Overview

• Authorized by President Donald Trump, Operation Midnight Hammer saw seven B-2 Spirit bombers depart Whiteman Air Force Base on June 20 for an 18-hour flight toward Iran
• The aircraft flew nonstop with multiple aerial refuelings and decoy tactics to cover more than 7,000 miles in a 37-hour round trip
• Crews deployed 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators—six on Fordow and the remainder on Natanz and Esfahan—to penetrate deeply buried nuclear infrastructure
• The mission involved both active-duty Air Force and Missouri Air National Guard personnel operating under radio silence and strict secrecy
• A pilot described the detonation as “the brightest explosion I’ve ever seen,” and US officials say poststrike damage aligns with years of modeling and simulation