U.S. used 14 bunker-busters, 7 B-2 bombers in "Midnight Hammer" strikes on Iran

A surprise U.S. military attack on Iranian nuclear facilities involved more than 125 aircraft and 75 precision-guided weapons.The operation, dubbed Midnight Hammer, produced the longest B-2 Spirit mission since 2001 and the first real-world use of 30,000 pound bunker-busting bombs.Why it matters: The U.S. again finds itself fighting in the greater Middle East. This time, it's alongside Israel and against Iran.Here are some of the weapons used in the operation, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, who briefed reporters Sunday morning:Seven stealthy B-2 bombers and dozens of refueling aircraft that worked in tandem to execute an over 30-hour round-trip flight from Missouri to Iran.Fourth- and fifth-generation fighters that cleared the way for the airstrikes. (The Pentagon would not disclose makes and models, but a public graphic depicted what looks like F-22s.)One submarine that fired more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles.Fourteen GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, the world's most powerful non-nuclear bombs.Zoom in: Satellite imagery shared by Maxar shows several large holes or craters at Fordow, effectively an underground nuclear fortress.The area is also blanketed in dirt and ash.What they're saying: "Our initial assessment is ... that all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike and had the desired effect," Hegseth told reporters. Fordow, he added, "was the primary target here."The intrigue: Caine said Iran was caught flatfooted. He was unaware of any shots fired at U.S. warplanes as they entered and exited the region.Tehran's "fighters did not fly," he said, and it appears its "surface-to-air missile systems did not see us." What we're watching: How well prepared U.S. troops are for potential retaliation, launched either by Iran or its many proxies.Go deeper: Israel's mission hinges on destroying Iran's hardest nuclear target

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