The Trump administration has reportedly ordered a flight of B-2 stealth bombers out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri toward Guam, the United States’ main forward hub in the western Pacific. The redeployment follows more than a week of reciprocal Iranian-Israeli missile strikes that have battered military installations and spilled over into civilian areas, and it coincides with President Donald Trump’s deliberations over whether the United States should join Israel’s campaign directly.
This move carries particular weight because Iran’s deeply buried Fordow enrichment complex—shielded beneath layers of rock near Tehran—can be penetrated only by the 13-tonne GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a “bunker-buster” bomb that only the United States possesses. The weapon fits exclusively on the radar-evading B-2, capable of boring through roughly 60 metres (about 200 feet) of earth or reinforced concrete before detonating.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said four KC-46A Pegasus aerial tankers are accompanying the bombers: two completed mid-air refuelling over the Pacific some 75 kilometres ahead of the second pair, while another two KC-46s departed the U.S. West Coast for Hawaii to join the mission.
The B-2 remains one of the U.S. Air Force’s most advanced assets. Its stealth shaping and specialised coatings allow it to slip past sophisticated air-defence networks, while its precision-guided munitions give it the reach to strike hardened, high-value targets worldwide.
Israel has already struck multiple Iranian nuclear sites, including Natanz. Early Saturday, Israeli forces said they launched two waves of attacks on centrifuge-production facilities near Isfahan, killing three senior Iranian commanders. Smoke was seen drifting above the mountain-side complex as the Israeli military warned that the conflict could become a protracted campaign.