Missouri-based bombers led historic U.S. strikes on Iran
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An Air Force B-2 Spirit in flight. Photo: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
A base just outside Kansas City is the only one in the world that houses the stealth bombers that carried out the unprecedented U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites last weekend.
Why it matters: Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster, Missouri, about 70 miles southeast of KC, is the home base for the B-2 Spirit, built specifically for such long-range, secretive missions.
- The B-2 is the only aircraft that can carry two 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrators, designed to destroy hardened underground targets, and the aircraft features a stealth design that allows it to better avoid enemy detection.
Seven of those aircraft, each manned by two pilots, flew from Missouri to the Middle East and back in a 37-hour, 7,000-mile nonstop mission, supported by dozens of midair refueling aircraft.
- "It is our best bomber for penetrating deep strike missions" until the Air Force's next-generation bomber comes online, said Mackenzie Eaglen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Zoom in: Whiteman's mission has evolved over the decades, from WWII training field to Cold War missile base and stealth bomber home, Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Axios.
- Whiteman's main mission is hosting the B-2 stealth bombers, but it also handles pilot training and supports other Air Force needs.
- In regard to why Whiteman was selected as the sole base for the stealth bombers, Cancian said, "the Strategic Air Command put most bomber bases in the center of the country so they wouldn't be vulnerable to a surprise attack."
Between the lines: There are only 19 B-2s in the Air Force fleet, and seven worked in tandem for the mission.
- "They're incredibly valuable, but nightmares to maintain," Cancian said.
- Another contingent of B-2s flew west over the Pacific as a decoy during the bombing run.
Flashback: The first B-2, named Spirit of Missouri, was delivered to the service in 1993.
- The planes took similarly long trips from Whiteman to Afghanistan during the opening days of that war in 2001.