Washington, March 10 – The United States said Tuesday that Iranian missile and drone capabilities have been significantly degraded during the first 10 days of "Operation Epic Fury," with ballistic missile attacks dropping sharply as American strikes intensify.
Speaking at the Pentagon, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine said the campaign was steadily dismantling Iran’s ability to strike US forces and partners across the region.
“Ballistic missile attacks continue to trend downward, down to 90 per cent from where they started,” Caine said. “And the number of attack drones used has decreased by 83 per cent since the beginning of the operation, which is a testament to our air defenses and our air defense systems.”
Caine said US forces and regional partners had struck thousands of targets since the campaign began.
“To date, they have struck more than 5000 targets,” he said, adding that US Strategic Command bombers had recently dropped “dozens of 2,000-pound GPS-guided weapons on deeply buried missile launchers across the southern flank.”
The Pentagon said the operation remains focused on three core objectives: degrading Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, targeting its navy, and striking deeper into its military-industrial infrastructure.
Caine said the first objective was aimed at preventing attacks against American forces and partners.
“This means attacking launch sites, command and control nodes, and stockpiles before they can threaten our personnel, our facilities, and our partners,” he said.
The second objective is to weaken Iran’s naval forces in the Gulf.
“In the first 10 days of the conflict, we have used a combination of artillery, fighters, bombers, and sea-launched missiles to target more than 50 Iranian naval ships,” Caine said.
He noted that US forces had also struck and sunk an Iranian drone carrier ship and were continuing operations against mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities.
The third objective targets Iran’s broader military and industrial network.
“We have begun to target Iran’s military and industrial complex, again focusing on centers of gravity to get ahead of the shooters in the field,” Caine said.
Hegseth said the campaign is being executed with overwhelming force.
“We are crushing the enemy through overwhelming technical skill and military force,” he said. “We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated.”
The Defence Secretary also said the next phase of the operation would bring an even heavier wave of strikes.
“For example, today will be our most intense day of strikes inside Iran. We will use the maximum number of fighters, the maximum number of bombers, and the maximum number of strikes,” Hegseth said.
At the same time, he insisted the campaign would remain limited in scope.
“This is not endless. It is not protracted. We are not allowing mission creep,” he said. “The President has set a very specific goal to achieve.”
Hegseth said the goal remained preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and neutralizing its ability to threaten US forces.
“Our three objectives are to destroy their missile stockpiles, destroy their navy, and permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons,” he said.