Stealth Stumble: B-2 Spirit Forced Down in Hawaii During Deception Mission Against Iran
A stealth B-2 bomber, key to America’s secret “Midnight Hammer” deception ahead of the Iran strike, was forced to make an emergency landing in Hawaii, exposing cracks in one of the world's most elite war machines.
TwitterA U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, part of an intricate deception operation ahead of the joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, made an unexpected emergency landing at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. The incident, reported by Defence Security Asia, shows the mounting pressure on America’s aging stealth bomber fleet, which has faced repeated maintenance challenges.
The B-2, operating under the callsign MYTEE 14, was deployed as a decoy to mislead Iranian and allied observers about the true approach route for the attack on Fordow. While the actual strike force advanced from the east across the Atlantic, the B-2 and accompanying aerial refueling tankers headed west over the Pacific, simulating a full-scale assault. The mission hit a snag when the bomber encountered technical difficulties, forcing it to divert to Hawaii, where it remains grounded.
Satellite imagery and a brief online video clip confirm the aircraft’s presence on the tarmac, guarded by a nearby police car, near Hickam Air Force Base—a key Indo-Pacific hub hosting F-22 Raptors, C-17 Globemasters, and KC-135 Stratotankers. This isn’t the first time a B-2 has been sidelined in Hawaii; in 2023, another Spirit bomber was stranded for months after a technical failure, coinciding with a fleet-wide grounding following a crash at Whiteman Air Force Base.
The U.S. Air Force has remained tight-lipped, with Air Force Global Strike Command’s Chief of Media Operations, Charles Hoffman, declining to comment on the aircraft’s movement or role. “We will not comment on movement, deployment or posturing of forces. Air Force Global Strike Command maintains the capability to provide global strike anywhere, at the time of the President of the United States’ choosing,” Hoffman said, emphasizing readiness and alliance integration.
Though details of the malfunction are undisclosed, the B-2’s route and timing suggest it was a critical component in drawing Iranian air defenses away from the real strike path. Such deception tactics are a cornerstone of modern aerial warfare, leveraging stealth and misdirection, but they expose the vulnerabilities of aging assets like the B-2 when operated far from support bases.
Repairing the bomber in Hawaii could prove logistically challenging, potentially requiring specialized crews and sensitive parts to be transported across the Pacific. With only 20 B-2s ever built and fewer mission-capable at any given time, each aircraft’s availability is vital for deterrence and combat. As tensions with Iran escalate, this incident serves as a stark reminder of the strain on America’s long-range strike capabilities, leaving one of its prized assets stranded amid the demands of strategic deception and the limits of aging technology.