A Precision Attack on Iranian Nuclear Facilities

The Pentagon confirmed that the operation specifically targeted three key Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The mission was described as deliberate, precision-based, and strategically coordinated, designed to severely degrade Iran’s capacity to develop nuclear weapons.

Operation Design and Strategic Objectives

According to General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Operation Midnight Hammer was “a complex and high-risk mission” planned to project American power across multiple domains and theatres. The objective was clear: to demonstrate U.S. military reach and disable Iran’s nuclear threat without triggering immediate escalation.

The operation was highly classified , with only a select few in Washington aware of its timing and nature .

, with only a in Washington aware of its . It demonstrated the discipline, coordination, and stealth of the U.S. Joint Force, showcasing their ability to strike globally with precision.

Execution: The Midnight Strike Begins

Initial Deployment and Tactical Surprise

At midnight Friday into early Saturday, a large strike package of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers launched from the continental United States. To maintain tactical surprise, the mission was carried out with minimal communication and maximum deception:

A portion of the aircraft headed westward into the Pacific as part of a decoy strategy .

as part of a . The main package, consisting of seven B-2 bombers, each manned by two crew members, quietly proceeded eastward toward Iran.

18-Hour Infiltration: Fueling, Support, and Synchronization

The bombers undertook an 18-hour flight, supported by multiple in-flight refuelings. Once over Middle Eastern airspace, the strike package linked up with escort and support aircraft in a highly choreographed maneuver requiring precise timing in a narrow airspace corridor.

Support aircraft included fighter escorts , suppressors , and electronic warfare platforms .

, , and . The synchronization was described by the Pentagon as world-class joint force integration.

Deception and Pre-Strike Measures

Cruise Missile Barrage: The Submarine Surprise

Just before the strike package entered Iranian airspace, at 5:00 PM EST, a U.S. submarine positioned in the Central Command’s Area of Responsibility (AOR) launched over two dozen Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAMs) targeting surface infrastructure near Isfahan.

These missiles were part of a surprise component, designed to hit simultaneously with the bomber package for maximum shock effect.

Electronic and Air Superiority Measures

As the B-2s closed in, 4th- and 5th-generation U.S. fighter aircraft flew ahead at high altitudes and speeds, executing deception maneuvers to confuse Iranian defenses.

High-speed suppression weapons were employed to neutralize any Iranian surface-to-air missile systems (SAMs) .

were employed to neutralize any . These actions ensured the unimpeded entry of the main bomber group into hostile airspace.

Precision Strikes: Destruction at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan

The Bombing Window: 6:40 PM to 7:05 PM EST

At 6:40 PM EST, the lead B-2 bomber dropped the first of two GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) onto the Fordow uranium enrichment site.

Over the next 25 minutes , all three target locations — Fordow , Natanz , and Isfahan — were struck with pinpoint accuracy .

, all — , , and — were struck with . The Tomahawk missiles were the final wave, striking Isfahan and dealing a critical blow to Iran’s enrichment infrastructure.

Exit Strategy and Aftermath

Following the successful bombing, the strike package exited Iranian airspace and began the return journey. Remarkably, the Pentagon confirmed no shots were fired at U.S. aircraft during entry or exit, signaling the efficacy of the suppression tactics.

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When seven Air Force B-2 stealth bombers hit Iran’s deep-underground nuclear development sites on June 21, the tool of choice in “Operation Midnight Hammer” was a unique weapon conceived and designed two decades ago for exactly such a mission: the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator.

Built by Boeing, along with the Air Force and Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the MOP is a 30,000-pound, 20-foot-long behemoth that is 31.5 inches in diameter and includes a warhead weighing in at 5,740 pounds. The B-2s dropped 14 MOPs in the operation, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said was the first-ever operational use of the weapon.

Seven B-2 bombers—each with two MOPs—took part in the operation, while two other B-2s flew in a decoy operation that gave the impression the U.S. was deploying its stealth bombers to Guam. This meant that virtually the entire flyable B-2 inventory—there are only 20 B-2s in all—took part in the operation.

Fourth- and fifth-generation Air Force fighter jets. joined the B-2s in the operation as well. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine did not say which platforms were used.

