‘Night to Libya And Back’: How US opened a war nobody expected with a plane nobody saw coming

Three B-2s departed Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on the evening of March 19, 2011. They flew east, crossing the Atlantic with multiple aerial refuellings from KC-135 tankers. They entered North African airspace without any escort — stealth meant no fighter protection was needed. They struck their targets at Ghardabiya Air Base near Sirte, destroying 22 Libyan aircraft on the ground. They then flew home. Total mission time: approximately 25 hours. Total distance: approximately 11,000 miles round trip. It was the longest combat mission the B-2 had flown since the 2001 Afghanistan campaign.