Former Air Force colonel who completed 44-hour mission reveals what it’s like to be inside B-2 stealth bomber
A former Air Force colonel who completed a whopping 44-hour mission has revealed what it's really like to be inside a B-2 stealth bomber.
The US used the military vehicles for an attack on Iran's key nuclear facilities on Saturday night (June 21) - a mission Trump declared a 'success' after it 'completely obliterated' the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites in the Middle Eastern country.
Seven stealth bombers, each with two crew members, were sent halfway across the world and back to conduct the strikes over the weekend.
Melvin G. Deaile is one of a few individuals to know exactly what goes on within such aircraft, after being involved in the B-2 mission over Afghanistan in 2001.
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The mission, which lasted a total of 44 hours, is still the longest bombing mission on record.
Deaile was sent to Afghanistan in the opening days of Operation Enduring Freedom, which was launched by then-president George W. Bush to target al Qaeda and the Taliban just weeks after 9/11.
The two in the aircraft would take turns sleeping in a small cot behind the seats in the cockpit, though both needed to be in the cockpit for takeoff, refuelling, bombardment and landing.
Dealie told CNN: "They may have upgraded it in the last 20 years to something a little bit more comfortable, but it was a modified cot behind the two pilots that the crew member not in the seat could clear out and grab some shut-eye for probably about three or four hours in between air refuelling."
Though considering the nature of the mission they were on, it was unsurprisingly pretty difficult to sleep.
"Obviously anybody going into combat has a level of anxiety," Dealie added. "But eventually you’re going to get some shut-eye, just because your body is going to require that."
The mission was ultimately a success after the bombers spent a total of four hours over Afghanistan dropping their payload before leaving the country.
In the discussion with CNN, Deaile - who is now retired and not associated with the US military or the Department of Defense in any form - was asked about the recent attacks.
He dubbed the operation an 'incredible feat', before adding: "The thing that to me was more historic than anything is the fact that we had seven jets over the target area, executing seven different bomb runs, all within the matter of 30 minutes."
Callum Jones