Dan Caine Reveals Iran Strike Pilot's Words on Seeing Explosion
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine revealed what one of the pilots said to him after seeing the blast from the strike on the Iranian nuclear facility at Fordow.
Caine said the pilot, who was in a jet trailing the B-2 bombers that dropped the bunker-busters on the target: "This was the brightest explosion that I've ever seen, it literally looked like daylight."
The Pentagon was giving a briefing on Thursday morning about the bombing raid, giving more details about the operation, what the intelligence shows, and those who were involved.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was pushing back against earlier media reports of a leaked preliminary intelligence assessment that underestimated the extent of the damage caused by the strikes.
There were male and female aviators involved in the Iran mission, Caine said. They were from the active duty Air Force and the Missouri Air National Guard.
"A crew member told me when I talked to them on video the other day that this felt like the Super Bowl, the thousands of scientists, airmen, and maintainers all coming together," Caine said.
"When the crews went to work on Friday, they kissed their loved ones goodbye, not knowing when or if they'd be home.
"Late on Saturday night, their families became aware of what was happening. And on Sunday, when those jets returned from Whiteman, their families were there. Flags flying and tears flowing. I have chills literally talking about this."
This is a developing article. Updates to follow.
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