July 1, 2025 –B-21 Raider: The Iran War Proves We Need More Stealth Bombers (From National Security Journal)

Key Points and Summary – The successful “Operation Midnight Hammer” strike on Iran, where just seven B-2 Spirit bombers devastated key nuclear sites, highlights a critical lesson for the U.S. Air Force: it needs more stealth bombers, and fast.

-The current fleet of only 19 B-2s, a fraction of the 132 originally planned, was severely strained to execute the mission.

-This small fleet size creates significant risks when facing multiple global threats.

-The clear takeaway is the urgent need to accelerate production of the B-2’s successor, the B-21 Raider, and to procure a much larger fleet of at least 100-200 aircraft to meet modern strategic demands. Read full article here and below.

Iran Meets America’s B-2 Stealth Bombers 

The B-2 Spirit bombers of the U.S. Air Force’s 509th Bomb Wing delivered the devastating blow to Iran’s uranium enrichment program, a shock so serious it caused Iran to agree to a ceasefire in less than 48 hours, which, of course, may or may not last based on breaking events. The B-2s and the total strike package of 125 aircraft deserve great credit.

Now comes the operational lessons learned. At the top of the list is the urgent requirement to speed up production of the B-21 Raider, the replacement for the B-2. The Air Force – and the nation – has been taking risks with its stealth bomber fleet for decades.  That won’t work against an Indo-Pacific target set.

The B-2 Bomber Is Amazing: Iran Strikes Proved Stealth Wins 

Operation Midnight Hammer was brilliantly executed, but it also showed that the U.S. is woefully short of sixth-generation aircraft.

The technology is ready. The budget is the holdup.

It’s a small miracle the U.S. had enough B-2 bombers to pull off their strikes in Operation Midnight Hammer. The B-2 wing consists of just 19 planes out of an original buy of 21.

The B-2 Program Is A Smaller Version of Something Much Bigger Planned

How this happened is a tale of wishful thinking and political vicissitudes.  In the 1980s, Strategic Air Command set an original requirement for 132 B-2 bombers. The B-2, with its curved surfaces, was a tremendous breakthrough in stealth design.  “They saw it as the only way to counter the Soviet Union,” said Irv Waaland, one of the B-2’s designers.

That requirement dropped to 75 with the end of the Cold War.  In the “peace dividend” budgets of 1992, the program was cut to a mere 15.  However, five more intermediate wing sections were on the production line at Vought, leading to a decision for a final buy of 20.

Money to convert the first test article B-2 to flying status was approved in 1996.

With an impressive safety record, the fleet of 21 B-2 bombers suffered no losses or crashes through its first three wars.

On February 23, 2008, the first B-2 loss occurred when moisture in the instruments caused the crash of the B-2 named “Spirit of Kansas” during takeoff from Guam.

In 2021, another B-2 was damaged when it skidded off the runway, but that bomber later returned to duty after repairs. Then, in December 2022, an emergency landing at Whiteman AFB resulted in a fire.

By this time, the B-2 Raider stealth bomber was nearly ready for first flight. The Air Force chose not to repair the damaged B-2, the “Spirit of Georgia,” dropping the permanent fleet to 19 aircraft.

A Stealth Attack

The B-2 fleet was ready for Iran, but the stress on this small fleet was severe. Marshalling 7 B-2s for the strike on Iran on June 21, 2025, was impressive. Work had to begin months in advance to plan aircraft availability, and weeks ahead to schedule all B-2s to be tuned up to pristine condition with maximum stealth for combat operations.

Not all of the 19 B-2s can be used in a mission on the same day. A few B-2s are often unavailable for scheduled intermediate maintenance and upgrades. Subtract nuclear triad commitments and training for new pilots. For this mission, other B-2 “spares” apparently flew a deception mission toward Guam. Committing 9 B-2s to Operation Midnight Hammer left the shelf nearly empty.  And it goes without saying that 37-hour flights inherently limit the number of sorties that can be flown with a small fleet.

B-2: A Bomber Like No Other

The U.S. cannot deter China and wield the tremendous power to hold dangerous targets like Iran’s nuclear sites at risk unless more stealth bombers are bought, and fast.

Next time, the target set may take more than one night’s work. Degrading airfields early in a conflict is a case in point. For example, six B-2s attacked on night one of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Three flew from Missouri, while another strike package of three had been forward deployed and took off from Diego Garcia. The B-2s continued split operations and flew 22 sorties from Diego Garcia and 27 from Whiteman AFB.  Air superiority was the main goal. “With the B-2, I could hit eight airfields right up front,” Coalition Forces Air Component Commander Gen.  “Buzz” Moseley later said.

For Operation Midnight Hammer, the seven B-2s entered the airspace independently, with times over target sequence in a 25-minute window. Ahead of them flew two waves of aircraft.  Decoys stimulated and confused any remaining Iranian air defenses.

This technique was first used at scale in “Poohbah’s Party,” a drone deception operation flown January 17, 1991, at the Start of the Gulf war air campaign.

At higher altitudes, fighters like the F-22, F-35, and others fanned out in lanes ahead of the B-2s in the improbable event of Iranian air activity, and to jump on any surface-to-air missiles.  Bases in theater and aircraft carriers on station facilitated these strike waves.

Without them, planners must schedule more stealth bombers to ensure mission completion.

The B-21 Raider Future 

All signs indicate that the Air Force needs a much more robust B-21 Raider stealth bomber fleet. The B-21 was unveiled at the Palmdale, California, factory in December 2022. The first flight occurred in November 2023. Active flight testing continues with an estimated five B-21 bombers on the production line.

U.S. aerospace manufacturing has finally figured out how to build stealth aircraft efficiently with its sixth-generation designs.  In the spring of 2024, the Air Force lowered costs for the next forty B-21s.

An Aviation Week report noted nearly 28% savings across the five-year defense plan in the Air Force’s plan for the B-21 Raider, a sign of maturity in production.

The B-21 program is turning out to be arguably the single most successful major weapon system acquisition currently underway.

More B-21 Raider Bombers, the Better 

For these reasons, the B-21 is more than ready for acceleration. Ideally, the Air Force would commission a second production site and rapidly acquire a fleet of 200 or more B-21s.  That is the standout lesson of Operation Midnight Hammer.