Retired USAF officer says special bomber aircraft with ‘remarkable’ features can wreck Iran's nuke site

'The B-2 is a remarkable airplane, very technologically advanced. It's a flying wing. It handles very well,' retired Lt Gen Mark Weatherington said
PUBLISHED JUN 21, 2025
America’s B-2 bomber will be required to ruin Iran's nuclear site (Maxar Technologies and Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
America’s B-2 bomber will be required to ruin Iran's nuclear site (Maxar Technologies and Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: A retired Air Force officer has said that if the US plans to bomb Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, it would need a special bomber aircraft with "remarkable" features.

Retired Lt Gen Mark Weatherington, a former commander of the 8th Air Force, revealed to Fox News that only America’s B-2 bomber can take down 30,000-pound MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) on the nuke site.

He explained to the chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin, “The B-2 is a very unique aircraft in the American arsenal. There's no other airplane like it. No one else in the world has this type of capability. It's a low-observable aircraft with a large payload; extreme range.”

General view of B-2 bomber fly over before the game between the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 1, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by CFP/Getty Images)
General view of B-2 bomber fly over before the game between the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 1, 2025 in Pasadena, California (CFP/Getty Images)

Retired Air Force officer says ‘B-2 is a very technologically advanced’

“And [is] the only aircraft that can carry a GBU-57, the large 30,000 lb bunker-buster weapon that we're discussing today,” Weatherington shared, as he noted, “The B-2 is a remarkable airplane, very technologically advanced. It's a flying wing.”

“It handles very well. It's not as fast as some of the other aircraft in the inventory, but it's designed really to evade radar, to evade detection, to manage its signature and so it can get to places that nothing else can get to. It carries a very large payload,” the former commander added.

Weatherington also shared with Griffin that the B-2s are currently placed at Whiteman AFB in Knob Noster, Missouri.

Former CENTCOM intel officer says tactics are important

A B-2 Stealth Bomber opens the 135th Rose Parade Presented by Honda on January 01, 2024 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images)
A B-2 Stealth Bomber opens the 135th Rose Parade Presented by Honda on January 01, 2024 in Pasadena, California (Jerod Harris/Getty Images)

Besides, Griffin talked with former CENTCOM intel officer Todd Sawhill, a Naval intelligence adviser to the Joint Staff on Mideast targets, who claimed that if MOPs are deployed properly, it can “absolutely” wreck Iran's nuclear place.

“But there's variables that are going to be at play in a case like that,” he mentioned.

Sawhill further added that “as with any operation and having been involved with multiple strike operations in the region for the better part of the last 20 years, a lot of this depends on if the tactics were carried out correctly, if the munition performed the way it was supposed to.”

Expert doubts B-2 will be used against Iran

However, the officer also shared with Griffin that “it’s unlikely that we would ever put a B-2 forward stage in the Middle East, because it's such a high-value asset that it leaves itself to increased vulnerability to attack, particularly in a situation like this where tensions continue to escalate and the risk of miscalculation is high.”

“You want to keep those strategic assets farther away so you can make sure you can use them at a time and place of your choosing,” Sawhill asserted.

MORE STORIES

Several progressives who have long called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have not yet commented on the agreement’s terms or timeline
7 hours ago
Trump posted a scathing montage, accusing Democrats of shutting down the government to please their 'radical left' base
1 day ago
John Kennedy is calling out Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over the tough spot he’s in amid government shutdown
1 day ago
Top officials in the Trump administration discussed invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy military forces on US soil
1 day ago
Gavin Newsom rejected the bipartisan bill, calling it too costly and warning it could disrupt how California determines firefighter pay
2 days ago
The vote comes as California’s education agencies face a US Department of Justice lawsuit over alleged Title IX violations in girls’ sports
2 days ago
Donald Trump took aim at Sen Richard Blumenthal after his tense face-off with Attorney General Pam Bondi during a congressional hearing
2 days ago
Dick Durbin pressed Pam Bondi to justify sending troops to Illinois, accusing the Justice Department of hiding key information from the public
2 days ago
The comedian dubbed Chuck Schumer 'Hack-ie Mason', and then went on a rant against Democratic leadership in general
3 days ago
Trump promised America’s men and women in uniform that their pay is safe despite the government shutdown
4 days ago