Epic fury, coordinated U.S. strike on Iran Donald Trumpkilled Tehran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump’s weekend military campaign in the Middle East involved missiles, stealth fighter jets and suicide drones, targeting Iran’s high-profile military programs while also relying on advanced air defense systems to protect U.S. military bases in the region.Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel has also partnered with the United States through Operation Lion’s Roar, deploying its full military might in high-profile, coordinated attacks against Khamenei’s Iran.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called the attack “the deadliest, most sophisticated, most precise air campaign in history.”The United States on Saturday deployed a range of military assets against Iranian targets, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, stealth fighter jets and, for the first time in combat, a low-cost, one-way attack drone modeled after Iran’s design.Photos released by U.S. Central Command show Tomahawk missiles, F/A-18 and F-35 fighter jets, and details of strikes conducted under Operation Epic Fury.According to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from U.S. warships, while ground forces used the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to launch the rockets.The U.S. military has also deployed drones and other undisclosed standoff weapons designed to strike targets from long ranges beyond the reach of enemy air defenses. The coordinated attack began on Saturday morning and involved U.S. military assets operating from land, sea and air.
drone
The U.S. military said it used a suicide drone in the attack, which appears to be similar to the new LUCAS low-cost unmanned combat attack system made by Spektreworks in Phoenix, Arizona. Photos released by the Pentagon show the drone looks identical to the LUCAS system. The company did not respond to a request for comment.The Pentagon said that for the first time, U.S. Central Command used a unidirectional attack drone modeled after Iran’s Shahd drone. These kamikaze drones are relatively cheap and designed to be mass-produced by various manufacturers.Each LUCAS drone costs approximately $35,000. Drones have become an increasingly important part of modern warfare, especially in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the United States and other countries adopted a strategy known as “affordable mass” — using large numbers of relatively low-cost weapons.
ax
The Tomahawk land-attack missile is a long-range cruise missile typically launched from a ship or submarine to attack distant targets. This precision-guided missile can strike targets 1,000 miles or 1,600 kilometers away, even in heavily guarded airspace.The missile is approximately 20 feet long, has a wingspan of 8.5 feet, and weighs approximately 3,330 pounds. It is produced by Raytheon, a division of RTX. The missiles are non-nuclear and can be launched from land and sea.According to Pentagon budget data, the United States plans to purchase 57 Tomahawk missiles in 2026, with each missile costing approximately $1.3 million. The Pentagon is also spending millions of dollars to upgrade the missile’s guidance system and other features.Raytheon and the Pentagon recently reached an agreement to increase production of Tomahawk missiles to about 1,000 missiles per year. The missile has been tested with GPS guidance and used in actual operations, including when the U.S. and British navies launched Tomahawk missiles against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen.
fighter
Photos and videos released by U.S. Central Command show FA 18 and F 35 fighter jets conducting air strikes against Iran.The F 35 is a fifth-generation stealth fighter designed to avoid radar detection while carrying precision-guided weapons. The United States has deployed F-35 jets extensively in the Middle East.Manufactured by Boeing, the FA 18 is a multi-role fighter aircraft that can perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. It can carry a variety of bombs and missiles.The F 35 jets can also carry special missiles designed to locate and destroy enemy radar systems, effectively blinding air defense networks. These jets are also used by the Israeli Air Force.The United States has recently increased its military presence in the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean as Donald Trump signaled the possibility of a new wave of strikes. The deployment includes more than a dozen warships, including two aircraft carriers, as well as hundreds of fighter jets and support aircraft.