In all, Caine said “more than 125” aircraft participated in the mission, including the B-2s, fighters, “dozens and dozens of air refueling tankers,” and a “full array” of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft. In addition, “hundreds of maintenance and operational professionals” supported the operation, he said.

A Navy submarine in the Arabian Sea launched “more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles against key surface infrastructure targets at Isfahan,” Caine said. He added the TLAMs were “the last to strike” after the B-2s left the area.

Besides being stealthy and able to carry a heavy payload, the B-2’s radar allows it to map the target area in three dimensions with high resolution, and deliver ordnance very precisely against very specific aimpoints, such as ventilation shafts or other apertures.

A former B-2 pilot said that, once over the target area, B-2 pilots can use the radar to generate target coordinates “usually even more precise than intel has provided.”

B-2s have a rated maximum weapon load of 40,000 pounds, requiring special considerations to carry two 30,000-pound MOPs. The former B-2 pilot said the bombers likely took off with “a very minimal fuel load” and then refueled almost immediately after getting airborne. He said the B-2’s computer systems manage the aircraft’s flight so that, when the extremely heavy weapons are released, the aircraft doesn’t pitch violently upward, which might risk exposing it to tracking radars.

The MOPs were likely dropped from as high as 30,000 feet, sources said. Footage of MOP test flights show the bombs rapidly point nearly straight down after release, meaning the B-2s had to be virtually directly above the targets when the MOPs were dropped.

Developed beginning in the late 1990s, the MOP was inspired by U.S. defense leaders’ concern that work on nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons could be conducted out of reach of existing weapons in hardened, deeply-buried facilities. North Korea and Iran were both building such underground bunkers. While low-yield nuclear weapons were initially considered, U.S. officials worried that employing nuclear weapons would be considered escalatory and provocative.

In 2004, the Air Force and DTRA set about designing a conventional weapon capable of penetrating through layers of solid rock, steel, concrete and other materials to reach laboratories and storage facilities buried 200 feet underground. The GBU-72, a 5,000-pound penetrator rushed into service for use against Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, could not reach those targets.

The MOP was designed with a hardened casing that, using gravity alone, would slice through protective layers of earth, rock, concrete, and steel. Inside the bomb, sensors can detect how many voids and layers it’s passing through and detonate at the chosen level.

It’s not known exactly how many MOPs were built. Public records suggest 20 were purchased, but nearly that number has been expended in tests.

Although it was initially tested with the intent of dropping it from a B-52, the MOP was always intended to equip the B-2 bomber since the heavily protected targets it was designed to hit were expected to be defended with top-tier air defense systems. Initial operational capability was achieved in 2011.

Test drops from B-2s were conducted in 2014-2016; four were tested in 2017 to validate enhancements. The most recent upgrade is the Large Penetrator Smart Fuse modification, which was tested in 2020 against a tunnel target. Three more tests were conducted between 2021 and 2022. Two full-scale tests were made in 2024 to verify B-2 integration work and lethality.

An Air Force fact sheet on the MOP describes integration activities for the weapon as “complete.” It said Boeing got the contract to complete integration of the MOP in 2009, which “entailed minor modifications to the MOP and to the aircraft.”

Other weapons likely employed in Midnight Hammer include:

ADM-160 MALD. Caine’s mention of “decoys” may reference the Raytheon ADM-160 Miniature Air-Launched Decoy, or MALD. The MALD is a low-cost missile that emits signals mimicking those of fighters and other combat aircraft, meant to fool air defense systems into shooting them instead of the crewed airplanes. The weapon has no kinetic mission, but is available in a radar-jammer version as well as the basic decoy model. The MALD has a range of about 575 miles and is most frequently carried by F-16s. If it were used in Midnight Hammer, it would mark the first combat use of the weapon.

BGM-109 TLAM. The 3,300-pound Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, also built by Raytheon, is a ship- or submarine-launched, GPS-guided weapon with a 1,000-pound blast/fragmentary or unitary warhead. The “D” model TLAM is a submunitions dispenser. It’s capable of precision attack against fixed targets, but it can be reprogrammed in flight to strike other targets. TLAMs fly at subsonic speeds at low altitude, evading defender radars by hugging the terrain. More recent models have a camera that will allow TLAMs arriving after some have already struck to transmit imagery of battle damage back to their launch platform.

