Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces will begin swapping out the long-range munitions it used in the earliest stages of the conflict with Iran, such as the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile launched from Navy destroyers, as they achieve complete air superiority.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday at the Pentagon, Mr. Hegseth said Operation Epic Fury has delivered twice the air power of the 2003 Shock and Awe invasion of Iraq in 2003 and seven times the intensity of Israel’s airstrikes against Iran during Operation Rising Lion in June.
“As President Trump said, more and larger waves are coming. We’re just getting started,” he said. “More bombers and more fighters are arriving today.”
Complete control of the skies over Iran means U.S. air crews will begin using 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-pound GPS and laser-guided precision gravity bombs, of which the U.S. has a “nearly unlimited stockpile,” Mr. Hegseth said.
“We used more exquisite standoff munitions at the start, but no longer need to,” he said. “Our stockpiles of those — as well as Patriots — remain extremely strong.”
Pentagon officials said Iran is quickly drawing down its combat stores and can’t launch wave after wave of missiles as it did in the first stage of the conflict.
“Our defenses and those of our allies have plenty of runway. We can sustain this fight as easily as we need to,” Mr. Hegseth said. “And as I said yesterday, we set the terms.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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