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The Pentagon on Sunday shared particulars about Operation Midnight Hammer, a large, sophisticated mission that struck three necessary Iranian nuclear amenities on Saturday, calling it “the largest B-2 operation strike in US historical past.”
“This scope was deliberately restricted,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegses instructed Pentagon reporters.
General Dan Kane, chairman of the Co-State Chief of Staff, detailed the techniques adopted and deception techniques that raided nuclear amenities in Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
“Ruse” – Decoy Flight departs at 12:01am EST on Saturday
The Pentagon shared this graphic and confirmed the timeline for the US navy’s Midnight Hammer Operation. (pentagon)
The operation started at 12:01am on Saturday when the B-2 stealth bomber was launched from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
Some of the bombers flew west as decoys. Kane known as it “a deception effort recognized solely to a only a few planners and key leaders.”
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Main Strike – 18-hour flight
The main strike of the seven-person B-2 Spirit bomber, every with two crew members, flew quietly east with minimal communication, Kane mentioned, as they took on an 18-hour flight to the goal space.
The plane within the group had been refueled a number of occasions throughout flight. During the Overlands, the strike group linked escorts and help plane from the Central Command.
In this picture supplied by the US Air Force, the B-2 Spirit returned to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri on May 9, 2025. Seven B-2 plane had been used within the operation of the Midnight Hammer, Kane mentioned Sunday. (Senior Airman Devan Halstead/US Air Force by way of AP)
Caine described link-up as “requires advanced, closely-timed operations that require correct synchronization throughout a number of platforms in slender airspace, and all the pieces occurs with minimal communication.”
Clear the highway – Saturday at 5pm
At 5pm ET (12:30am in Iran), the US submarines launched greater than 20 Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles towards main floor infrastructure targets as main strikes entered Iranian airspace.
More deception techniques had been used, and help plane had been pushed out at excessive altitudes and speeds in entrance of predominant strike teams, clearing out threats from enemy fighters and surface-to-air missiles.
As the B-2 Main Strike Group approached Fordow and Natanz, the help plane used high-speed suppression weapons to make sure secure passageways.
“We are presently not conscious of any photographs fired on the US strike package deal alongside the way in which,” Kane instructed reporters.
Strike – Saturday 6:40pm EST
The Fordow nuclear facility was attacked at about 6:40pm EST, or at about 2:10am in Iran.
The lead B-2 dropped two GBU 57 large weapon intruder (MOP) weapons, generally referred to as bunkerbusters, in the beginning of a number of AIM factors within the Fordow.
The remaining bombers additionally achieved their targets, with a complete of 14 mops dropped by Fordow and Natantz, Kane mentioned.
This satellite tv for pc photograph by Planet Labs PBC reveals Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment web site in Fordo after a US airstrike focused the ability on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (Planet Labs PBC by way of AP)
The Tomahawk missile launched by a US submarine was the final strike to hit a goal in Isfahan.
Return journey – Saturday to Sunday
After releasing weapons on a large strike, the plane left Iranian airspace and returned to Whiteman Air Force Base. Kane mentioned the US troops weren’t instantly conscious of the photographs being fired at strike teams on their method out of Iranian airspace.
“Iranian fighters are usually not flying. It seems that Iranian surface-to-air missile methods did not see us all through the mission,” Kane mentioned. “We held on the aspect of shock.”
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Operation Midnight Hammer used greater than 125 plane, together with seven B-2 stealth bombers, a number of four- and fifth-generation fighter jets, dozens of aviation refueling tankers, guided missile submarines, and “full preparations” of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance plane.
General Dan Kane’s co-director shared Midnight’s timeline operation at a press convention on the Pentagon in Washington on Sunday, June 22, 2025, after US forces struck three Iranian places. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The US navy has launched round 75 precision guided ammunition, together with a big intruder with 14 GBU 57s, weighing 30,000 kilos every. The surgical procedure marked the weapon’s first operational use, Kane mentioned.
History-making operations
Kane known as the operation “the largest B-2 operational strike in US historical past,” and “the remainder of the world couldn’t do that.”
“This mission reveals unparalleled attain, coordination and capabilities in a couple of weeks,” Kane mentioned. “This has gone from strategic planning to international implementation.”
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Kane additionally mentioned it was the second-longest B-2 mission ever flew, surpassing solely the missions within the days following 9/11.