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Breaking News: First Operational Use of GBU-57 Bombs in Largest U.S. B-2 Bomber Strike Against Iran Nuclear Facilities.
According to information published by the United States Department of Defense on June 22, 2025, the United States military executed Operation Midnight Hammer during the night of June 20 to 21, 2025, marking the largest operational strike ever conducted by U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers and the first combat deployment of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb. Targeting Iran’s most fortified nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, this operation represents a milestone in strategic strike capability, involving a broad spectrum of integrated U.S. military platforms including stealth bombers, submarines, fifth-generation fighters, cruise missiles, and support from space, cyber, and transportation assets.
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A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber conducts a test launch of the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator. On June 22, 2025, six B-2s employed this 13,600-kilogram bunker-busting bomb in combat for the first time, striking Iran’s fortified nuclear enrichment sites at Fordow and Natanz in a coordinated U.S.-Israeli operation marking the official entry of the United States into the war against Iran. (Picture source: U.S. Air Force)
Ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump and executed by U.S. Central Command under General Eric Kurilla, Operation Midnight Hammer required months of planning, logistical coordination, and force positioning. The operation was designed to degrade Iran’s nuclear infrastructure with precision, secrecy, and overwhelming force. It involved a strike package of seven U.S. Aitr Force B-2 Spirit bombers, each crewed by two aviators and launched directly from the continental United States. This mission marked the longest B-2 sortie since the post-9/11 strikes and required multiple in-flight refuelings to complete its 18-hour round-trip.
The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, manufactured by Northrop Grumman, is a long-range, heavy penetration aircraft capable of evading sophisticated air defense networks. With its distinctive flying wing design and radar-absorbent coating, the B-2 is optimized for deep strike missions against high-value targets. It has an internal weapons bay capacity suitable for carrying two GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, which were specifically chosen for this mission due to their unique capability to destroy hardened underground facilities.
The GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator is the most powerful conventional bunker-busting weapon in the U.S. arsenal. Weighing 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg), the bomb is over six meters in length and designed to penetrate up to 60 meters of earth or 18 meters of reinforced concrete before detonation. Developed by Boeing, the MOP is guided by a combination of GPS and inertial navigation systems, ensuring pinpoint accuracy. A total of 14 MOPs were dropped in this operation, all striking precise aim points at Fordow and Natanz to neutralize underground enrichment facilities that had been reinforced to withstand conventional attacks.
To maintain the element of surprise, the U.S. employed advanced deception tactics. A decoy formation of B-2s flew westward into the Pacific to mislead Iranian intelligence and early warning systems. Meanwhile, the actual strike package approached from the east, flying under strict emissions control to avoid detection. Just before the bombers entered Iranian airspace, a U.S. Navy submarine operating in the region launched over two dozen Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) against Esfahan. These missiles targeted surface-level infrastructure and command-and-control centers, helping to blind Iranian radar systems and disrupt potential countermeasures.
The Tomahawk missile is a subsonic, long-range, all-weather cruise missile with a range exceeding 1,600 kilometers. It is capable of delivering a 450-kilogram high-explosive warhead with precision and is typically launched from surface ships or submarines. In this operation, the Tomahawks struck their targets just minutes before the B-2s released their payloads, ensuring complete tactical surprise and maximizing impact on Iranian defenses.
Air superiority and escort support were provided by U.S. fifth-generation fighters, including the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II. These aircraft conducted suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) by flying ahead of the strike formation and using electronic warfare systems and high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs) to neutralize Iranian surface-to-air missile batteries and radar installations. The F-22, known for its unmatched agility and low observability, and the F-35, with its multi-role capabilities and network-centric warfare integration, ensured that Iranian defenses could not engage the strike package as it entered and exited hostile airspace.
The entire operation required seamless coordination across multiple U.S. military commands. U.S. Strategic Command maintained oversight of global deterrence and nuclear posture. Transportation Command provided aerial refueling through KC-135 and KC-46 tankers. U.S. Cyber Command likely disrupted Iranian communications and radar coordination electronically, while Space Command and the U.S. Space Force ensured real-time satellite intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to track airspace conditions and enemy movements.
The B-2 bombers released their GBU-57s between 6:40 and 7:05 p.m. Eastern Time, which corresponds to approximately 2:10 a.m. local time in Iran. All munitions were confirmed to have struck their designated targets. Following weapons release, the aircraft exited Iranian airspace undetected and without encountering hostile fire. The operation demonstrated the ability of U.S. forces to conduct a high-risk, long-range strategic strike with absolute stealth, accuracy, and multi-domain support.
The U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth praised the operation as a strategic and technological triumph. He confirmed it as the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history and noted the mission’s historical importance as the first time the GBU-57 MOP had been used in combat. General Kurilla had preemptively raised force protection levels across U.S. bases in the region, especially in Iraq, Syria, and the Persian Gulf, in anticipation of potential retaliatory actions.
Operation Midnight Hammer represents a new benchmark in the application of precision strike power against nuclear proliferation threats. It demonstrated the operational maturity of the U.S. air Force B-2 Spirit bombers, the lethality of the GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, and the strategic advantage of integrating stealth bombers, submarines, fifth-generation fighters, cruise missiles, space-based surveillance, and cyber capabilities into a single coordinated action. For the defense community worldwide, this operation has redefined the standards of modern strategic air warfare and showcased the United States’ ability to engage and neutralize hardened threats anywhere on the globe decisively.