Operation Epic Fury
Text: Miro Barič
The United States and Israel launched an attacl on Iran on the morning of February 28. The Americans called it Operation Epic Fury. Israel later also attacked Lebanon. Intense combat operations lasted until April 8, when a ceasefire mediated by Pakistan came into effect. The ceasefire was still being observed at the time this issue went to press, although negotiations had not yet made any progress.
The conflict with Iran had been simmering for several years. In April, July, and October 2024, Israel and Iran repeatedly exchanged missile and drone strikes. In June 2025, the U.S. Air Force also joined in bombing Iranian nuclear facilities. In January 2026, a wave of protests took place in Iran, which was violently suppressed, costing thousands of demonstrators their lives.
Perhaps the U.S. and Israel were counting on this when they attacked on February 28, expecting regime change. The attack, surprisingly, did not occur at night but in daylight. The aim was to eliminate both the political and military leadership of Iran. This was achieved, and many leaders were killed, including Ayatollah Khamenei and members of the Iranian high command. However, the regime did not collapse.
Iran responded with attacks on neighboring countries and by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which negatively affected the global economy. U.S. stocks of precision-guided munitions and air defense missiles were reduced in some cases to less than half, and replenishing them will take years. This will affect the war in Ukraine (especially the shortage of missiles for Patriot systems) and also the U.S. itself if another conflict breaks out. At the time of writing, the situation appears to be a stalemate, although President Trump repeatedly (and in varying order) declares that he won the war, crushed the Iranian army, does not need allied help, and criticizes allies for not helping him (even though he did not inform them in advance of the plan to attack). Political scientists have already covered this extensively and will continue to do so. In the following lines, we will briefly look at what happened in the air and at sea during just over a month of war.
Aircraft on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) on February 27, the day before the attack on Iran. By the end of April, three U.S. aircraft carriers were present in the region. Photo: US Navy
The destroyer USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) launches a Tomahawk missile at Iran on February 28. Photo: US Navy
First kill for the F-35
Many Iranian aircraft were destroyed on the ground in the initial phase of the conflict. Drone and satellite footage showed F-4, F-5, F-14, Chengdu J-7, Su-22, Su-24, Su-25, Yak-130, C-130, Il-76, An-74, Fokker F27, P-3 Orion aircraft, and several helicopters. Civilian airliners were also hit, including Fokker 100, Airbus A320 and A340, Boeing 737, 747, and 777. Aircraft shelters at airports were also destroyed. Whatever was inside them did not fare well.
The question, however, is how many of the hit aircraft were operational and how many were already out of service or merely decoys. The Iranian Air Force tried, especially in the first days of the war, to actively demonstrate that it was still capable of action. It carried out sorties into Iraq and Kuwait without losses. Another attempted attack on March 2 against Qatar did not go unpunished. Two Iranian Su-24 aircraft approached at low altitude over the Strait of Hormuz, flying only about 25 meters above sea level. They came within just two minutes of flight from the U.S. base Al Udeid when they were intercepted and shot down by a Qatari F-15QA fighter. The wreckage fell into the water, and the crews did not survive.
Qatar is a small country with three million inhabitants, but it has a heavily armed military. Its fighter fleet includes 30 Rafale aircraft, 20 Eurofighter Typhoons (plus several two-seat versions), and 46 F-15QA aircraft from the F-15EX Eagle II family. These were the first kills in the history of the Qatari Air Force.
Another Iranian aircraft was shot down on March 4 directly over Tehran. It was a subsonic training and light combat aircraft, the Yak-130. What such an aircraft was doing in the air during active combat operations is unclear. In any case, it posed no serious opponent for the Israeli F-35I Adir. This was the first time in history that an F-35 shot down a manned enemy aircraft. Until then, F-35s had only recorded kills of drones and cruise missiles.
On the first day of the attack, February 28, a school in the city of Minab was hit. More than 150 people were killed, including 120 children. The school was struck three times; the second strike caused the most casualties, when children had gathered in one place. U.S. President Donald Trump long denied responsibility, even suggesting that the Iranians had attacked the school themselves. However, it was hit by U.S. Tomahawk missiles, the remains of which were found in the ruins. The building had been part of a neighboring military complex for years, but after 2013 it was separated by a fence and functioned as a school for more than 10 years. This suggests that the Americans did not update their old intelligence when planning the attack, pointing to rushed planning of the entire operation. It was the deadliest attack on civilians during the war up to the ceasefire. Photo: Mehr News Agency / Abbas Zakeri
An Iranian Su-22 shortly before being destroyed. Photo from open sources
Destruction of an Iranian C-130. Photo from open sources
An Iranian Il-76 in the gunsight. Photo from open sources
Burning Iranian aircraft at an airfield. On the left is the Il-76 from the previous image. Photo from open sources
Friendly fire
The U.S. Air Force also suffered losses. The first incident occurred on March 2, when three F-15E aircraft were shot down over Kuwait. It turned out they had fallen victim to friendly fire from a Kuwaiti F/A-18 fighter. All six crew members successfully ejected and were taken to a hospital for examination.
