US Releases Official Footage of B-2 Bombers Launching Strikes on Iran
The main strike package’s seven stealth aircraft flew continuously, dropped the bombs, and then went home.
The United States has released video of B-2 Spirit bombers taking off from the Whiteman Air Force Base near Missouri as part of Operation Midnight Hammer to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. The main strike package’s seven stealth aircraft flew continuously, dropped the bombs, and then went home.
The B-2 bomber was seen on the footage taxing out of the Whiteman aircraft hangar and getting ready to take off at 12:01 a.m. The ‘Spirits’ landing at the airbase is then shown in the film.
On June 21, the operation began at 0001 hours, and the next day, B-2s returned to Whiteman Base. The 37-hour flight was the second-longest B-2 operation since 2001, when B-2s flew for 44 hours during the early stages of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan.
The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a US bunker-buster bomb that can only be dropped and operated by the Spirit bomber, was loaded onto the B-2s. The GBU-57, a huge 30,000-pound bomb with a 200-foot underground penetration range, was perfect for the three locations Iran targeted: Fordow, Natanz, and Eshafan. The bomb’s fuse enables maximal damage and delayed detonation.
The Midnight Hammer Operation
Seven B-2 bombers with two crew members each made up the main strike package. They flew east from Missouri towards Iran after taking off from Whiteman and connecting with mid-air refuellers at checkpoints.
They connected to the US Central Command’s (CENTCOM) support package. The precise coordination across several platforms in a limited area of airspace was necessary for the well-timed manoeuvre, which was completed with little communications.
More than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles were fired on important surface infrastructure targets by a US submarine in the central command area of responsibility just before the strike package entered Iran.
Fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft pushed out in front of the ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ strike package at high altitude and high speed, scanning in front of the package for enemy fighters and surface-to-air missile threats. The United States used a number of deception tactics, including decoys, as the package entered Iranian airspace.
The lead B-2 dropped two GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) missiles on the first of multiple target positions at Fordow at around 6.40 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, or 2.10 a.m. Iran time. With a total of 14 MOPs dropped against two nuclear target areas, the remaining bombers then also struck their targets. Between 6.40 and 7.05 p.m. Eastern Time, all three targets related to Iranian nuclear facilities were hit.
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