AGM-88 HARM or AARGM-ER: Caine did not specify which “high-speed” defense-suppression weapon was used against the defensive missiles and radars around the three nuclear sites, but the Air Force has two such weapons. The AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile, or HARM, was used to great effect in the 1991 Gulf War. It quickly detects a search or tracking radar, and when launched, follows the emissions at extreme velocity directly to the radar, destroying it. Iraqi radar operators quickly stopped turning on their air defense radars when it became clear that any emissions would result in an explosion a few seconds later. A defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine numerous HARMs were used in the operation. The HARM’s successors are the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) and the AARGM Extended Range, made by Northrop Grumman. Besides being less jammable, the AARGM can fly farther and faster, is stealthier to prevent it being shot down, and can better distinguish between targets. It will also be the basis of the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW), which the Air Force expects will succeed the Joint Direct Attack Munition series of guided bombs.

Pentagon Editor Chris Gordon contributed reporting.

“The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program and the collective self-defense of our troops and our ally, Israel,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters today.

While Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said a battlefield assessment is ongoing to evaluate the strikes, Hegseth called it “an incredible and overwhelming success.”

Caine, a newly minted four-star general, went on to some detail just how that US carried out the strike, saying it involved more than 125 US aircraft, “dozens” of aerial refueling tankers, a guided missile submarine and firing approximately 75 precision guided weapons.

Caine explained that around midnight on Friday a “strike package” with seven B-2 Spirit bombers departed Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, flying east for 18 hours with “minimal communications” towards the “target area.”

Once those aircraft were over land again, they “linked up” with escort and support aircraft “in a complex, tightly timed maneuver requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace,” Caine said.

By Saturday around 5 pm ET, just before the strike package was ready to enter Iran, a US submarine located inside the US Central Command area of responsibility, launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles against “key” surface infrastructure targets at the Isfahan site.

“As the Operation Midnight Hammer strike package entered Iranian airspace, the US employed several deception tactics, including decoys, as the fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft pushed out in front of the strike package at high altitude and high speed, sweeping in front of the package for enemy fighters and surface to air missile threats,” Caine explained.

FULL COVERAGE:

As the strike package approached Fordo and Natanz, the US deployed “high-speed suppression weapons” to allow for a safer approach around 6:40 pm ET.

The lead B-2 bomber then dropped two GBU 57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators on the “first of several aim points at Fordo,” Caine said, noting that in total, 14 MOPs were dropped in target areas at Fordo and Natanz.

Once the bombers had dropped the MOPs, those previously launched Tomahawk missiles struck Isfahan, he added.

“Following weapons release, the Midnight Hammer strike package exited Iranian airspace, and the package began its return home,” Caine said.

Caine said that it does not appear the US jets were fired upon during the operation. “Iran’s fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran’s surface to air missile systems did not see us,” he said.

Hegseth said that congressional leadership was notified of the operation as soon as American planes were out of danger. (On X, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House made “bipartisan courtesy calls” to congressional leadership, speaking to minority leader Sen. Chuck Schumer “befor the strike,” though unable to reach House Democrat leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries until after.)

As for the effectiveness of the strikes, Caine said a “final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.”

The US, a backer of Israel, is the only known country with the ability to penetrate Iran’s nuclear sites deep underground and to do so, required the bombers dropping the 30,000-pound MOP for the first time in an operations setting.

“This is a plan that took months and weeks of positioning and preparation so that we could be ready when the President of the United States called,” Hegseth said. “It took a great deal of precision. It involved misdirection and the highest of operational security.”

Now, all eyes will be on Tehran and how the Islamic Republic responds, as well as on whether the US conducts further action.

Hegseth said the Midnight Hammer mission “was not, has not, been about regime change, but later Sunday President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that if the “current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”

UPDATED 6/22/2025 at 5:40pm ET to include Trump’s comments about “regime change” in Iran and White House comments about notifications to congressional leadership.

Downing Street said the leaders agreed Tehran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and called for Iran to return to negotiations.

“The leaders discussed the situation in the Middle East and reiterated the grave risk posed by Iran’s nuclear programme to international security,” Downing Street said.