Several factors may have contributed to the incident. Kuwaiti defenses were facing a massive attack of Iranian missiles, drones, and aircraft, and after more than 48 hours of continuous alert, radar operators were exhausted. The operation against Iran was also accompanied by extensive electronic warfare, and it is possible that identification systems on U.S. aircraft were partially suppressed in such an environment. Poor communication between U.S. and Kuwaiti forces may also have contributed to the misidentification.
Another loss occurred due to an accident. Over western Iraq, in friendly airspace, two KC-135R refueling aircraft collided on March 12. One aircraft managed an emergency landing in Tel Aviv, while the other broke apart in mid-air and crashed, killing all six crew members.
Accidents also affected U.S. allies. On March 9, during a drone defense operation, a UAE AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed due to a technical failure, killing both crew members. On March 21, Qatar lost a helicopter that crashed into the sea due to technical issues, killing all seven people on board.
On 21 March, the Qatari Air Force lost a helicopter which crashed into the sea due to a technical malfunction. All seven people on board were killed: four Qatari pilots, one Turkish soldier and two employees of a Turkish defence contractor. While the type of helicopter was not disclosed, given the number of people on board it was likely either an NH90 or an AW139, both of which are used by the Qatari Air Force.
A Qatari F-15QA fighter jet. Source: Wikimedia / Airwolfhound
An Israeli F-35I fighter jet. Source: IDF
The shooting down of three U.S. F-15E aircraft was captured in several videos. Photo from open sources
E-3 Sentry destroyed on the ground
Iran has focused its retaliation mainly through drones and ballistic missiles, causing further U.S. losses. In Saudi Arabia, Prince Sultan Air Base was repeatedly targeted. On March 13, five KC-135 aircraft were damaged on the ground, though not severely. No one was injured.
A more serious attack occurred on March 27, when Iranian ballistic missiles and long-range drones struck the base and destroyed a U.S. Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft. This marked the first combat loss in the long operational history of the type.
Shortly after the attack, reports indicated three damaged aircraft and ten injured soldiers. Later photographs showed the E-3G aircraft almost completely destroyed. It belonged to the 552nd Air Control Wing based at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Other damaged aircraft included KC-135 and KC-46.
An E-3 Sentry destroyed on the ground in Saudi Arabia. Photo: FB / Air Force amn/nco/snco
Before this, the U.S. Air Force had 16 E-3 aircraft. Six were deployed in the Middle East, and 81-0005 was one of them. One aircraft is in Japan and one in Alaska. The remaining eight are undergoing maintenance. Therefore, the loss of even one of them has serious implications for U.S. air operations.
The E-3 Sentry first entered service in 1977. Its primary operators are the United States and NATO. A few of these aircraft are also operated by France and Saudi Arabia. The United Kingdom has already retired its fleet. There have been three serious accidents involving the aircraft in the past: two involving U.S. aircraft and one involving a NATO aircraft. Two of these crashes resulted in no casualties, but in 1995, all 24 people on board died when the aircraft crashed in Alaska after colliding with a flock of geese.
The first combat loss occurred 49 years after the aircraft entered service. Photos of the damaged aircraft have appeared on the Facebook page 'Air Force AMN/NCO/SNCO'. They show that the entire rear section of the fuselage, including the radar, was destroyed.
It should be noted for the sake of completeness that this is not the first combat loss of an AEW&C aircraft worldwide. The Russian Air Force has lost several Beriev A-50 aircraft in Ukraine. Two were shot down by Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles and several others were hit and damaged on the ground.
Turning to Ukraine, it has sent its specialists to several countries in the Persian Gulf region, where they have begun providing assistance with drone defence. According to the latest reports, they are also present at Prince Sultan Air Base, where they are helping the Americans to set up a system for detecting and destroying drones.
In subsequent Iranian attacks, air bases in other countries in the region were also hit. In the early days of the conflict, the British Akrotiri base in Cyprus was also attacked, but it is unclear what damage was caused. Several civilian aircraft were damaged at Dubai International Airport, including a giant Emirates Airbus A380. On 15 March, an Italian Air Force base in Kuwait was struck. One Italian MQ-9 drone was destroyed and two Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets were damaged in the attack.
