In addition to the just over half a dozen B-2 Spirit bombers that struck Iran’s nuclear sites, US military F-35 and F-22 stealth fighter jets were also part of the operation this past weekend against Iran, President Donald Trump revealed on Wednesday.
Pentagon leadership said Sunday that a mixture of fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft participated in Operation Midnight Hammer, which saw the US attack three of Iran’s top nuclear sites. The officials did not specify which fighter jets were used, only noting that they pushed out in front of the bombers, sweeping for enemy fighters and surface-to-air missile batteries.
Trump’s disclosure offers new details about the strike mission officials described as highly secretive and complex.
“It was dead dark,” the president told reporters at the NATO summit in the Netherlands. “There was no moon, there was no light; it was virtually moonless. It was very dark, and the shots were hit perfectly.”
“The pilots flew about 36 hours — two ways, far distance — in those incredible B-2s,” Trump said of the stealth bombers.
“We then had the F-22s and we had the F-35s, and we had other planes. And we had, I think, a total of 52 tankers. That means the big tankers, because the refueling was a lot for all of the different planes that we sent. Incredible operation,” he said.
US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joseph Pick
In recent months, Trump allies, such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and far-right activist Laura Loomer, have sharply criticized the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and its stealth capabilities, as well as its manufacturer, US defense giant Lockheed Martin. Some complaints have framed the fighter jet as obsolete in the era of drones, while others have focused on concerns about the expensive weapons program.
The $2 trillion F-35 program has been plagued by costly development, maintenance and sustainment, and readiness issues; however, the combat-proven fighter jet is widely considered a cornerstone of US airpower and is operated by American allies and partners around the world.
Western military officials have specifically praised Israel’s F-35I, a specially modified version of the Lockheed Martin aircraft. Israel has deployed its unique version of the fifth-generation fighter for multiple operations against Iran. And now it’s known that US Air Force F-35s flew similar missions alongside the air-superiority F-22 Raptor.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Sunday that more than 125 aircraft participated in the operation against Iranian nuclear sites during the previous night, including seven B-2s and unidentified fighter jets, refueling tankers, and surveillance planes.
US forces fired around 75 precision-guided munitions during the operation, with powerful weapons striking the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities, including 14 heavy bunker-buster bombs dropped by the B-2s and over 24 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by a US Navy submarine at an undisclosed location in the Middle East.
US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Thornbury
Satellite imagery revealed extensive damage from the Tomahawks at Isfahan and several notable craters caused by the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-buster bombs at Fordow and Natanz. Caine said the initial battle damage assessments suggest all three sites “sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.”
White House and Israeli officials have repeatedly said in recent days that the airstrikes delivered a significant blow to Iran’s nuclear program, with some assessments suggesting that Tehran’s ability to develop a bomb was set back years.
Some nuclear experts have countered, though, that the attacks likely only delayed Iran’s ability to build a weapon and may have also invigorated their desire to do so. An early US intelligence assessment found that the strikes may have only set the program back by a matter of months, contradicting the Trump administration and Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission.
The full extent of the damage at the heavily protected, deeply buried facilities is difficult to assess. Trump has suggested human intel sources on the ground confirmed the damage.
A separate issue beyond damage, as officials and analysts have said, is that the Iranian stockpiles of near-weapons-grade uranium — nuclear material that, with further enrichment, could be used to make a bomb — remain unaccounted for.
