B-2 Spirit bombers dropped a total of 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, or MOPs, on two of the Iranian nuclear facility sites struck this weekend as part of “Operation Midnight Hammer,” Air Force Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Sunday.
President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. military had attacked three facilities involved with Iran’s nuclear program at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.
The mission marked the first operational use of the 30,000-pound MOP, the largest B-2 bomber strike in history, and the second-longest B-2 mission ever flown, Caine said during a Pentagon news conference. In order to deceive the Iranians, a number of B-2s flew west as decoys prior to the strike, he said.
Caine also said the U.S. military has taken measures to protect troops deployed to Iraq and elsewhere from potential Iranian reprisals, but he did not specify what those measures are.
“Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice,” Caine said. “We will defend ourselves.”
Defense officials showed reporters a graphic during Sunday’s news conference that indicated that seven B-2 bombers took part in the strikes.
A total of 125 aircraft were involved in the mission, including fighters and aerial refuelers, Caine said. The bombers and fighters dropped about 75 precision-guided munitions on two of the sites, and a Navy submarine fired Tomahawk missiles at a third.
There are no indications that any of the U.S. aircraft were fired upon during the mission, Caine said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the U.S. military is not trying to topple Iran’s regime, and the scope of the strikes was “intentionally limited.”
“As the president has directed and made clear, this is most certainly not open-ended,” Hegseth said.”It doesn’t mean it limits our ability to respond. We will respond if necessary. The most powerful military in the world is postured and prepared to defend our people. But what the president gave us, as I said, was a focused, powerful, and clear mission on the destruction of Iranian nuclear capabilities. Those were the targets. That’s what was struck. That’s what was overwhelming.”
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