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Daily Telegraph
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Telegraph
Pentagon releases jaw-dropping footage showing how 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs work
Don't miss out on the headlines from Innovation. Followed categories will be added to My News. The Pentagon released stunning footage on Thursday showcasing exactly how 30,000-pound heavy-duty bunker-buster bombs work such as the ones used against Iran's nuclear sites demolished fortified targets deep underground. The video showed a GBU-57 series MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) crashing into a target and kicking up a massive plume of dust moments before a blinding inferno appeared in a shaft during a test detonation. A GBU-57 series Massive Ordnance Penetrator is seen crashing into a target. Picture: Department of Defense The 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs demolish fortified targets deep underground. Picture: Department of Defense Pilots who dropped the MOPs on Iran called the blast 'the brightest explosion' they ever saw, saying, 'it literally looked like daylight'. The MOPs used in the strike — which can only be dropped by a B-2 Stealth Bomber — were developed in 2009 after the US learned of the existence of the Fordow uranium enrichment plant. The bunker buster bombs do not leave craters like traditional bombs. Picture: Department of Defense A US Air Force B-2 Spirit landing after supporting Operation 'Midnight Hammer'. Picture: US Air Force/AFP 'Unlike a normal surface bomb, you won't see an impact crater because they're designed to deeply bury and then function,' Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Caine explained to reporters during a press briefing on Thursday. 'Five [weapons] were tasked to enter the main shaft moved down into the complex at greater than a thousand feet per second, and explode in the mission space … All six weapons at each vent at Fordow [uranium enrichment plant] went exactly where they were intended to go.' Another angle displayed during the briefing showed an MOP hitting a target in slow motion and cutting through the arched interior of a second ventilation shaft without detonating as it moved its way deeper through the test facility. 'A bomb has three effects that causes damage: blast, fragmentation and overpressure,' he explained. 'In this case, the primary kill mechanisms in the mission space was a mix of overpressure and blast. 'Imagine what this looks like six times over.' Unidentified pilots inside a B-2 cockpit. Picture: US Air Force How the US bomber pilots reacted Lt. Gen. Caine explained that the heroic pilots who helped drop the bombs on three of Iran's nuclear facilities in a super-secret mission over the weekend were awed by the explosive power of the devices. 'We know that the trailing jets saw the first weapons function and the pilots stated, 'This was the brightest explosion that I've ever seen. It literally looked like daylight,'' he said. He also emphasised that the MOPs don't leave 'impact' craters — shooting down scepticism that the mission wasn't successful. Satellite images released after the mission show six holes where the deep-diving bombs appeared to have penetrated the mountain above Iran's Fordow nuclear plant. The press conference was seemingly intended to disabuse reporting on a leaked 'low confidence' Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment that Iran's nuclear program may have only been set back months, Lt. Gen. Caine played jaw-dropping footage of a MOP attack. A poster of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is displayed. Picture:/AFP Prior to developing the GBU-57, the military had assessed that it didn't have a 'weapon that could adequately strike and kill this target'. 'The crews that attacked Fordow were from the active duty Air Force and the Missouri Air National Guard,' Lt. Gen. Caine said of the pilots. 'The crews ranked from captain to colonel, and most were graduates of the Air Force weapons school headquartered at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. I will state for the record that there is no beach volleyball or football at the Air Force weapons school,' he added, making a Top Gun reference. Lt. Gen. Caine had a video call with the crews recently and noted that there were both men and women involved in the daring attack. 'This felt like the Super Bowl, the thousands of scientists, airmen and maintainers all coming together,' he remarked. 'One last story about people. When the crews went to work on Friday, they kissed their loved ones goodbye, not knowing when or if they'd be home. Pete Hegseth, left, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Picture:/AFP 'Late on Saturday night, their families became aware of what was happening, and on Sunday, when those jets returned … their families were there, flags flying and tears flowing. I have chills, literally talking about this.' The country's highest-ranking military officer underscored that 'our forces remain on a high state of readiness in the region, prepared to defend themselves'. 'Our adversaries around the world should know that there are other DTRA [Defense Threat Reduction Agency] team members out there studying targets for the same amount of time, and we'll continue to do so,' he said of the group that developed the MOPs to use against Fordow. At one point during the briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who raged at the press repeatedly, was pressed about why he congratulated the 'boys' for the successful mission. 'I'm very proud of that female pilot, just like I'm very proud of those male pilots — and I don't care if it's a male or female in that cockpit, and the American people don't care,' Mr Hegseth clapped back. 'We don't play your little games.' This article originally appeared on NY Post and was reproduced with permission Originally published as Pentagon releases jaw-dropping footage showing how 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs work
