For the first time in their history, the U.S. B-2 Spirit stealth bombers made a spectacular strike on Iran’s nuclear program that military officials call the most extensive B-2 operational mission ever. The mission, called Operation Midnight Hammer, was invisible to the world but was there to save it. Seven B-2s flew silently over the ground, dropping 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs into two deep, heavily fortified uranium enrichment facilities, the wildest ones in Iran, underground.
It was not at all a “from-the-blue” mission. Years of planning were brought to the last phase, which was like a well-rehearsed play. The target: keeping it from the enemies as well as from the rest of the world. To trick onlookers, decoy flight paths were used to attract their attention away from the main force, which was moving under strict radio silence. At that time, only vague hints about possible decisions on Iran’s nuclear sites were given in public statements, adding more obscurity to the issue.
The flight was brilliant in a way that it was a very hard test of the crews’ stamina and accuracy, and took 18 hours, during which the bombers had to be refueled more than once in the sky. KC-135 Stratotankers with their pilots and crews were very instrumental in this, as they extended the B-2s’ range all the way to the Eastern Mediterranean. Speaking about it, Major Jeffrey Boesche stated that, along with real operations, in-flight long-distance refueling exercises are one of the best ways for the crews to build the skills required for successful mission completions.
The B-2 Spirit is a perfect example of human ingenuity. The combination of its 172-foot wingspan with four 17,300-pound-thrust engines makes it possible to carry out its long-haul missions and yet be almost undetectable by radar. Its subsonic speed, very high altitude capability, and stealth technology make it a very effective weapon for the most difficult air-to-ground attacks in areas defended with the heaviest anti-aircraft weaponry.
As the bombers drew near Iran’s airspace, stealth fighters and spy planes accompanied them to the edge as they maintained strict radio silence so as not to give away their presence. Before the B-2s arrived, a U.S. submarine had already fired over 24 Tomahawk cruise missiles, paving the way for the intruders to reach their targets easily, one of the targets being the Isfahan enrichment facility.
However, it was not the cruise missiles that garnered most media attention, but the 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators specifically. Creating a loud bang after digging their way deep into the earth were the 30,000-pound bombs. This was their first combat deployment, a fact highlighted by Air Force Gen. Dan C. Bruce, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
While the underground Fordo site absorbed the full impact, the Natanz plant was also targeted. The strike was followed by about a 30-minute round of further cruise missile bombardment that sealed the deed.
Iranian officials not only denied that the strike had significantly harmed them but also vowed retaliation, whereas their American counterparts characterized it as a carefully aimed, debilitating blow to Iran’s nuclear program. Neither Iranian sources nor global monitoring agencies have pointed out any immediate radioactive contamination.
The operation was of an overwhelming scale as the details were as follows: There were 75 precision-guided bombs dropped from a total of 125 aircraft, not just bombers, but also tankers, fighter jets, and other support planes. The crews were also made up of women, and this fact tells us about the increasing diversity and the high standard of expertise in modern U.S. flight operations.
Not only was Operation Midnight Hammer the largest B-2 combat mission in history, but it was also the second-highest B-2 sortie ever, excluding only the flights just after 9/11. This operation underpinned the importance of thorough preparatory work and training, lessons that get reinforced through exercises like Bamboo Eagle and Red Flag-Alaska, where training for the most dangerous scenarios under harsh conditions takes place for U.S. and allied forces.
At the end of the day, the strike proved the high accuracy of the B-2 fleet, the crucial role of air refueling, and the strategic advantage of stealth and surprise. The warfare tactics that keep on changing will still be influenced by the training that this field has given to its future precision strike talent, and the constant quest for air superiority will be guided by the insights gained here for years to come.