Washington, March 11 – US fighter aircraft are operating deep inside Iranian airspace with “relative impunity” after much of Iran’s advanced air defense network was neutralized during the first phase of Washington’s military campaign, the Pentagon said.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, told reporters that many of Iran’s advanced surface-to-air missile systems were no longer posing a significant threat to US aircraft as Operation Epic Fury entered its second week.
“Most of their advanced surface-to-air missile systems are not a factor at this point,” Caine said during a press briefing at the Pentagon alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“We are able to move fighters around with relative impunity.”
The remarks offered one of the clearest indications yet from US military leaders that Iran’s air defense capability has been severely degraded after days of intensive American air strikes across the country.
Caine said that the US-led campaign had already struck more than 5,000 targets since the operation began, including missile launch sites, drone facilities, and other military infrastructure across Iran.
“US Strategic Command bombers recently dropped dozens of 2,000-pound GPS-guided weapons on deeply buried missile launchers across the southern flank,” he said.
American forces have also targeted Iran’s drone manufacturing network.
“We have also struck several one-way drone factories to disrupt their autonomous capabilities,” Caine added.
According to the Pentagon, the sustained air campaign has sharply reduced the number of missile and drone attacks launched by Iran since the conflict began.
“Ballistic missile attacks continue to decline by 90 percent from their initial levels,” Caine said.
He added that “one-way attack drones have decreased by 83 percent since the beginning of the operation”.
The campaign has also focused on crippling Iran’s naval capabilities in the Gulf.
“We have used a combination of artillery, fighters, bombers, and sea-launched missiles to engage more than 50 Iranian naval ships,” the chairman said.
Among the vessels destroyed was an Iranian drone carrier ship that had been used to support unmanned aerial operations.
Pentagon officials said the air dominance achieved by the United States is allowing aircraft to push deeper inside Iranian territory to strike military production facilities and infrastructure related to missile and drone development.
“We have begun to target Iran’s military and industrial complex,” Caine said, adding that the strikes were aimed at “production facilities, research and development sites, and infrastructure”.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the campaign was delivering “overwhelming and unrelenting precision” as US forces moved to dismantle Iran’s missile program and military capabilities.
“We are crushing the enemy through overwhelming technical skill and military force,” Hegseth said.
He said the operation remained focused on three core objectives: destroying Iran’s missile stockpiles and launchers, crippling its navy, and ensuring that the regime could never obtain nuclear weapons.
“We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated,” Hegseth said.
At the same time, the chairman cautioned that combat risks remained despite the weakening of Iran’s air defenses.
“There is always some risk,” Caine said, adding that US forces retained the ability to conduct search and rescue operations if aircraft were threatened.
The Pentagon also said the campaign was continuing to evolve as Iranian forces adapted their tactics on the battlefield.
“They are adapting, as are we,” Caine said, adding, “I think they are fighting, and I respect that, but I don't think they are more formidable than we initially thought.”