Deception, Decoys: Inside Op Midnight Hammer That Targeted Iran Nuke Sites
New Delhi:
The US military today explained how exactly the operation to bomb three nuclear sites in Iran unfolded. B-2 stealth aircraft dropped bunker-buster bombs on a fortified nuclear facility, while submarine-launched cruise missiles hit two other sites.
Here are the key details of Operation Midnight Hammer
This was a complex and high-risk mission carried out with exceptional skill and discipline by our joint forces, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine told reporters today. "This was a highly classified mission with very few people in Washington DC knowing the timing or nature of this plan," he said.
At midnight Friday into Saturday morning, a large B-2 strike package comprising bombers launched from the US. As part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise, a part of the package proceeded to the west and into the Pacific Ocean as a decoy - a deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders.
The main strike package had seven B-2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members. They proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications. Throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area, the aircraft completed multiple in-flight refuelings. Once over land, the B-2s linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex, tightly timed maneuver requiring exact synchronisation across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace, all done with minimal communications.
"This type of integration is exactly what our joint force does better than anyone else in the world," General Caine said. Just prior to the strike package entering Iran, a US submarine in the central command area of responsibility launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles against key surface infrastructure targets.
As the 'Operation Midnight Hammer' strike package entered Iranian airspace, the US employed several deception tactics, including decoys, as 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.
As the strike package approached Fordow and Nataz, the other forces launched high-speed suppression weapons to ensure safe passage of the strike package, with fighter assets employing preemptive suppressing fires against any potential Iranian surface-to-air threats. "We are currently unaware of any shots fired at the US strike package on the way in," General Caine said.
At approximately 6.40 pm Eastern Standard Time, 2.10 am Iran time, the lead B-2 dropped two GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) weapons on the first of several aim points at Fordow. The remaining bombers then hit their targets as well, with a total of 14 MOPs dropped against two nuclear target areas. All three Iranian nuclear infrastructure targets were struck between 6.40 pm and 7.05 pm Eastern Time.
At 2.10 am local time in Iran, the Tomahawk missiles were the last to strike Isfahan to ensure we retain the element of surprise throughout the operation, the US General said. Following weapons release, the 'Midnight Hammer' strike package exited Iranian airspace, and the package began its return home. "We are unaware of any shots fired at the package on the way out," he added.
Iran's fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran's surface-to-air missile systems did not see the US aircraft. Throughout the mission, the US retained the element of surprise. In total, US forces employed approximately 75 precision guided weapons during this operation.
The operation marked the first-ever operational use of the GBU-57 MOP. "I know that battle damage [assessment] is of great interest. The final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," General Caine said. More than 125 US aircraft participated in this mission. This was the largest B-2 operational strike in US history and the second longest B-2 mission ever flown, exceeded only by those in the days following the September 11 attacks.
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