Operation Midnight Hammer's success sparks Pentagon interest in building more B-2 bombers, defying expectations amid next-gen arrivals.
By Kris Osborn, Warrior
The performance of the B-2 in Operation Midnight Hammer has inspired senior weapons developers and decision makers to consider building “more” of the 36-year old stealth bomber. On the surface such a prospect may seem nonsensical, given that the next-generation B-21 is arriving on the fast-track and the B-2 operates on a 36-year old airframe. However, the opposite is true for many potential reasons, and confidence in the B-2’s ability to perform in a modern threat environment has reached its way all the way up to President Trump.
While many details of Operation Midnight Hammer are not likely available for security reasons, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was unaware of any shots fired at the B-2s in the operation.
The performance of the B-2 in Operation Midnight Hammer has inspired senior weapons developers and decision makers to consider building “more” of the 36-year old stealth bomber. On the surface such a prospect may seem nonsensical, given that the next-generation B-21 is arriving on the fast-track and the B-2 operates on a 36-year old airframe. However, the opposite is true for many potential reasons, and confidence in the B-2’s ability to perform in a modern threat environment has reached its way all the way up to President Trump.
Trumps praise for the B-2, supported by Secretary Hegseth and top Air Force generals, could well inspire a decision to add more B-2s to the current fleet to fortify, support and fly alongside of the emerging B-21. This could make a lot of sense for a number of reasons, given that the B-2 remains effective in modern combat operations.
Russian Air Defenses
The successful attack is an extremely significant achievement. Iran operates some Russian-built S-300 and possibly S-400 surface-to-air missiles. Modern variants of these weapons are increasingly enabled by digital networking, target-sharing technology, longer ranges, and an ability to detect aircraft at greater distances on a larger number of frequencies.
In recent years, Russian state-aligned media reports have made repeated claims that advanced Russian air defenses can detect and destroy stealth aircraft; this has not been confirmed.
This reality, and the B-2's ability to elude detection and pinpoint high value targets with unparalleled bombing power highlights an underrecognized paradox fundamental to US Air Force modernization …that decades old platforms can become almost entirely different aircraft with structural reinforcement and a massive modernization overhaul. This is central to the core paradox, as while there are ultimately limits to how much an older platform can upgrade, aircraft such as the B-2, F-15 and B-52 have become extremely relevant, lethal and effective in a modern, high-threat environment.
The B-2 is perhaps the best example of this phenomenon, given the success of its many upgrades. Today’s B-2 has a 1,000-fold faster computer processor, stealth coating upgrades, thermal management improvement and sensing and weapons capable of being effective and lethal against advanced current and future threats. The computing upgrades involve the re-hosting of the flight management control processors, the brains of the airplane, onto much more capable integrated processing units. This results in the laying-in of some new fiber optic cable as opposed to the mix bus cable previously being used – because original B-2 computers from the 80s could be overloaded with data in a modern war environment.
B-2 Pilot
Several years ago, former B-2 pilot Capt. Nicola Polidor, told Warrior about the impact of the computer upgrades.
“It is like a flying computer. You enter text into the computer. We can input the pressure, airspeed or target for a weapon from that panel and send it,” Polidor said. “We have autopilot just like a commercial airliner. We are able to maintain altitude without having to input into the computer system,” Polidor said in a Warrior essay.
New B-2 Weapons Configuration
The B-2 handles its weapons differently, too, as it is now configured with new software, fire control enhancements, and interfaces to enable greater flexibility and a much more expansive arsenal.
For example, the B-2 can deliver the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which was in development for many years. Satellite images of the bomb attacks on Iranian sites reveal somewhat small holes of entry. This is quite deliberate—Air Force has been developing earth-penetrating weapons for many years.
They are configured with pointed or sharp front ends to penetrate deep into the earth and are armed with a delayed fuse that keeps the bomb from detonating until it reaches the desired depth underground. This naturally maximizes damage to targets deliberately buried beneath the earth.
B-2 36-Years
Slicing through the sky with bat-like wings, eluding enemy radar with stealth technology, quietly destroying enemy air defenses from 50,000 ft and using computers to merge sensor data with targeting information -- the Air Force’s B-2 bomber … has been in the air attacking targets for “36-Years.”
The B-2’s performance in Operation Midnight Hammer drew massive praise from President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and senior Air Force Generals. The stealth platform attacks when a pilot pulls up a weapons suite screen, aligns the weapon with the target and enters information to the B-2s DED - Digital Entry Panel. B-2 Pilots explain this process, and while few details are available regarding specifics of its upgrades, today’s B-2 likely uses computer automation, AI-enabled target verification and new generation of command and control technology.
