whiteman Air Force base near Missouri ahead of striking Iran's nuclear facilities during its Operation Midnight Hammer over the weekend.
Marking a major escalation in the ongoing turmoil in West Asia, the United States on Sunday, June 22, ensured its official entry into the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict by carrying out coordinated air and missile strikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.
Quoting officials, CNN reported that the United States used six B-2 bombers to drop a dozen bunker buster bombs on the Fordow nuclear site in Iran while the Navy submarines fired 30 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) missiles at two other sites, Natanz and Isfahan.
Confirming the strikes, US President Donald Trump came up with a series of posts on Truth Social, shortly before addressing the nation from the White House. "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran's airspace," he wrote on Truth Social.
The video released by the Pentagon showed the bat-winged stealth bombers taxiing out of the hangar at the Whiteman airbase and taking off for Iran.
On June 22, the B-2 bombers reportedly flew for nearly 37 hours on a round-trip from Missouri to Iran, and dropped massive 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs), also known as 'Bunker Busters' on the three key underground nuclear sites.
About the B-2 Bomber Jets
The premier stealth bomber is capable of penetrating sophisticated air defences and delivering precision strikes with a functional range of over 6,000 nautical miles without refuelling.
They have the ability to carry both nuclear and conventional munitions.
The attack was the largest operational strike ever by B-2 stealth bombers and the longest such mission since 2001, when the US attacked Afghanistan following the September 11 terror attacks.