The attacks were not just carried out by long-range drones from Iran. Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq also used small FPV drones against US bases. In Baghdad, a US UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was hit in this way on 23 March, and an Iraqi Air Force Antonov An-32 was damaged on 30 March. On 3 April, CH-47 Chinook and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters were destroyed on the ground in Kuwait.
A CH-47 destroyed on the ground in Kuwait. Photo from open sources
Downed American aircraft
On 19 March, the pilot of a US F-35 fighter jet discovered that Iran’s air defence capabilities were still very much intact. The aircraft was hit by a surface-to-air missile while on a combat mission over Iran. Consequently, the pilot was forced to abandon the mission and perform an emergency landing at an undisclosed location in the region. According to US media reports, the landing was hard and the aircraft will not return to service any time soon, if at all. The pilot sustained shrapnel wounds but was in a stable condition. Iranian news agencies subsequently released a video showing the silhouette of the F-35 being targeted, followed by an anti-aircraft missile exploding. Traces of smoke or leaking fuel appeared behind the F-35 immediately afterwards. This is the first known combat loss of an F-35.
Despite the warning that the Iranian air defence system was still active, the F-15E crew did not exercise sufficient caution and their aircraft was shot down over Iranian territory on 3 April. Both crew members ejected, prompting the most epic operation of the entire war. Rescue teams entered Iranian airspace in C-130 aircraft and UH-60 helicopters. The pilot was located and rescued on the same day. Two Black Hawk helicopters were hit by ground fire during the operation and several people on board were injured. However, both helicopters managed to return to base. An A-10 attack aircraft was shot down by Iranian fire while providing cover for the rescue operation. The pilot reached the Strait of Hormuz before ejecting and being rescued after spending some time in the water.
Iranians released footage of a U.S. F-35 being hit. Photo from open sources
The second member of the F-15E crew, a colonel and weapons operator, however, remained in Iran. He found himself in a remote, sparsely populated mountain valley. Despite sustaining injuries when the plane was shot down, he climbed to a 2,000-metre-high mountain ridge to hide. The US selected a location in the Iranian valley where they established a temporary base. Special forces were dispatched there in two MC-130 aircraft, which eventually located the colonel and evacuated him on 5 April. Local Iranian militias from mountain villages also searched for the American pilot, but there was no contact with the special forces.
However, the two C-130 Hercules aircraft that had originally flown them in were damaged, so they were destroyed on the ground and replacement aircraft had to be flown in for the evacuation. Similarly, four MD-6 Little Bird helicopters were destroyed at this temporary base to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands. The E-3 Sentry entered service in 1977. Its primary operators are the US and NATO. France and Saudi Arabia also operate several units. The UK has already retired its aircraft. There have been three serious accidents in the past, two involving US aircraft and one involving a NATO aircraft. Two of these crashes resulted in no casualties, but in 1995, all 24 people on board died when the aircraft crashed in Alaska after colliding with a flock of geese.
The first combat loss occurred 49 years after the aircraft entered service. Photos of the damaged aircraft have appeared on the “Air Force AMN/NCO/SNCO” Facebook page. They show that the entire rear section of the fuselage, including the radar, was destroyed.
It should be noted for the sake of completeness that this is not the first combat loss of an AEW&C aircraft worldwide. The Russian Air Force has lost several Beriev A-50 aircraft in Ukraine. Two were shot down by Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles and several others were damaged on the ground.
Speaking of Ukraine—it has sent its specialists to several countries in the Persian Gulf region, where they have begun assisting with drone defense. According to the latest reports, they are also at Prince Sultan Air Base, helping the Americans with a system for detecting and destroying drones.
In subsequent Iranian attacks, air bases in other countries in the region were also hit. In the very first days, attacks were also directed at the British Akrotiri base in Cyprus, but it is unclear what damage was caused there. At Dubai International Airport, several civilian aircraft were damaged, including a giant Emirates Airbus A380. In Kuwait, an Italian Air Force base was struck on March 15. One Italian MQ-9 drone was destroyed in the attack, and two Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets were damaged.
It wasn’t just long-range drones from Iran that carried out attacks. Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq also used small FPV drones against U.S. bases. In Baghdad, a U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was struck in this manner on March 23, and on March 30, an Iraqi Air Force Antonov An-32 was damaged there as well. In Kuwait, CH-47 Chinook and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters were destroyed on the ground on April 3.
The U.S. and Israel also suffered significant drone losses, indicating both heavy use and the continued effectiveness of Iranian air defenses. Israel lost at least 19 drones, mostly Hermes types, while the U.S. lost 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones.