The B-2 took its first flight July 17, 1989 -- so this year is its “36-Year Anniversary.”
B-2 Missions
After blasting onto the scene in the early 90s, the B-2s combat debut came in the late 90s when the aircraft destroyed Serbian targets over Kosovo.
It was conceived of as a Cold War weapon, engineered to knock out Soviet advanced air defenses. The intent was to build upon and surpass the F-117 Night Hawk’s stealth technology used in the Gulf War.
The B-2s stealth configuration, buried engine, low heat signature and “radar absorbent” coating, is meant to not only avoid being hit by enemy weapons, but complete missions without enemies ever knowing it is there.
Its core mission: launch secret, quiet, undetected attacks over heavily defended enemy territory to create a safer “air corridor” for less stealthy planes to operate within extremely lethal,otherwise uninhabitable airspace.
Weapons selection, navigational data and intelligence analysis are all controlled by a human pilot, operating a digital display, computer screen and fire control system in the sky. The aircraft has eight displays, and incoming data from different pools of sensor data can likely now be “fused” into a common picture for pilots.
The B-2 has flown missions over Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. Given its ability to fly as many as 6,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel, the B-2 flew from Missouri all the way to an island off the coast of India called Diego Garcia - before launching bombing missions over Afghanistan.
B-2 Modernization
While the original engineering may have come from the 1980s, many upgrades, adaptations and technological improvements have sought to keep the bomber current, relevant and ahead of evolving threats. The upgrades are multi-facted and, among other things, they involve the re-hosting of the flight management control processors, the brains of the airplane, onto much more capable integrated processing units. This results in the laying-in of some new fiber optic cable as opposed to the mix bus cable previously being used – because original B-2 computers from the 80s could be overloaded with data in a modern war environment, Air Force officials said.
B-2 Stealth
The B-2 is not only rounded and curved but also entirely horizontal, without vertical structures. This creates a scenario wherein a return electromagnetic ping, or radar signal, cannot obtain an actual rendering of the plane. The exterior is both smooth and curved, without visible seams binding portions of the fuselage. Weapons are carried internally, antennas and sensors are often built into parts of the fuselage itself so as to minimize detectable shapes on the aircraft.
By not having protruding objects, shapes or certain vertical configurations such as fins, the bomber succeeds in blinding enemy radar, which is unable to generate enough returning electromagnetic “pings” to determine that an aircraft is there. An indispensable premise of B-2 sustainment is that the aircraft be prepared to succeed in the most “high-threat” or “contested” combat environments likely to exist.
The intent is to not only elude higher-frequency engagement radar, which allows air defenses to actually shoot an airplane, but also elude lower-frequency surveillance radar, which can simply detect an aircraft in the vicinity. Also, stealth aircraft such as the B-2 are built with an internal, or buried, engine to decrease the heat signature emerging from the exhaust. One goal of stealth aircraft thermal management is to try to make the aircraft itself somewhat aligned with the temperature of the surrounding air so as not to create a heat differential for enemy sensors to detect.
The priority, maintainers explain, is to ensure the weapons, electronics, computing and stealth properties are all continuously upgraded. Today’s B-2 could almost be described, in some ways, as an entirely different airplane with the same basic exterior - than it was upon first flight in 1989.
The Air Force currently operates 20 B-2 bombers, with the majority of them based at Whiteman AFB in Missouri. The B-2 can reach altitudes of 50,000 feet and carry 40,000 pounds of payload, including both conventional and nuclear weapons.
B-2 Weapons
In recent years, the B-2 has been testing with the B-61 Mod 12, an upgraded variant of several different nuclear bombs which integrates their functionality into one weapon. This not only decreases payload but of course multiplies attack options for pilots.
For instance, a B-2 could quickly adjust from a point-detonate variant of the B-61 Mod 12, to one designed with penetration capabilities, Air Force officials said.
Alongside its nuclear arsenal, the B-2 carries a wide range of conventional weapons to include precision-guided 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions or JDAMs, 5,000-pound JDAMs, Joint Standoff Weapons, Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles and GBU 28 5,000-pound bunker buster weapons, among others. The B-2 also carries a 30,000-pound conventional bomb known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a weapon described as a more explosive version of the Air Force GBU-28 bunker buster. As many know, the MOP was used against Iranian nuclear targets in Operation Midnight Hammer.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University