Radio communications on ATC frequencies revealed that four B-2A Spirit stealth bombers flew a round trip mission from CONUS for night strikes on Iranian targets.
As expected, the U.S. Air Force employed the B-2A Spirit stealth bomber during the first night of the strikes against Iranian targets as part of Operation Epic Fury. Four bombers were reportedly heard speaking with air traffic control on standard air traffic control (ATC) frequencies while on the way back to the U.S. at the end of the mission.
B-2 Mission
The four aircraft, part of the PETRO41 flight, were flying over the Strait of Gibraltar, similarly to previous missions such as last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer. Their flight was supported by a number of KC-46 tankers, of which one confirmed that the PETRO41 flight included four aircraft.
The B-2s are on their way back to Whiteman AFB as PETRO41 flight. They checked in earlier this morning with SEVILLE CONTROL over the Straight of Gibraltar just like Op Midnight Hammer. I love how the Spanish controller say’s to them, “Adios” 😎🇺🇸💪 pic.twitter.com/IuiTAxkrf5
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) March 1, 2026
It is worth noting that the PETRO callsign is often associated with tankers. The KC-46s are said to have used the RCH, or Reach, callsign for this mission. The combination of these callsigns might have been an intentional choice to avoid attracting attention to the bombers, another aspect in common with Midnight Hammer.
Earlier today 4x(?) KC-46A left from Lajes (LPLA) at 1530Z#AE5E08 – 17-46027 – ?#AE574E – 19-46008 – RCH249#AE63BE – 20-46082 – RCH068?
Miscoded hex, pretty sure RCH065?Could possibly be a hand-off to 2x KC-135R out of Rota (LERT) at 1640Z#AE04CA – 60-0360#AE0594 – 58-0128 https://t.co/wVobHp23DW pic.twitter.com/stpTnzMDjC
— Aux OSINT (@AUX_OSINT) February 28, 2026
The tankers were captured in a video showing a 30 seconds Minimum Interval Take Off from Lajes Air Base in the Azores. A total of five KC-46s departed the base, with one possibly being a spare.
Five take-offs in three minutes: USAF KC-46´s taking off from Lajes AFB, filmed by a Portuguese news team. This was about one hour ago. pic.twitter.com/s99CYNLIdl
— Air Safety #OTD by Francisco Cunha (@OnDisasters) February 28, 2026
This would be another aspect which reflects previous round trips from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and back. In fact, tankers are often staged at Lajes or Naval Air Station Rota, Spain, from where they are launched to meet the bombers during their crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
#USAF United States Air Force – Middle East Activity
28 February / 1 MarchFour Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base are conducting a round-trip bombing sortie to Iran, and are currently on their return journey home. They were caught returning… https://t.co/J8p9DkWa5p pic.twitter.com/zzivwVz8d3
— Armchair Admiral 🇬🇧 (@ArmchairAdml) March 1, 2026
The Pentagon has not yet officially confirmed the use of the B-2 as part of Operation Epic Fury. However, an unnamed U.S. official confirmed to Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin that four B-2s “dropped dozens of 2,000 lb bombs on underground ballistic missile sites in Iran.”
NEW: 4 B2 bombers flew round trip from the US- dropped dozens of 2000 lb bombs on underground ballistic missile sites in Iran: US defense official tells me.
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) March 1, 2026
It should be noted that the use of the B-2 for the strikes in Iran don’t necessarily meant that the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) was needed. In fact, the bomber can transport a payload of over 40,000 lb (18,000 kg), which could include either up to 80 500 lb GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), 16 2,000 lb GBU-31 JDAM or 16 AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM), just to mention some.
#OperationEpicFury #FreeIran
“OPERATION EPIC FURY” BOMBER MISSION
At last, I can confirm that overnight a flight of 4 B-2A “Spirit” bombers flew non-stop from the United States to Iran to attack targets belonging to the regime.I am releasing this information now as the bombers… pic.twitter.com/5mmiU4QXl4
— DefenceGeek 🇬🇧 (@DefenceGeek) March 1, 2026
The mention of underground sites would point to the use of the GBU-31(V)3/B JDAM. This variant of the JDAM bomb is based on the 2,000 lb BLU-109/B bunker buster.
