KNOB NOSTER, Mo. – The B-2 stealth bombers, which executed a mission to deliver powerful bunker-buster bombs to Iranian nuclear sites, started heading back to their Missouri base in the U.S. on Sunday.

On a clear but breezy day, an Associated Press journalist observed as seven B-2 Spirit bombers touched down at Whiteman Air Force Base. Situated roughly 73 miles (117 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City, this base is the headquarters for the 509th Bomb Wing, the exclusive operator of the B-2 Spirit bombers in the U.S. military.

The initial squadron of four stealth aircraft circled the base before making their approach from the north onto the runway, and a final trio followed, landing within a 10-minute span.

The day before, the B-2s had been part of a wide-ranging plan involving deception and decoys to deliver what American military leaders believe is a knockout blow to a nuclear program that Israel views as an existential threat and has been pummeling for more than a week.

According to U.S. officials, one group of the stealth aircraft headed west from the base in the U.S. heartland on Saturday, intended as a decoy to throw off the Iranians.

Another flight of seven quietly flew off eastward, ultimately engaging in the Iran mission. Aided by an armada of refueling tankers and fighter jets — some of which launched their own weapons — U.S. pilots dropped 14 30,000-pound bombs early Sunday local time on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran.

American sailors bolstered the surprise mission by firing dozens of cruise missiles from a submarine toward at least one other site.

U.S. officials said Iran neither detected the inbound fusillade, nor mustered a shot at the stealthy American jets.

Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, the mission carried out a “precision strike” that “devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” U.S. officials said, even as they acknowledged an assessment was ongoing. For its part, Iran denied that any significant damage had been done, and the Islamic Republic pledged to retaliate.