Update on Operation Epic Fury

I'm Admiral Brad Cooper here at United States Central Command,

where I'm leading the forces executing Operation Epic Fury.

First, I want you to know that we continue to keep the families of our

fallen heroes and our wounded teammates in our thoughts and prayers.

I'd also like to acknowledge and thank the families of the 50

000 American servicemen and women deployed in and around the Middle East.

I'm grateful for your selfless sacrifice,

and I know that Americans across the country hold you in their hearts.

Let me start by offering my overall assessment of Operation Epic Fury.

In short, U S.

forces continue delivering devastating combat power against the Iranian regime.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating. U S.

combat power is building,

Iranian combat power is declining.

And we remain centered on

very clear military objectives in eliminating Iran's ability to

project power against Americans and against its neighbors.

Every day, we're striking hard at Iranian ballistic missile and drones.

To date, we have struck more than 5 500 targets inside Iran,

including more than 60 ships,

using a variety of precision weapons systems.

Just yesterday, we had strike waves nearly every

hour from different locations and directions going into Iran.

We also took out the last

of four Soleimani class warships.

That's an entire class

of Iranian ships now out of the fight.

I'd characterize our strikes as being unpredictable,

dynamic, and decisive.

Since the first 24 hours of this campaign,

Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks have dropped drastically.

But it's worth pointing

out that Iranian forces continue to deliberately target innocent civilians in

Gulf countries while hiding behind their own people as

they launch attacks from highly populated cities in Iran.

Of course, forces executing Operation Epicure

aren't just defending against Iranian threats.

We are methodically dismantling them by hitting

Iranian missiles and drones as we also strike their defense industrial base.

Just last night,

our bomber force hit a large ballistic missile manufacturing facility as an example.

So it's not just about what's shooting at us today.

It's also about eliminating the threat in the future.

Now, let me show you a few

of the results from the tremendous efforts by America's Joint Force.

Here, you see an Iranian Jamaran class warship, a large patrol ship,

a drone smuggling vessel,

and four other surface combatants docked at Chabahar Port in the Gulf of Oman,

the day before we launched Operation Epic Fury.

Here's the same pier four days later, all ships taken out of action.

This Bayandar class surface ship was hit and rolled on its side.

Here's another example.

Here, you see two Iranian surface combatants

docked at an Iranian naval base near the Strait of Hormuz,

just hours into the campaign.

And here's what they looked like three days later,

engulfed in flames after we struck them with a precision weapon.

For years, the Iranian regime has threatened commercial shipping and U S.

forces in international waters.

Our mission is to end their ability to project power and harass shipping in the

Strait of From the air,

we've achieved a concentration of air power with back to back waves of advanced

fighters creating constant pressure on the enemy every single day.

Our dominance is not a solo effort,

it's a testament to the strength of our ironclad alliances.

We continue to

coordinate closely and effectively with Israel in this very large operation,

and we are also

coordinating and serving side by side with all of our partners in the Middle East.

We're on a path

to eliminating Iran's ability to threaten Americans and our friends,

and we are achieving this through a combination of lethality,

precision, and rapid innovation.

Let me highlight a few examples,

at least the ones that aren't classified,

of how we are achieving lethal effects in entirely new ways.

First, our warfighters are leveraging a variety of advanced AI tools.

These systems help us sift through vast amounts of data in seconds,

so our leaders can cut through the noise and make smarter decisions faster than

the enemy can react.

Humans will always make final decisions on what to shoot and what not to shoot,

and when to shoot, but advanced AI tools can turn processes that used to take hours

and sometimes even days into seconds.

I continue to be impressed with all the branches of the U S. military.

The entire team is performing superbly.

Strike operations from our Joint Force continue.

As I've said, I

assess that we are clearly exercising air superiority over vast swaths of Iran.

We have the most integrated air defense umbrella in the Middle East,

and our defensive operations from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps,

and Space Force teams are performing magnificently.

A note about the Space Force.

Our space superiority has

been a critical enabler to this fight.

Unseen by the world,

the Space Force is doing two things.

First, they're degrading Iranian capability, and second,

they're helping to protect American forces.

And I'll have to leave it right there.

All told, despite this incredible progress, make no mistake,

we remain highly vigilant.

And I just could not be prouder of our Operation Epic Fury team,

and I know the American people share that same pride.

To all our warriors out

there, please keep up the great work and Godspeed. Thanks so much.