In the early hours of Sunday, the U.S. military executed a large-scale, high-stakes airstrike on Iran’s key nuclear facilities using its most secretive weapons: B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and a guided-missile submarine. The mission, named Operation Midnight Hammer, targeted the deeply buried Fordo enrichment plant, as well as sites in Natanz and Isfahan.
Seven B-2s, each carrying two GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators — 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs — dropped a total of 14 bombs during the strike. These were supported by more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from a submerged U.S. Navy submarine operating from an undisclosed location in the region. A total of 75 precision-guided munitions were used.
The B-2s flew undetected for 18 hours from the U.S. heartland, aided by dozens of aerial refueling tankers and stealth escort fighters. A second set of B-2s was sent west as a decoy to distract media and government observers. Iran failed to detect or respond to the incoming aircraft or missiles.
“This was the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history and the second-longest B-2 mission ever flown,” said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “The goal was tactical surprise—and it worked.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declared that the strike “devastated the Iranian nuclear program.”
A U.S. official also confirmed that one of the B-2 pilots was a woman — a rare detail shared under anonymity. The Pentagon emphasized the precision of the attack, noting that Iran’s air defenses had been weakened by nine days of Israeli strikes leading up to the mission.
President Trump praised the strike as a “spectacular military success” that “completely obliterated” Iran’s key nuclear capabilities. Iran, however, denied the extent of the damage and pledged retaliation. Both Tehran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog said there were no signs of radioactive contamination.
The unprecedented U.S. involvement marks a major escalation in an already intense regional conflict, as Israel continues its campaign against Iran’s military infrastructure. The Pentagon has since warned that further strikes will follow if Iran responds with force.