“They discussed the actions taken by the United States last night to reduce the threat and agreed that Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

“They discussed the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and to make progress on a lasting settlement.

“They agreed to stay in close contact in the coming days.”

Earlier, Sir Keir – whose previous calls for restraint appear to have been ignored by the American leader – said there was a “risk of escalation”, adding: “That’s a risk to the region. It’s a risk beyond the region, and that’s why all our focus has been on de-escalating, getting people back around to negotiate what is a very real threat in relation to the nuclear programme.”

The UK was not involved in the US operation but there is the prospect of British forces being dragged into the conflict if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei orders a retaliation.

Speaking to reporters at his Chequers country retreat he would not be drawn on whether Nato’s mutual defence pact would apply if US forces were targeted.

Sir Keir said “we have taken all necessary measures to protect UK interests, UK personnel and to work with our allies to protect their interests as well”.

Extra RAF Typhoon jets have already been moved to the region and Defence Secretary John Healey said “force protection is at its highest level” following the US strikes.

On a day of intense diplomatic activity, Sir Keir also held calls with the Sultan of Oman, the King of Jordan, Canada’s Mark Carney and European counterparts Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz.

Ministers from the E3 – the UK, France and Germany – had been involved in talks with Iran as recently as Friday as European allies sought to avoid further escalation in the Middle East.

In a joint statement with the French president and German chancellor, Sir Keir said: “We urge Iran not to take any further action that could destabilise the region.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke to his Iranian and Israeli counterparts “to stress the need for de-escalation”.

“I urged a diplomatic, negotiated solution to end this crisis,” he said.

The Foreign Office dismissed as “inaccurate” a report by Iran’s IRNA news agency that Mr Lammy “expressed regret” over the US strikes.

Mr Lammy also spoke to US secretary of state Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of Egypt and Cyprus.

The US attacked Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz which are linked to Iran’s nuclear programme.

The Tehran regime has insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful but its uranium enrichment process has gone far beyond what is required for power stations.

According to details released by the Pentagon:

Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER was a success. pic.twitter.com/3SNkHRMWMI — DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) June 22, 2025

– The strikes, which had the codename Operation Midnight Hammer, involved more than 125 aircraft.

– A complicated decoy operation was used, with one group of bombers flying west over the Pacific in a move widely documented on social media by aviation enthusiasts, while the “strike package” of seven B-2s secretly flew east across the Atlantic.

– During the 18-hour flight to Iran, the stealth bombers were refuelled several times then linked up with escort aircraft once over land.

– At around 2.10am in Iran the first bunker-busting massive ordnance penetrator (Mop) bombs were dropped on Fordo.

– A total of 14 Mops were dropped across two of the nuclear sites.

– No Iranian shots were fired at the bombers during the mission.

– A US submarine launched more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles at Isfahan, which struck the target after the B-2 raids to maintain the element of surprise.

– The initial assessment is that “all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction”, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Dan Caine said.

Iran must never have a nuclear weapon. The US has now taken action to alleviate that threat. I’ve spoken today with my counterparts in Iran and Israel to stress the need for de-escalation. I urged a diplomatic, negotiated solution to end this crisis. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 22, 2025

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “By targeting Iran’s nuclear sites, the US has taken decisive action against a regime that fuels global terror and directly threatens the UK.

“Iranian operatives have plotted murders and attacks on British soil. We should stand firmly with the US and Israel.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also backed Mr Trump’s decision to strike Iran.

He said: “Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons, the future of Israel depends on it.”

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said “robust diplomacy” was now needed to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat, adding: “Following the US strikes, it is essential that we work to de-escalate the conflict and achieve that diplomatic solution.”

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney called for diplomacy, saying the Middle East conflict has reached “an alarmingly greater level of danger after the US attacks on Iran”.

Iran launched a ballistic missile barrage against Israel in retaliation to the US action.

The foreign ministry in Tehran issued a statement condemning “the United States’ brutal military aggression against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities”.

It added: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is resolved to defend Iran’s territory, sovereignty, security and people by all force and means against the United States’ criminal aggression.”

Mr Trump said any retaliation would be met with “force far greater” than that used in the initial strikes.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Mr Trump said: “It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”

The social media post marked a reversal from previous statements on regime change, including an earlier press conference from defence secretary Pete Hegseth, about the bombing on Iran’s three nuclear sites.

