The recent 37-hour aerial bombing attack on Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, titled “Operation Midnight Hammer,” had US B-2 stealth planes flying one of their longest missions ever since 9/11. In order to provide comfort for the pilots and maintain extended periods of alertness on the long round-trip flight from Missouri to Iran, these cutting-edge planes were furnished with a range of amenities, including microwaves, toilets, and mini-fridges.

Departing Whiteman Air Force Base, just north of Kansas City, the advanced American bombers took an 18-hour trip around the world, needing several refuelings during flight. Each of the more than USD 2 billion B-2s is built for such long operations, containing an on-board toilet and room for one pilot to sleep as the other keeps flying.

The B-2 Spirit’s technology dependency doesn’t stop at stealth. Its two-man crew relies on automation for extended missions. In “Operation Midnight Hammer,” seven B-2 bombers flew almost radio silent, with alternating crews of rest and flight.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Daniel Caine applauded the B-2s for their capability to join escort and support aircraft in a “complex, tightly timed maneuver requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace, all accomplished with minimal communications.” The precision strike, which started with one lead B-2 releasing two GBU-57 “bunker buster” missiles on Fordow, was a notable operational deployment of these powerful aircraft. The US Air Force now has 19 B-2s, with the bomber entering service in 1997.