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Pentagon releases jaw-dropping footage showing how 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs work
The Pentagon released stunning footage on Thursday showcasing exactly how 30,000-pound heavy-duty bunker-buster bombs work such as the ones used against Iran's nuclear sites demolished fortified targets deep underground. The video showed a GBU-57 series MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) crashing into a target and kicking up a massive plume of dust moments before a blinding inferno appeared in a shaft during a test detonation. Pilots who dropped the MOPs on Iran called the blast 'the brightest explosion' they ever saw, saying, 'it literally looked like daylight'. The MOPs used in the strike — which can only be dropped by a B-2 Stealth Bomber — were developed in 2009 after the US learned of the existence of the Fordow uranium enrichment plant. 'Unlike a normal surface bomb, you won't see an impact crater because they're designed to deeply bury and then function,' Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Caine explained to reporters during a press briefing on Thursday. 'All six weapons at each vent at Fordow [uranium enrichment plant] went exactly where they were intended to go.' Another angle displayed during the briefing showed an MOP hitting a target in slow motion and cutting through the arched interior of a second ventilation shaft without detonating as it moved its way deeper through the test facility. 'A bomb has three effects that causes damage: blast, fragmentation and overpressure,' he explained. 'In this case, the primary kill mechanisms in the mission space was a mix of overpressure and blast. 'Imagine what this looks like six times over.'
Daily Mail
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
How Operation 'Midnight Hammer' fell
The 'Invisible Defenders' rolled from aircraft hangers into the muggy Missouri air at the start of a mission destined for the annals of military aviation. Assembled were nine of the most expensive and advanced aircraft in the world, the B-2 Stealth Bomber, eerily futuristic in appearance and destined to reshape the Middle East. Even at Whiteman Air Force Base in the US Mid-West the details of the mission were a closely guarded secret. The bombers slipped into the clammy darkness above Whiteman at just after midnight local time on Saturday at the start of a 37-hour mission that would surprise the world. Today, that world is adjusting to the implications of Operation Midnight Hammer, a mission marking the end of a 45-year stand-off between the United States and Iran . A vast amount of detail has yet to be released, but the mission was planned and rehearsed years in advance for precisely the situation the US is now confronted by. Under the wings of each of the B-2s were two of the biggest conventional bombs ever produced, the GBU-57, or Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) as it is known in military vernacular. Initially, the fleet flew in a triangular formation across the night sky and over the great plains and lakes of America's interior. But then came the first of many deceptions – intended to keep the world guessing about Donald Trump's intentions – when a pair of B-2s split from the 'strike package' and headed west towards the Pacific. Their destination was not Iran but Guam, a US island territory in Pacific Micronesia and home to the Andersen Air Force Base, 4,000 miles from Iran. Keen watchers of the sky, particularly in these turbulent times, soon picked up on their movements and reports spread. Their intended destination was reported on international wire services and made the Trump-friendly Fox News headlines. That focus allowed the remaining seven-strong team to head to their real target – the nuclear facilities run by the Tehran regime. Operating under virtual radio silence, they flew undetected for 18 hours, aided by refuelling tankers in the sky to keep them on their way. General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained to the world's press yesterday: 'As part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise, part of the package proceeded to the west and into the Pacific as a decoy. This deception effort was known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington DC and in Tampa [the headquarters of US Central Command]. 'The main strike package proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications. 'Throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area the aircraft completed multiple in-flight refuellings.' Senior US officials, including the Commander-in-Chief himself, were buoyed by the success of the sleight of hand as they gathered in the White House War Room. There the US President, whose second term is likely to be shaped by the fallout from yesterday's operation, was joined by leading lieutenants, such as Vice-President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. A notable absentee was National Security Director Tulsi Gabbard, who became persona non grata after she backed a US intelligence report that concluded that Iran, contrary to Israel's claims, was not on the cusp of developing a nuclear missile. Reportedly, President Trump has scarcely spoken to her since. She is likely to have been among the majority of US officials who were entirely unaware that Midnight Hammer was taking place. It was America's most classified mission of recent times. Very few officers in the Pentagon knew of its existence, let alone the operational details. According to reports, the UK was told of the mission before the bombs dropped, but President Trump's decision to launch it from mainland United States, rather than the joint UK-US base at Diego Garcia, was telling. Seemingly, he was determined to deliver an 'America First' mission to convince isolationist sceptics in his Make America Great Again (MAGA) support base that he had made the right call. That determination dictated that the United States provided every one of the 125 combat aircraft involved, every precision-guided missile, every cruise missile and every naval vessel. The seven remaining B-2s continued towards Iran, shielded by an echelon of fighter jets. But the US's opening salvo would be fired not from any of these aircraft but a US nuclear submarine in the Arabian Sea. At just before 10pm GMT the as-yet unnamed US submarine fired more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. Their purpose was to neutralise Iranian defence systems protecting nuclear enrichment facilities at Isfahan. When these sites had been destroyed, the B-2 group entered Iranian airspace. The stealth jet squadron slipped into enemy skies, moving into attack formation at 'high altitude and high speed', with lighter, more mobile F-22 fighter jets sweeping in front of the B-2s to shield them from any surface-to-air or air-to-air fire. There was none. Not a single shot was fired at any of the aircraft or warships involved in Midnight Hammer from the beginning of the operation to its end. Soon they were on top of their main target, the Fordow nuclear plant buried in a mountain south of Tehran and protected with reinforced concrete. The first bunker-busters struck vulnerable positions at the facility such as ventilation shafts. According to US commanders, all 14 GBU-57s struck their intended targets. Smoking craters picked up on satellite images yesterday looked almost like pin-pricks on the rocky landscape, showing the accuracy of the strikes. The huge blast effects desired by the Americans will have occurred deep beneath the surface. Finally, it appears a further volley of Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by US Navy vessels to protect the B-2s and F-22s as they began their long journey home. The aircraft left Iranian airspace just 25 minutes later and headed home, seemingly without the regime having a clue that they were there. Then, and only then, did the White House inform Congress of the military action. This could prove controversial in the US, particularly as no exceptions were made for senior Republicans in both houses. Even ultra-loyal Trump lawmakers had to wait. As the US had not declared war on Iran, the bombing mission did not need Congress's prior approval. Gen Caine said yesterday that initial assessments indicated that 'all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction'. President Trump boasted that they had been 'completely and totally obliterated' and that no other military in the world could have accomplished the mission.
Daily Mail
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
How Operation 'Midnight Hammer' fell: Mission was built on deception and surprise... with not a shot fired back
The 'Invisible Defenders' rolled from aircraft hangers into the muggy Missouri air at the start of a mission destined for the annals of military aviation. Assembled were nine of the most expensive and advanced aircraft in the world, the B-2 Stealth Bomber, eerily futuristic in appearance and destined to reshape the Middle East. Even at Whiteman Air Force Base in the US Mid-West the details of the mission were a closely guarded secret. The bombers slipped into the clammy darkness above Whiteman at just after midnight local time on Saturday at the start of a 37-hour mission that would surprise the world. Today, that world is adjusting to the implications of Operation Midnight Hammer, a mission marking the end of a 45-year stand-off between the United States and Iran. A vast amount of detail has yet to be released, but the mission was planned and rehearsed years in advance for precisely the situation the US is now confronted by. Under the wings of each of the B-2s were two of the biggest conventional bombs ever produced, the GBU-57, or Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) as it is known in military vernacular. Initially, the fleet flew in a triangular formation across the night sky and over the great plains and lakes of America's interior. But then came the first of many deceptions – intended to keep the world guessing about Donald Trump's intentions – when a pair of B-2s split from the 'strike package' and headed west towards the Pacific. Their destination was not Iran but Guam, a US island territory in Pacific Micronesia and home to the Andersen Air Force Base, 4,000 miles from Iran. Keen watchers of the sky, particularly in these turbulent times, soon picked up on their movements and reports spread. Their intended destination was reported on international wire services and made the Trump-friendly Fox News headlines. That focus allowed the remaining seven-strong team to head to their real target – the nuclear facilities run by the Tehran regime. Operating under virtual radio silence, they flew undetected for 18 hours, aided by refuelling tankers in the sky to keep them on their way. General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained to the world's press yesterday: 'As part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise, part of the package proceeded to the west and into the Pacific as a decoy. This deception effort was known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington DC and in Tampa [the headquarters of US Central Command]. 