Wreckage of an F-15E shot down over Iran on April 3. Photo from open sources
MC-130 aircraft and HH-60 helicopters took part in the search and rescue operation following the downing of the F-15E. Photo: 58th Special Operations Wing
Wreckage of MC-130 aircraft and MD-6 helicopters that the Americans destroyed on the ground in Iran during their withdrawal after a successful rescue operation on April 5. Photo from open sources
Submarine torpedo attack
The Iranian navy lost virtually all of its large vessels. At the beginning of the conflict, its largest ship—the drone carrier IRIS Shahid Bagheri—was destroyed. It had only entered service in February 2025 and was sunk just a year later.
The IRIS Shahid Bagheri had been converted from the container ship Perarin, which was equipped with a ski-jump ramp at the bow. The vessel was 240 meters long, had a displacement of 41,000 tons, and could operate helicopters and unmanned systems.
Attack on the vessel IRIS Shahid Bagheri. Photo from open sources
This left Iran with only fast boats at its disposal. However, it had a large number of them and actively used them against ships stranded around the Strait of Hormuz. These boats can carry cannons, anti-ship missiles, or naval mines. The U.S. Air Force deployed A-10 attack aircraft against the Iranian boats. The United States had repeatedly planned to retire this legendary aircraft, even recently announcing that the last class of A-10 pilots had completed training. However, the resilient aircraft remains in service. It is ideal for combating small boats thanks to its characteristics: it is subsonic, highly maneuverable, has long endurance, and is highly resistant to damage—not to mention its powerful armament. This includes AGM-65 Maverick missiles, APKWS II rockets, and especially the highly effective 30 mm GAU-8/A Avenger rotary cannon.
Most of Iran’s ships were lost in airstrikes in ports or in waters near its coastline. However, one vessel stands out—it was sunk far from home by a U.S. submarine.
This occurred early in the morning on March 4 in international waters of the Indian Ocean, 19 nautical miles (35 km) south of Sri Lanka. The Los Angeles-class submarine USS Charlotte (SSN-766) fired two Mark 48 torpedoes at the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena. One torpedo hit and sank it. This was the first time since the end of World War II in 1945 that a U.S. submarine sank an enemy vessel.
The frigate IRIS Dena. Photo: Iranian MoD
Sinking of the frigate IRIS Dena. Photo from open sources
The submarine USS Charlotte. Photo: US Navy
The Mark 48 torpedo is capable of attacking fast surface targets as well as submarines at great depths. It is guided, has a caliber of 530 mm, and weighs more than 1.5 tons, including a 293 kg warhead. Its exact performance is classified, but it is reported to have a range of over 20 km at a speed of 120 km/h, with greater range at lower speeds.
The Mark 48 does not strike a surface ship directly; instead, it detonates beneath it, breaking its keel. According to released footage, this is what happened to the IRIS Dena. Although Iran classified it as a destroyer, in terms of size and armament it was closer to a small frigate. It was 95 meters long with a displacement of 1,500 tons. Its armament included a 76 mm gun, one 40 mm gun, two 20 mm guns, four Noor anti-ship missiles, six 324 mm torpedo tubes, and Sayad-2 air defense missiles.
At the time it was sunk, however, it likely carried no ammunition. IRIS Dena had previously participated in an international naval parade in India and, in accordance with participation requirements, was not armed. After being hit, it sent a distress signal, and rescue units from the Sri Lankan navy and air force were dispatched. However, the frigate sank before they arrived. They found 32 survivors and 87 bodies. Additional casualties likely remained inside the ship, as the crew is estimated to have numbered between 140 and 180.
Overall, since World War II, only three ships have been sunk by submarines in combat operations. The first case occurred on December 9, 1971, during the Indo-Pakistani War, when the Pakistani submarine PNS Hangor struck the Indian frigate INS Khukri with a guided torpedo. The second case occurred on May 2, 1982, during the Falklands War, when the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror fired three torpedoes at the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano, two of which hit and sank it. The third case occurred now during the war with Iran.
For completeness, it is also worth mentioning the sinking of the South Korean corvette ROKS Cheonan. It broke apart after an explosion on March 26, 2010. South Korea and its allies concluded that the ship was hit by a North Korean CHT-02D torpedo, remnants of which were found on the seabed. The corvette was likely sunk by a North Korean midget submarine capable of operating only near the coast. North Korea denies responsibility. This incident is usually not classified among submarine attacks on the open sea during wartime.
Ceasefire
As already mentioned, a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, mediated by Pakistan. It was originally supposed to last two weeks, but Donald Trump later extended it. Despite this, by the end of April there had been no progress in further negotiations.
The U.S. Navy has even begun blocking the Strait of Hormuz as well, stopping ships heading to or from Iranian ports or those that have paid the fee Iran started demanding. Iran, in turn, is blocking the Strait of Hormuz for all other vessels.
It is unclear how long this situation will last or what the next developments will be. However, the longer it continues, the greater the damage to the global economy will be.