• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Inside B-2 stealth bombers and how they made 18-hour journey to Iran 'without the world knowing’

Home> News> US News

Updated 14:56 23 Jun 2025 GMT+1Published 12:49 23 Jun 2025 GMT+1

Inside B-2 stealth bombers and how they made 18-hour journey to Iran 'without the world knowing’

Each jet is said to have cost over $2 billion to build

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

Featured Image Credit: Gary Ell/ Getty Stock Images

Topics: World News, US News, Military

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

X

@niamhshackleton

Advert

Advert

Advert

The stealth bombers used in Saturday evening's attack on Iran by the US have been hailed as the most expensive military aircraft ever built.

Officially called the Northrop B-2 Spirit, these jets cost over $2 billion each to build and are the only jet that has the capabilities of dropping the notorious 30,000lb 'bunker busting' bombs that were dropped on three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend.

Before and after photos demonstrate the destruction the US' attack had on Iran's nuclear sites.

The strike was said to have been 'highly classified', with the aircrafts making it over to Iran 'without the world knowing'.

Advert

The jets' journey to Iran was part of an extremely complex plan, dubbed 'Operation Midnight Hammer'. A handful of B-2 jets went west from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, US, as decoys, while the other jets went east to head for Iran.

B-2 stealth bomber is one of the most expensive aircrafts ever made (Gary Chalker/Getty Stock)
B-2 stealth bomber is one of the most expensive aircrafts ever made (Gary Chalker/Getty Stock)

And the tactic worked.

The east-bound B-2s went undetected while the rest of the world watched the decoys make their way towards Guam.

Advert

These high-end military aircrafts have a range of 7,000 and, in a bid to remain undetected, the pilots had to refuel the jet while airborne during the 36-hour long round trip.

Reportedly, it took American pilots 18-hours to travel from Missouri to Iran.

With long journeys in B-2 jets not being uncommon, the aircrafts are kitted out with everything the pilots need for their long-haul flight.

Naveed Jamali is one of the very few journalists who has seen inside the infamous military jets, and he chatted to Newsweek about what's inside them.

Advert

As the B-2 only needs two pilots, apparently the jet is 'much more spacious than other bombers' and there's even space for a sleeping bag.

"It's not uncommon for one pilot to sleep while the other flies and to take shifts," Jamali said.

While B-2 pilots might be fortunate enough to have space to rest during their long flights, Jamali insisted that the aircrafts are not built for the comfort of pilots and insisted that the seats they have are 'incredibly uncomfortable'.

Advert

Elsewhere, a defense official confirmed to the news outlet that there's a toilet on the jet, but it isn't a full bathroom.

There's also rumoured to be a microwave on the B-2 bombers, New York Post reports.

It's unclear what's next for the ongoing tensions between Iran, America and Israel, but Donald Trump has urged the country not to retaliate to Saturday's air strike.

The president penned on Truth Social: "Any retaliation by Iran against the United States of America will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed [on Saturday]."

  • Former Air Force colonel who completed 44-hour mission reveals what it’s like to be inside B-2 stealth bomber
  • Pentagon shares details behind 'highly classified' strike on Iran and how stealth bombers traveled ‘without the world knowing’
  • Ex-pilot of B-2 stealth bomber reveals disturbing truth of going to toilet on 44-hour mission
  • Horrifying impact of Trump's Yemen missile attack as Iran issues chilling response

Choose your content:

22 mins ago
12 hours ago
14 hours ago
  • 22 mins ago

    Trump issues $50,000,000 bounty on world leader for allegedly aiding terrorists bring 'deadly violence' to US

    The POTUS is offering a hefty reward

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    Kelly Clarkson’s ex-husband Brandon Blackstock has died aged 48

    The singer has taken to Instagram to inform her fans that she would be postponing her tour

    Celebrity
  • 12 hours ago

    Disturbing reason why thousands of Audis were sitting abandoned in a desert after $36,000,000,000 scandal

    A scandal saw thousands of motors lay dormant in the desert due to horrific ethics displayed by one huge car manufacturer

    News
  • 14 hours ago

    Trump makes ‘sickening’ new announcement and people are convinced it has a more sinister intention

    Donald Trump has made a new announcement which will see some big changes around migrants in the US 'illegally'

    News