U.S. pilots dropped 30,000-pound bombs early Sunday on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran, delivering what American military leaders believe is a knockout blow to a nuclear program that Israel views as an existential threat and has been pummeling for more than a week. American sailors bolstered the surprise mission by firing dozens of cruise missiles from a submarine toward at least one other site.

Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, U.S. officials say the plan was characterized by a “precision strike” that “devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” even as they acknowledged an assessment was ongoing. For its part, Iran denied that any significant damage had been done, and the Islamic Republic pledged to retaliate.

Taking off from the U.S. heartland, B-2 stealth bombers delivered a total of 420,000 pounds of explosives, aided by an armada of refueling tankers and fighter jets — some of which launched their own weapons. U.S. officials said Iran neither detected the inbound fusillade, nor mustered a shot at the stealthy American jets.

The operation relied on a series of deceptive tactics and decoys to maintain the secrecy, U.S. officials said hours after the attack, which was preceded by nine days of Israeli attacks that debilitated Iran’s military leadership and air defenses.

A decoy plan

Even before the planes took off, elements of misdirection were already in play. After setting parts of the plan in motion, Trump publicly announced Thursday that he’d make a decision within two weeks on whether to strike Iran — ostensibly to allow additional time for negotiations, but in actuality masking the impending attack.

One group of B-2 stealth bombers traveled west from Missouri on Saturday as decoys, drawing the attention of amateur plane spotters, government officials and some media as they headed toward a U.S. air base in the Pacific. At the same time, seven other B-2s carrying two “bunker buster” bombs apiece flew eastward, keeping communications to a minimum so as not to draw any attention.

Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at Sunday’s briefing that it was all “part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise” and that only “an extremely small number of planners and key leaders” knew about it in Washington and Florida, where U.S. Central Command is based.

After 18 hours of furtive flying that required aerial refueling, the armed B-2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members, arrived on time and without detection in the Eastern Mediterranean, from where they launched their attack runs. Before crossing into Iran, the B-2s were escorted by stealthy U.S. fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft.

A graphic released by the Pentagon showed the flight route as passing over Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. It was unclear whether those countries were notified of the U.S. overflight in advance. Most U.S. lawmakers were also kept in the dark, with some Republicans saying they were provided a brief heads-up by the White House before the strike.

“Our B-2s went in and out and back without the world knowing at all,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters Sunday.

A multifaceted attack

About an hour before the B-2s entered Iran, Caine said that a U.S. submarine in the region launched more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles against key targets, including a site in Isfahan where uranium is prepared for enrichment.

As the U.S. bombers approached their targets, they watched out for Iranian fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles, but encountered none.

At 6:40 p.m. in Washington and 2:10 a.m. in Tehran, the first B-2 bomber dropped its pair of GBU-57 massive ordnance penetrators on the deeply buried Fordo uranium enrichment plant. It was the first time these so-called “bunker busters” had ever been used in combat. Each 30,000-pound bomb is designed to burrow into the ground before detonating a massive warhead.

The Fordo site received the bulk of the bombardment, though a couple of the enormous bombs were also dropped on a uranium enrichment site at Natanz.

The U.S. bombs fell for about half an hour, with cruise missiles fired from submarines being the last American weapons to hit their targets, which included a third nuclear site at Isfahan, Caine said.

Both Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination around the sites.

A look at the numbers

The mission included:

— 75 precision-guided weapons: these included 14 GBU-57 “bunker buster” bombs deployed by the seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and more than two-dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from a U.S. submarine.

— 125 aircraft, including the B-2 bombers, fighter jets and refueling planes.

A female pilot

Hegseth said Sunday that “our boys in those bombers are on their way home right now.”

But a U.S. official said one woman was among those piloting the B-2 bombers. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the mission publicly.

A bit of history

Caine said the use of the bunker-buster bombs made the mission historic, as did other elements.

“This was the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history, and the second longest B-2 mission ever flown, exceeded only by those in the days following 9/11,” he told reporters Sunday.

___

Lolita C. Baldor in Narragansett, Rhode Island and Nicholas Ingram in Knob Noster, Missouri, contributed reporting. Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina.