Ahead of the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, Washington amassed some of the largest troops and most powerful weapons in the Middle East in decades.
President Donald Trump has warned that the United States is “locked and loaded,” and Saturday’s attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader gave the United States a devastating purpose.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday released a list of U.S. weapons used so far in the war with Iran.
Let’s take a look at the assets used so far in what the Department of Defense calls “Operation Epic Fury.”
B-2 Stealth Bomber: Bat-winged bombers cost more than $1 billion each and are the United States Air Force’s most powerful platform. Powered by four jet engines, the B-2 has intercontinental range, mid-air refueling, and can carry conventional or nuclear weapons.
The B-2 is piloted by a two-person crew and typically flies from its home at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, as it did last year when it attacked Iranian nuclear facilities on a 34-hour round trip mission.
The mission last June was carried out by seven of the fleet’s 19 B-2s, with the remainder used on a diversionary flight to Hawaii. They attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities using a 30,000-pound giant weapon penetrator, the largest conventional bomb ever used by the United States.
This time they used a 2,000-pound bomb to attack an Iranian ballistic missile facility, CENTCOM said.
LUCAS ONE-WAY DRONE: According to CENTCOM, Operation Epic Fury marks the first use of drones in combat for the United States.
A drone unit, Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS), began operations in the Middle East late last year, according to a statement from CENTCOM.
“TFSS is designed to quickly put low-cost, effective drone capabilities into the hands of warfighters,” the statement said.
The Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) is essentially a copy of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 drone, which Russia used extensively in its war against Ukraine.
“These low-cost drones modeled after Iran’s Shahid drones are making a US-made retaliation,” Centcom said in a social media post.
US warships: CENTCOM said US aircraft carriers and guided missile destroyers acted in the war.
Two US aircraft carriers, USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford, were in the Middle East when the attack on Iran began. Lincoln was in the Arabian Sea, Ford in the Mediterranean off the coast of Israel.
CENTCOM released footage of F/A-18 and F-35 fighter jets taking off and landing in Lincoln. Ford does not have an F-35.
Iran claims it attacked Lincoln with a ballistic missile, but Centcom called it a “lie” in a social media post.
U.S. video also shows the guided-missile destroyer firing Tomahawk missiles. The U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, many of which are stationed in the region, can carry up to 96 Tomahawks.
Destroyers equipped with the Aegis ballistic missile defense system can also be used to protect frequently sailing aircraft carriers and land-based assets.
Patriot and THAAD Missile Defense Systems: Patriot and THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) batteries are used to counter incoming Iranian drones and ballistic missiles.
The number of Patriot and THAAD interceptor missiles launched to date is unknown.
But Iran has fired thousands of drones and missiles at targets around the Middle East, and analysts have expressed concern that Iran’s long retaliatory strikes could deplete its inventory of interceptor missiles strained by last year’s 12-day war between Israel and Iran and by troops supplied to Ukraine to defend against Russian attacks.
Fighter planes: CENTCOM states that a variety of fighter planes fought in the early part of the war. These include the F-16 flown by the Air Force and the F/A-18 flown by the Navy and Marine Corps.
Stealth air force F-22s and F-35s operated by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps were also involved, Centcom said, without specifying their specific missions. A video was released showing a twin-engine F/A-18 and a single-engine F-35 taking off from an aircraft carrier.
According to Centcom, the Air Force’s A-10 twin-engine attack aircraft is also deployed.
EA-18G Electronic Attack Aircraft: Based on the F/A-18 fighter jet, the EA-18G Growler carries jamming pods, communications countermeasures, and radar to identify and suppress enemy electronic threats. Twin-engine jets can also carry missiles that target electronic communications such as radar and communication centers.
Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft (AWACS): The United States employs two types of AWACS: the Air Force’s E-3 Sentry and the Navy’s E-2 Hawkeye.
The Air Force’s AWACS is a four-engine aircraft based on the Boeing 707 aviation platform. The jet carries a large circular rotating radar dome on a column 11 feet above the fuselage. With a range of approximately 250 miles, AWACS can identify and track enemy aircraft and ships and provide detailed battlefield intelligence for U.S. forces. Information is shared with command centers and ships at sea.
The Navy’s Hawkeye, a twin-engine turboprop aircraft, provides similar intelligence while operating from U.S. aircraft carriers.
Airborne Communications Relays: Although CENTCOM did not provide details, Air Force EA-11 BACN (Battlefield Airborne Communications Node) aircraft were seen in the Middle East in the weeks before the strikes.
The twin-engine business jet-based EA-11, also known as “Wi-Fi in the skies,” is used to “bridge voice and tactical data between the Air Force and the Army while overcoming obstacles such as mountains, rugged terrain, and distance,” according to manufacturer Bombardier.
P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft: Based on the commercial Boeing 737 airframe, the naval twin-engine jet named Poseidon is used for anti-submarine warfare as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
RC-135 Reconnaissance Aircraft: Carrying a crew of more than 30 people, including electronic warfare personnel, intelligence officers, and even in-flight maintenance technicians, the RC-135 has been used consistently in U.S. military operations since the Vietnam War.
The four-engine jet is based on the Boeing 707 commercial aircraft and will provide near real-time intelligence gathering and analysis, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
MQ-9 Reaper: The Air Force describes the remotely piloted, single-engine turboprop MQ-9 drone as an attack aircraft primarily used to attack “high-value, ephemeral, and time-sensitive targets.” They prowl the battlefield for reconnaissance and intelligence, carrying Hellfire missiles and guided bombs that can be used against enemy armor and personnel.
M-142 HIMARS: The Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is mounted on a three-axis truck and provides “shoot and scoot” capabilities, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. This means you can fire before facing counterattack and quickly move to a new position.
HIMARS can carry rockets with ranges of more than 300 miles, depending on the mission required. CENTCOM released the first video of HIMARS firing a single round since the start of the war with Iran.
Refueling assets: This includes both airborne tankers and maritime supply vessels.
The U.S. Air Force operates two types of tanker aircraft: the four-engine KC-135, which is based on the Boeing 707, and the twin-engine KC-46, which is based on the Boeing 767. Aerial refueling is critical when B-2 bombers fly long distances from the continental United States to the Middle East. However, aircraft in this region can refuel mid-flight and remain close to the battlefield for longer.
U.S. warships primarily refuel at sea from supply ships operated by civilian crews. Refueling takes place while the ship is underway, with hoses running across the water from the supply ship to the warship, making it look like a mobile gas station in the middle of the ocean.
Cargo planes: C-17 Globemaster jets and C-130 Hercules turboprop planes carried much of the munitions and many of the troops used in the attack on Iran to the Middle East.
