Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), delivered an update on Operation Epic Fury on Wednesday, announcing that 10,000 targets in Iran have been hit already.
"We're in the fourth week of the campaign and remain on plan or ahead of plan in achieving very clear military objectives for eliminating Iran's ability to project power in meaningful ways outside its borders. US forces have struck more than 10,000 military targets," he said.
"In fact, we hit the 10,000th Iranian target just hours ago. And if you combine what we've accomplished with the success of our Israeli ally, together we have struck thousands more, clearly demonstrating that we're stronger together. Our precision strikes have overwhelmed Iranian air defenses and our combat flights over Iran are having tangible effects," Admiral Cooper continued.
He provided specific examples of the operation's impact.
"For decades, Iranian warships have roamed regional waters, threatening and harassing global shipping. But those days are over because we've now destroyed 92 percent of the Iranian Navy's largest vessels. They're not sailing, and my operational assessment is that they've now lost the ability to meaningfully project naval power and influence around the region and around the world," the admiral stated.
"As we've highlighted previously, Iran's drone and missile launch rates are down by more than 90 percent, meaning their ability to attack American forces and regional neighbors is drastically reduced. And not only have we significantly degraded Iran's naval drone and missile capabilities, we've also removed the regime's ability to rebuild them," he added.
"Before Operation Epic Fury, Iran had large-scale manufacturing capacities to not only build naval vessels, missiles, and attack drones, but also to advance and proliferate these technologies to regional and global bad actors. Today, we've damaged or destroyed over two-thirds of Iran's missile, drone, and naval production facilities and shipyards, and we're not done yet. We are on a path to completely eliminate Iran's wider military manufacturing apparatus, which is why my operational assessment continues to be Iran's combat capability is declining as US combat capability continues to increase," Admiral Cooper explained.
The CENTCOM commander highlighted US air dominance.
"US forces maintain air superiority over Iran's skies, having now flown over 10,000 combat flights. As I mentioned in my last update, refueling tankers are extending our reach, and fighters and bombers are delivering precise strikes against our primary objectives. Let me highlight our B-52 bomber force, which is executing a high volume of strikes into Iran and demonstrating our unmatched dominance in the air," he said.
"Now, in their eighth decade of flight, our B-52 bombers are executing strikes into Iran with up to 70,000 pounds of munitions on each mission. Our B-52 pilots and aircrew embody the courage and resilience of the more than 50,000 American sons and daughters serving in uniform during this operation. There is no adversary too determined, no mission too difficult, and no task too great for our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, guardians, and Coast Guardsmen," Admiral Cooper concluded.