The U.S. military has conducted precision strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile facilities using B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed.
The B-2 stealth bombers departed from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and delivered multiple guided bombs, likely variants such as the GBU-31 with BLU-109 penetrator warheads, targeting Iran’s ballistic missile facilities.
CENTCOM described the strikes as successful against “hardened” infrastructure, part of the broader Operation Epic Fury, a joint U.S.-Israeli campaign against the Islamic regime of Iran.
U.S. officials have emphasized the objective of preventing Iran from maintaining or expanding threats posed by its ballistic missile arsenal, which has been used in prior retaliatory strikes against regional targets.
Last year in June, the U.S. used 7 B-2 stealth bombers to hit Iranian nuclear sites.
“We devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing, adding that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.”
The U.S. operation against Iran, “Operation Midnight Hammer,” involved more than 125 warplanes. The B-2 stealth bombers dropped more than a dozen 30,000-pound MOP bombs on two Iranian nuclear facilities, Fordow and Natanz.
The B-2 is a low-observable, or “stealth,” aircraft that gives the USAF the exceptional capability to penetrate an adversary’s defenses and threaten its heavily guarded targets.
The revolutionary blending of low-observable tech with high aerodynamic efficiency and large payload gives the B-2 a critical edge over existing bombers. Its low observability provides greater freedom of action, thereby expanding the aircraft’s sensors’ field of view.
The B-2’s low observability emanates from a combination of reduced infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic, visual, and radar signatures. These signatures make it difficult for the enemy’s AD systems to detect and engage the B-2. Many aspects of the low-observability process remain classified; however, the B-2’s composite materials, special coatings, and flying-wing design all contribute to its “stealthiness.”
Meanwhile, the decision to fly approximately 37 hours partially stemmed from the UK’s refusal to grant permission for U.S. forces to use British-controlled facilities for strikes against Iran.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government denied requests to operate from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, the primary European staging base for U.S. heavy bombers, and from the joint U.S.-U.K. base on Diego Garcia, as EurAsian Times reported earlier.
RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia have historically supported U.S. long-range bomber missions in the Middle East, including operations against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Operating directly from Whiteman AFB, supported by aerial tankers, allowed the missions to proceed without reliance on forward bases. The B-2’s global reach, enabled by in-flight refueling and low-observability features, has previously supported similar long-distance strikes, including against Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025 during Operation Midnight Hammer.
Later, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed to let the U.S. military use UK bases to fire “defensive” strikes aimed at destroying Iranian missiles and their launchers.
In a video address posted to social media, Starmer said: “We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran, and we will not join offensive action now. “But Iran is pursuing a scorched-earth strategy, so we are supporting the collective self-defence of our allies and our people in the region.”
Starmer added, “Our decision that the UK would not be involved with the strikes on Iran was deliberate. “Not least because we believe that the best way forward for the region and for the world is a negotiated settlement.”
A separate statement posted on the UK government website set out its legal position. Starmer said “the only way to stop the threat” from Iran was “to destroy the missiles at source — in their storage depots or the launchers which are used to fire the missiles”.
“The United States has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose,” he added, without specifying locations.
Starmer said there were “at least 200,000” British citizens in the affected region, from residents and families on holiday to people travelling. He urged them to register their presence and follow the foreign ministry travel advice.
By ET Online Desk and AFP
