“O PERATION MIDNIGHT HAMMER” , as America called its strike on Iran, was a vast raid involving more than 125 military aircraft. It was the largest-ever strike by B -2 stealth bombers, and the first use in battle of the GBU -57, America’s largest bunker-buster bomb. Seven bombers flew east over the Atlantic from Whiteman air-force base in Missouri on the 37-hour mission to Iran and back, helped by in-flight refuelling tankers and fighter jets to sweep the skies ahead of them. Decoy planes flew west over the Pacific to confuse anyone watching their movement. Dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles were also fired at Iran from submarines. Iranian forces did not respond. The scope and scale of the operation would “take the breath away” of most observers, boasted Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary.