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The U.S. is now flying B-52 bombers over Iran — an operational shift that signals American forces have achieved air superiority inside parts of the country after weeks of strikes degraded Tehran’s defenses.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said in a briefing Tuesday the missions began “given the increase in air superiority,” as U.S. forces expand operations inside Iranian territory.
President Donald Trump said during an address to the public Thursday night Iran’s air defenses had been “annihilated,” calling U.S. forces “unstoppable.”
“We are in this military operation … for 32 days,” he said. “And the country has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat.”
TRUMP SAYS IRAN ‘NO LONGER A THREAT’ AFTER 32 DAYS — OUTLINES NEXT PHASE OF US WAR
The bomber, first used during the Cold War and flown for about 70 years, allows the U.S. to expand the pace and flexibility of its strikes. Unlike earlier stand-off attacks focused on fixed targets, B-52s can remain over the battlefield and hit multiple targets in a single mission, including mobile systems and hardened sites, Mark Gunzinger, a retired Air Force colonel and former B-52 command pilot, told Fox News Digital.
The development signals the U.S. has moved beyond the initial phase of degrading Iran’s air defenses and is now able to operate more freely inside the country’s airspace, allowing for sustained, higher-volume strikes as the campaign enters a potentially more intense phase.
The aircraft can carry up to 70,000 pounds of ordnance — more than any other bomber in the U.S. arsenal — and deliver a mix of precision-guided bombs and long-range cruise missiles in a single mission.
The bomber, first used during the Cold War and flown for about 70 years, allows the U.S. to expand the pace and flexibility of its strikes (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
But the bomber is slower than modern aircraft and lacks stealth, making it…
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