B-2 Bombers Strike Iran’s Fordo Nuclear Site in Secret Mission

Post by : Raina Nasser

Photo:AP

In a daring and secret operation, U.S. Air Force pilots flew their special B-2 stealth bombers all the way from Missouri to Iran without stopping. Their mission: was to drop two huge bombs on Fordo, a secret nuclear site hidden deep inside a mountain.

These pilots trained for years before this big mission. They practiced for 24 hours straight in a flight simulator that looked exactly like their real cockpit. They even practiced hitting a fake version of the Fordo site. So when the real mission happened, everything felt familiar—except for a few intense moments.

During the actual flight, the pilots felt the plane shake when the bomb doors opened. This could make the plane more visible to enemy radar. Each B-2 carried two Massive Ordnance Penetrators, each weighing 30,000 pounds. That’s about as heavy as a loaded school bus! When they dropped them, the plane jerked upwards from losing so much weight so fast.

These types of bombs were used for the first time in real combat. Some of the pilots had never dropped bombs in war before. But they were ready. The mission took around 37 hours, and the pilots had to stay awake and alert for almost two days. They had small heaters to warm food, a cot to nap on, and drank lots of water to stay sharp.

While other bombers like the B-1 and B-52 are used a lot in wars, the B-2 is very rare and super expensive—about $2.2 billion each. It’s built to sneak into places without being seen and hit important, well-protected targets.

This time, Iran’s defenses never even fired a shot. No missiles or guns came close to the B-2s or the fighter jets flying with them. After the strike, American leaders said they hoped this showed Iran that the U.S. could hit any nuclear site, anywhere, at any time—even from across the world.