The U.S. has launched its much-anticipated strikes in retaliation for the drone
attack that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan on Jan. 2
U.S President Joe Biden stated on X : “Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces
struck targets in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack U.S. forces.
We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world.
But to all those who seek to do us harm: We will respond.”
B-1B bomber played a key role in this operation.
As per reports, B-1B bombers flew directly from the U.S. mainland supported by aerial refueling.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes how B-1B flying non-stop from the U.S. decimated Iranian
proxies in Iraq & Syria ? Let’s get started.
As per reports, 85 targets were hit, and employed more than 125 precision munitions.
According to John Kirby, the U.S. airstrikes took place at seven facilities,
three in Iraq and four in Syria, over the course of about 30 minutes.
He added, “These targets were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and based on clear,
irrefutable evidence that they were connected to attacks on U.S. personnel in the region,”
Secondary explosions in several social media footage seem to
indicate that fuel and explosive storage facilities have been hit.
A spokesperson for the Commander in Chief of Iraq's armed forces, Yahia Rasoul, has issued
a statement criticizing the U.S. strikes in that country as a violation of its sovereignty.
Syrian state media said that an “American aggression” on a number of sites in Syria’s
desert areas and the Syrian and Iraqi border resulted in a number of casualties and injuries.
It's important to note that indications that B-1B
bombers were headed toward the Middle East had emerged earlier in the day.
Plane spotters observed B-1Bs departing from the United States and flying eastward across
the Atlantic. It was later confirmed that some of these bombers had indeed traveled
all the way from the United States to engage targets in Iraq and/or Syria.
Reports indicate that this is the biggest attack on Iraq & Syrian soil since 2003.
Also, this is probably the first time since the Vietnam War,
that U.S B1 bombers are being used in the Middle East war.
Interestingly, this year is the 25th anniversary of the B1 bomber's combat debut.
KC-135 Aerial-Refueling Tankers from
RAF Lakenheath in the U.K. seem to have accompanied the bomber.
B-1B is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force.
The B-1B is powered by 4 General Electric F101-GE-102 after-burning
turbofan engines. Each of these can generate 17,390 lbf (77.4 kN) thrust
when operating normally and 30,780 lbf (136.9 kN) with afterburner.
The B-1B is a bomber with the capability to fly at a supersonic speed topping out at
roughly Mach 1.25. It also has stealth features for improved survivability.
The design enables B-1B to have an excellent range of 5,900 mi or 9,400 km and a service
ceiling of 60,000 ft. The engine performance makes B-1B capable of hauling a lot of weapons.
B-1B has a massive payload of 125,000 lb or 56,700 kg of internal and external ordnance combined.
It has 8 external hardpoints for 50,000 pounds or 23,000 kg
of ordnance and 3 internal bomb bays for 75,000 pounds or 34,000 kg of ordnance.
Depending on the mission B-1B can carry a variety of ammunitions like Mk- 84 general-purpose bombs,
CBU-87/89/CBU-97 Cluster Bomb Units, GBU-38 JDAM
In a contested environment, B-1B combat jets will depend on long-range missiles
to strike targets without getting inside the rival's engagement envelope. B-1B could
deploy AGM-158 JASSM, AGM-158B JASSM -ER and AGM-158C LRASM.
Iranian forces have been present in Syria since the early stages
of the Syrian civil war, where they helped support the regime
of President Bashar al-Assad against widespread rebellion against his rule.
The case is similar to Iraq. Tehran's strategic objectives in its
intervention in Iraq include keeping the Shia-led government in power and stabilizing its border.
Most Iranian aid has thus far come in the form of technical assistance,
the commitment of special forces troops, and air support.
White House has stated that the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" was responsible for
the recent drone attack that killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded dozens in Jordan.
While Iran has not dared to directly hit U.S. interests,
it has been using its proxies like Hezbollah to carry out strikes.
Using B1-B is a direct warning to Iran and its bunkers. Most likely,
some of those bunker busters were used here.
There are unconfirmed reports that AGM-158 JSSM has been used.
Each B-1B can carry 24 AGM-158 missiles and 1-2 bombers would have a devastating effect.
The AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) is a low-detection standoff air-launched
cruise missile developed by Lockheed Martin for the United States Armed Forces. It is a large,
stealthy long-range weapon with a 1,000-pound (450 kg) armor-piercing warhead. While it
has a range of 230 mi (370 km), the ER variant has a range of 575 mi (925 km)
The militaries of Iraq and Syria have nothing to intercept this kind of weapon.
The US has been restrained in its actions till now,
but the death of U.S. soldiers left the Biden administration with no choice.
It is evident that Iran has miscalculated and shouldn’t have crossed the red line.