American military strikes against Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities on June 22 present a tableau of military-operational excellence that surprised Iran and much of the international community. The joint operation featured the most extensive use of the B2 Spirit bombers in any single operation. Seven bombers attacked Iranian targets at Fordow and Natanz with highly accurate GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs.
An American submarine also fired thirty Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) against surface infrastructure targets at Isfahan. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine described it, the entire operation was a complex timed maneuver requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace.
American deception tactics contributed to surprise as neither Iraqi fighters nor their surface-to-air missile defenses attempted to interdict the American bombers and their supporting fighter aircraft, all of which returned safely.
According to General Caine, Operation Midnight Hammer involved more than 125 aircraft, including the seven B2 stealth bombers, numerous fourth- and fifth-generation fighters, and dozens of refueling tankers. Some 75 precision-guided munitions were used in Midnight Hammer, including fourteen GBU-57 MOPs, which were used for the first time in combat.
The operational excellence of Midnight Hammer doubtless constituted a setback to Iran’s nuclear enrichment programs, although exactly how much of a setback remains to be determined. Battle damage assessment is dependent on overhead photography unless and until further information is obtained from intelligence sources near or at the affected sites.
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