'The main strike package proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications. 'Throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area the aircraft completed multiple in-flight refuellings.' Senior US officials, including the Commander-in-Chief himself, were buoyed by the success of the sleight of hand as they gathered in the White House War Room. There the US President, whose second term is likely to be shaped by the fallout from yesterday's operation, was joined by leading lieutenants, such as Vice-President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. A notable absentee was National Security Director Tulsi Gabbard, who became persona non grata after she backed a US intelligence report that concluded that Iran, contrary to Israel's claims, was not on the cusp of developing a nuclear missile. Reportedly, President Trump has scarcely spoken to her since. She is likely to have been among the majority of US officials who were entirely unaware that Midnight Hammer was taking place. It was America's most classified mission of recent times. Very few officers in the Pentagon knew of its existence, let alone the operational details. According to reports, the UK was told of the mission before the bombs dropped, but President Trump's decision to launch it from mainland United States, rather than the joint UK-US base at Diego Garcia, was telling. Seemingly, he was determined to deliver an 'America First' mission to convince isolationist sceptics in his Make America Great Again (MAGA) support base that he had made the right call. That determination dictated that the United States provided every one of the 125 combat aircraft involved, every precision-guided missile, every cruise missile and every naval vessel. The seven remaining B-2s continued towards Iran, shielded by an echelon of fighter jets. But the US's opening salvo would be fired not from any of these aircraft but a US nuclear submarine in the Arabian Sea. At just before 10pm GMT the as-yet unnamed US submarine fired more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. Their purpose was to neutralise Iranian defence systems protecting nuclear enrichment facilities at Isfahan. When these sites had been destroyed, the B-2 group entered Iranian airspace. The stealth jet squadron slipped into enemy skies, moving into attack formation at 'high altitude and high speed', with lighter, more mobile F-22 fighter jets sweeping in front of the B-2s to shield them from any surface-to-air or air-to-air fire. There was none. Not a single shot was fired at any of the aircraft or warships involved in Midnight Hammer from the beginning of the operation to its end. Soon they were on top of their main target, the Fordow nuclear plant buried in a mountain south of Tehran and protected with reinforced concrete. The first bunker-busters struck vulnerable positions at the facility such as ventilation shafts. According to US commanders, all 14 GBU-57s struck their intended targets. Smoking craters picked up on satellite images yesterday looked almost like pin-pricks on the rocky landscape, showing the accuracy of the strikes. The huge blast effects desired by the Americans will have occurred deep beneath the surface. Finally, it appears a further volley of Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by US Navy vessels to protect the B-2s and F-22s as they began their long journey home. The aircraft left Iranian airspace just 25 minutes later and headed home, seemingly without the regime having a clue that they were there. Then, and only then, did the White House inform Congress of the military action. This could prove controversial in the US, particularly as no exceptions were made for senior Republicans in both houses. Even ultra-loyal Trump lawmakers had to wait. As the US had not declared war on Iran, the bombing mission did not need Congress's prior approval. Gen Caine said yesterday that initial assessments indicated that 'all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction'. President Trump boasted that they had been 'completely and totally obliterated' and that no other military in the world could have accomplished the mission.
Bloomberg
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
US Attack Against Iran Hinged on Misdirection and Decoys
The US strikes that targeted Iran's nuclear sites involved a decoy mission aimed at drawing attention from flight trackers while the largest-ever deployment of B-2 stealth bombers delivered 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs for the first time in combat. The operation — dubbed 'Midnight Hammer' — was detailed by top Pentagon officials on Sunday morning. They described an extensive operation that included 125 aircraft overall, strikes by Tomahawk missiles launched from a US submarine, and the use of 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs.
