US Strikes 1,000+ Iran Targets in Operation Epic Fury

Washington: The United States has disclosed the full scale of Operation Epic Fury, a coordinated air, naval, cyber and space campaign that struck more than 1,000 targets across Iran within the first 24 hours of launching.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan Caine, said the campaign marked "the culmination of months and in some cases years of deliberate planning and refinement against this particular target set.

U.S. Central Command launched the operation at 0115 Eastern Standard Time on February 28, following presidential authorisation.

Caine described the opening phase as "a massive, overwhelming attack and across all domains of warfare, striking more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours."

Speaking at a joint Pentagon news conference alongside Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Caine said "more than 100 aircraft launched from land, sea, fighters, tankers, airborne early warning, electronic attack, bombers from the states, and unmanned platforms, forming a single, synchronised wave."

In the 30 days leading up to the operation, Caine said the Joint Force "began to systematically reposition assets and personnel across the region" to reinforce deterrence and prepare credible military options.

That build-up included thousands of service members from all branches, hundreds of fourth and fifth generation fighters, dozens of refuelling tankers, and the Lincoln and Ford carrier strike groups along with their embarked air wings.

Reserve and National Guard forces also played a role. Caine specifically cited the Wisconsin Army National Guard operating in Kuwait and Iraq, and Vermont's 158th Fighter Wing, which redirected F-35As across the Atlantic to support the mission.

Before the first kinetic strike, U.S. Cyber Command and Space Command moved to degrade Iran's ability to respond.

"The first movers were U.S. Cybercom and U.S. Spacecom, layering non-kinetic effects, disrupting and degrading and blinding Iran's ability to see, communicate, and respond," Caine said.

American B-2 bombers flew a 37-hour round-trip sortie from the continental United States, dropping precision munitions on underground facilities. Over roughly 57 hours, the Joint Force launched hundreds of missions and delivered tens of thousands of pieces of ordnance, according to Caine.

U.S. Patriot and THAAD batteries, along with ballistic missile defence-capable Navy destroyers, have intercepted hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting American forces and regional partners throughout the campaign.

Caine noted that allied air defence batteries in Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia also participated, calling it "proof positive that years of training, trust, and hard-earned integration pay off."

Caine closed his remarks with a clear signal that the operation is ongoing.

"This work is just beginning and will continue," he said.

Operation Epic Fury represents one of the largest integrated U.S. air and naval campaigns in the Middle East in recent years, combining conventional military strikes with cyber and space operations in what officials describe as a fully synchronised joint-force effort.

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