US Attacks Iran: B-2 Bomber Jets Return To Air Base After 36 Hour 'Operation Midnight Hammer'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The B-2 stealth bombers that dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities have returned to the Whiteman Air Force base in Missouri, the White House informed and posted a video on social media platform X of the jets.

According to an AP report, seven of the B-2 Spirit bombers came in for landing at Whiteman Air Force Base situated about 117 km southeast of Kansas City, is home to the 509th Bomb Wing, the only U.S. military unit that operates the B-2 Spirit bombers.

Watch: B-2 stealth bombers return to base in Missouri

The first group of four of the stealth aircraft did a loop around the base before approaching a runway from the north, while a final group of three arrived within 10 minutes, the report added.

The White House on its official X account wrote:“God bless the United States Military - the greatest force for freedom the world has ever known. (sic)”

The past had a video titled 'B-2 Bombers Safely Touch Down in Missouri After 36-Hour Iran Strike'.

'Operation Midnight Hammer': What we know...

The day before, the B-2s had been part of a wide-ranging plan involving deception and decoys to deliver what American military leaders believe is a knockout blow to a nuclear program that Israel views as an existential threat and has been pummeling for more than a week.

According to U.S. officials, one group of the stealth aircraft headed west from the base in the U.S. heartland on Saturday, intended as a decoy to throw off the Iranians.

Another flight of seven quietly flew off eastward, ultimately engaging in the Iran mission. Aided by an armada of refueling tankers and fighter jets - some of which launched their own weapons - U.S. pilots dropped 14 30,000-pound bombs early Sunday local time on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran.

American sailors bolstered the surprise mission by firing dozens of cruise missiles from a submarine toward at least one other site.

U.S. officials said Iran neither detected the inbound fusillade, nor mustered a shot at the stealthy American jets.

Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, the mission carried out a“precision strike” that“devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” U.S. officials said, even as they acknowledged an assessment was ongoing. For its part, Iran denied that any significant damage had been done, and the Islamic Republic pledged to retaliate.

(With inputs from AP)

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