‘Retained The Element Of Surprise’: Trump’s Top General Gives Details On Operation Midnight Hammer

On Sunday, General Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered his statement to the American public regarding the military details of Operation Midnight Hammer, in which the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear sites. Caine emphasized the precision and surprise of the attack and the incredibly tight security regarding the secrecy of the mission, pointing out that both on the way in and the way out, no shots were fired at the U.S. aircraft.

“Any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks … would be an incredibly poor choice,” he stated bluntly.

Full transcript below:

Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Thanks for recognizing all of our folks out there doing our nation’s work, and nice to see everybody on this early Sunday morning.

Last night, on the President’s orders, U.S. Central Command, under the command of General Eric Kurilla, executed Operation Midnight Hammer: a deliberate and precise strike against three Iranian nuclear facilities. This was a complex and high-risk mission carried out with exceptional skill and discipline by our joint force. I want to thank every service member, planner, operator, that made this mission possible. Their actions reflect the highest standards of the United States armed forces.

This operation was designed to severely degrade Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure. It was planned and executed across multiple domains and theaters with coordination that reflects our ability to project power globally with speed and precision at the time and place of our nation’s choosing. This was a highly classified mission with very few people in Washington knowing the timing or nature of this plan. I’ll refer you to the graphic on the side as I walk you through some of the operational details.

At midnight Friday into Saturday morning a large B2 strike package comprised of bombers launched from the continental United States. As part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise, part of the package proceeded to the west and into the Pacific as a decoy, a deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and in Tampa.

The main strike package comprised of seven B2 Spirit bombers, each with two crewmembers, proceeded quietly to the East with minimal communications. Throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area. the aircraft completed multiple inflight refuelings. Once over land, the B2‘s linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex tightly-timed maneuver requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace, all done with minimal communication communications.

This type of integration is exactly what our joint force does better than anyone else in the world.

At approximately 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time last night and just prior to the strike package entering Iran, a U.S. submarine in the central command area of responsibility launched more than two dozen Tomahawk plane attack cruise missiles against key surface infrastructure targets at Esfahan. As the Operation Midnight Hammer strike package entered Iranian airspace, the U.S. employed several deception tactics, including decoys, as the fourth and fifth generation aircraft pushed out in front of the strike package at high altitude and high speed, sweeping in front of the package for enemy fighters and surface-to-air missile threats.

The strike package was supported by U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Space Command, U.S. Space Force, and U.S. European Command. As the strike package approached Fordow and Natanz, the U.S. protection package employed high-speed suppression weapons to ensure safe passage of the strike package, with fighter assets employing preemptive, suppressing fires against any potential Iranian surface-to-air threats.

We are currently unaware of any shots fired at the U.S. strike package on the way in. At approximately 6:40 p.m. Eastern Standard time, 2:10 a.m. Iran time. The lead B2 dropped two GU 57 massive ordinance penetrator weapons on the first of several aim points at Fordow. As the president stated last night, the remaining bombers then hit their targets as well. with a total of 14 MOPs dropped against two nuclear target areas. All three Iranian nuclear infrastructure targets were struck between 6:40 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. Eastern time. Again that’s about 2:10 in the morning local time in Iran, with the Tomahawk missiles being the last to strike a Esfahan to ensure we retained the element of surprise throughout the operation.

Following weapons released the Midnight Hammer strike package exited Iranian airspace, and the package began its return home. We are unaware of any shots fired at the package on the way out. Iran’s fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran’s surface-to-air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission. We retained the element of surprise.

In total, U.S. forces employed approximately 75 precision-guided weapons during this operation. This included, as the president stated last night, 14 30,000 pound GBU- 57 massive ordinance penetrators, marking the first-ever operational use of this weapon.

I know that battle damage is great interest; final battle damage will take some time but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction. More than 125 U.S. aircraft participated in this mission, including B2 stealth bombers, multiple flights of fourth and fifth generation fighters, dozens and dozens of air refueling tankers, a guided missile submarine, and a full array of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as hundreds of maintenance and operational professionals.

As the Secretary said, this was the largest B2 operational strike in U.S. history and the second longest B2 mission ever flown, exceeded only by those in the days following 9/11.

Well prior to the strike, General Kurilla elevated force protection measures across the region, especially in Iraq, Syria and the Gulf. Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice.

We will defend ourselves.

The safety of our service members and civilians remains our highest priority.

This mission demonstrates the unmatched reach, coordination, and capability of the United States military; in just a matter of weeks, this went from strategic planning to global execution. This operation underscores the unmatched capabilities and global reach of the United States military. As the President clearly said last night, no other military in the world could have done this. I join the President and the Secretary in being incredibly proud of the air crews, naval forces, cyber operators, planners and support teams and commanders who made this mission possible; it is their skill, discipline, and teamwork that makes this operation possible.

I am particularly proud of our discipline related to operational security, something that was a great concern to the President, the Secretary, General Kurilla and me. And we will continue to focus on this. As we stand here this morning, many assets are still airborne and we have hundreds deployed. I ask that we keep our war fighters on their way home and our deployed service members in our thoughts. Our joint force remains ready to defend United States our troops and our interest in the region. Thank you very much.