Operation Epic Fury: America Should Still Rely on the Stealth Bomber

President Trump said there’s a “big wave” of military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran in Operation Epic Fury. That probably means we’ll see more action from our bombers, the only U.S. aircraft that can carry our largest “bunker busters” to reach the most deeply buried targets. America’s stealth bomber, the B-2 Spirit, has already dropped precision, penetrating munitions in this operation. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine commented, they flew undetected for 37 hours from the continental United States, just as they did in Operation Midnight Hammer.

Over the past several years of Russia’s war against Ukraine, we’ve heard a lot about the lethality of drones and how they may be making larger, more traditional, and bespoke platforms obsolete. Not only is that so obviously untrue, but it’s also backward. As we are witnessing in Epic Fury, to take on minimal risk to our forces while delivering the desired military effect, the United States relies on these heavy stealth bombers. To shore up and consolidate American global preeminence, we require a lot more. The U.S. has only 19 B-2 stealth bombers. Seven of these were used in Midnight Hammer, and reportedly four have been used in Epic Fury. The program of record for the next generation B-21 Raider was originally assessed to be 100. This was decided around 2011, before planners had a clear picture of the need to shore up the United States’ global position and defend its core interests against a determined authoritarian axis, led by China and including Russia, North Korea, Iran, and narco-communist states in our hemisphere. It was prior to China’s ongoing dramatic expansion and modernization of its forces, including its nuclear posture.

About the Author

Rebeccah Heinrichs

Rebeccah Heinrichs is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and the director of Hudson’s Keystone Defense Initiative.

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Operation Epic Fury

President Trump said there’s a “big wave” of military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran in Operation Epic Fury. That probably means we’ll see more action from our bombers, the only U.S. aircraft that can carry our largest “bunker busters” to reach the most deeply buried targets. America’s stealth bomber, the B-2 Spirit, has already dropped precision, penetrating munitions in this operation. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine commented, they flew undetected for 37 hours from the continental United States, just as they did in Operation Midnight Hammer.

Over the past several years of Russia’s war against Ukraine, we’ve heard a lot about the lethality of drones and how they may be making larger, more traditional, and bespoke platforms obsolete. Not only is that so obviously untrue, but it’s also backward. As we are witnessing in Epic Fury, to take on minimal risk to our forces while delivering the desired military effect, the United States relies on these heavy stealth bombers. To shore up and consolidate American global preeminence, we require a lot more. The U.S. has only 19 B-2 stealth bombers. Seven of these were used in Midnight Hammer, and reportedly four have been used in Epic Fury. The program of record for the next generation B-21 Raider was originally assessed to be 100. This was decided around 2011, before planners had a clear picture of the need to shore up the United States’ global position and defend its core interests against a determined authoritarian axis, led by China and including Russia, North Korea, Iran, and narco-communist states in our hemisphere. It was prior to China’s ongoing dramatic expansion and modernization of its forces, including its nuclear posture.