Operation Epic Fury, the coordinated American strikes on Iran orchestrated by
Donald Trump, killed Tehran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump’s weekend military action in the Middle East involved a combination of missiles, stealth fighters and suicide drones targeting Iran’s high-profile military projects, while also relying on advanced air defences to protect US military bases across the region.
Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israel also partnered with the United States, deploying its full military muscle in the high-profile coordinated attacks against Khamenei-led Iran, with its Operation Lion's Roar.
The US secretary of war Pete Hegseth described the attack as "the most lethal, most complex, and most-precision aerial operation 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, low-cost one-way attack drones modelled after Iranian designs.
US Central Command released photographs showing Tomahawk missiles, F/A-18 and F-35 fighter jets, along with details of the strikes carried out under Operation Epic Fury.
According to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military developments, Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from American warships, while ground forces fired rockets using the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
American forces also deployed drones and other undisclosed standoff weapons designed to strike targets from long range, beyond the reach of enemy air defences. The coordinated attacks began Saturday morning and involved US military assets operating from land, sea and air.
Drones
The US military said it used suicide drones during the strikes, which appeared similar to the new LUCAS Low Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System made by Spektreworks, a company based in Phoenix Arizona. Photos released by the Pentagon showed drones that looked identical to the LUCAS system. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
In a first for the US Central Command, the military used one way attack drones modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones, the Pentagon said. These kamikaze drones are relatively cheap and are designed to be produced in large numbers by different manufacturers.
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Each LUCAS drone costs around 35000 dollars. Drones have become an increasingly important part of modern warfare, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed the US and other countries to adopt a strategy known as “affordable mass” — using large numbers of relatively low cost weapons.
Tomahawk
The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile is a long range cruise missile usually launched from ships or submarines to hit targets far away. The precision guided missile can strike targets from about 1000 miles or 1600 kilometers away, even in heavily defended airspace.
The missile is about 20 feet long with a wingspan of 8.5 feet and weighs around 3330 pounds. It is produced by Raytheon, a unit of RTX. These missiles are not nuclear armed and can be launched from both land and sea.
According to Pentagon budget data, the US plans to buy 57 Tomahawk missiles in 2026. Each missile costs about 1.3 million dollars. The Pentagon is also spending millions of dollars to upgrade the missile’s guidance systems and other features.
A recent agreement between Raytheon and the Pentagon aims to increase Tomahawk missile production to about 1000 units every year. The missile has already been tested with GPS guidance and used in real operations, including when the US and UK navies fired Tomahawk missiles at Houthi rebel targets in Yemen.
Fighter jets
US Central Command released photos and videos showing F A 18 and F 35 fighter jets being used in the strikes on Iran.
The F 35 is a fifth generation stealth fighter designed to avoid radar detection while carrying precision guided weapons. The US has deployed F 35 jets widely across the Middle East.
The F A 18, made by Boeing, is a multi role fighter aircraft that can carry out both air to air and air to ground missions. It can carry a wide range of bombs and missiles.
F 35 jets can also carry special missiles designed to locate and destroy enemy radar systems, effectively blinding air defence networks. These jets are also used by the Israeli Air Force.
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The US has recently increased its military presence in the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean as Donald Trump indicated the possibility of another round of strikes. The deployment includes more than a dozen warships, among them two aircraft carriers, along with hundreds of fighter jets and support aircraft.