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By Chad Adams
On February 28, the United States military kicked off Operation Epic Fury. American forces under U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), at the direction of the president, initiated strikes, lighting the fuse to dismantle Iran’s military and security apparatus.
Initial targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields, according to a CENTCOM press release.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, launches from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
“The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.
In response, the Iranians have seemingly launched every weapon they have in all directions, a collateral damage strategy some experts theorize aims to tilt support against the United States. As such, CENTCOM forces defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks early on. So far, six American service members have been killed in the strikes.
Meanwhile, America’s military continues to wield an impressive display of firepower throughout the first week of the conflict.
If you didn’t have a torpedo strike on your bingo card coming into 2026, you wouldn’t be alone. Nevertheless, a U.S. attack submarine sank an Iranian warship with a single Mk-48 torpedo, the first military action of its type since World War II.
“Yesterday, in the Indian Ocean,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, “an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet deth. The first sinking of an enemy ship by torpedo since World War II.”
The unnamed fast-attack boat destroyed the IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate, off the coast of Sri Lanka.
“This is an incredible demonstration of America’s global reach,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. “To hunt, find and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale.”
So far, much of the fighting straight up resembles a battle scene right off the reels of the “Top Gun” franchise. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, forges the tip of this Naval-based spear.
As of Thursday, U.S. military reports estimated American bombers had conducted strikes on nearly 200 targets within Iran. More than 30 Iranian ships have been sunk or destroyed at latest count. Yesterday, the U.S. announced it destroyed an Iranian drone carrier ship allegedly the size of a WWII aircraft carrier.
“The amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically,” Hegseth said. “When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.”
The U.S. war machine clearly utilizes the latest high-tech weaponry, likely to a degree no other country can match in theatre. From F-35s to latest-generation Tomahawk missiles to who-know’s-what that remains highly classified.
But in an interesting twist, the B-52 , the oldest U.S. bomber in our military’s inventory, just came back out of the mothballs. In service since 1952, through Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan, the B-52 is now dropping bombs over Iran.
Torpedos and B-52s alongside stealth bombers, AI technology and satellite command and control—it appears the entire inventory of U.S. military capability is being utilized for Operation Epic Fury.
The post You Sank My Battleship … And other Epic Fury appeared first on Field Ethos.
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On February 28, the United States military kicked off Operation Epic Fury. American forces under U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), at the direction of the president, initiated strikes, lighting the fuse to dismantle Iran’s military and security apparatus.
Initial targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields, according to a CENTCOM press release.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, launches from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
“The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.
In response, the Iranians have seemingly launched every weapon they have in all directions, a collateral damage strategy some experts theorize aims to tilt support against the United States. As such, CENTCOM forces defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks early on. So far, six American service members have been killed in the strikes.
Meanwhile, America’s military continues to wield an impressive display of firepower throughout the first week of the conflict.
You Sank My Battleship
If you didn’t have a torpedo strike on your bingo card coming into 2026, you wouldn’t be alone. Nevertheless, a U.S. attack submarine sank an Iranian warship with a single Mk-48 torpedo, the first military action of its type since World War II.
“Yesterday, in the Indian Ocean,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, “an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet deth. The first sinking of an enemy ship by torpedo since World War II.”
The unnamed fast-attack boat destroyed the IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate, off the coast of Sri Lanka.
“This is an incredible demonstration of America’s global reach,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. “To hunt, find and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale.”
U.S. Sailors prepare to stage ordnance on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
U.S. Navy Sailors signal to an E-2D Hawkeye aircraft, attached to Airborne Command and Control Squadron 124, as it taxis on the flight deck of world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, prepares to launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
Aircraft attached to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 sit on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
U.S. Sailors transfer ordnance on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 27, 2026.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) fires a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile during operations in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy Photo)
Top Gun: Epic Fury
So far, much of the fighting straight up resembles a battle scene right off the reels of the “Top Gun” franchise. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, forges the tip of this Naval-based spear.
As of Thursday, U.S. military reports estimated American bombers had conducted strikes on nearly 200 targets within Iran. More than 30 Iranian ships have been sunk or destroyed at latest count. Yesterday, the U.S. announced it destroyed an Iranian drone carrier ship allegedly the size of a WWII aircraft carrier.
“The amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically,” Hegseth said. “When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.”
Old School Vs New School
A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bomber taxis for takeoff in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 2, 2026. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bomber taxis for takeoff in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 2, 2026. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
The U.S. war machine clearly utilizes the latest high-tech weaponry, likely to a degree no other country can match in theatre. From F-35s to latest-generation Tomahawk missiles to who-know’s-what that remains highly classified.
But in an interesting twist, the B-52 , the oldest U.S. bomber in our military’s inventory, just came back out of the mothballs. In service since 1952, through Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan, the B-52 is now dropping bombs over Iran.
Torpedos and B-52s alongside stealth bombers, AI technology and satellite command and control—it appears the entire inventory of U.S. military capability is being utilized for Operation Epic Fury.
An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, makes an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
An F-35C Lightning II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, is staged for flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, Mar. 3, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
A U.S. Sailor conducts preflight checks on an F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 37, on the flight deck of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), while operating in support of Operation Epic Fury in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, March 2, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
A U.S. Air Force F-15E takes flight in the Middle East in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 2, 2026. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
The post You Sank My Battleship … And other Epic Fury appeared first on Field Ethos.
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