A major combined air offensive by the United States and Israel is systematically degrading Iran’s missile infrastructure in an operation that officials and experts are calling one of modern warfare’s most synchronized allied efforts.
The Secretary of War stated that the campaign is swiftly achieving air superiority over Iran.
“Beginning last night and concluding within days … the planet’s two strongest air forces will possess total command of Iranian airspace,” Hegseth remarked on Wednesday. “Unchallenged skies.”
“Our aircraft will operate around the clock … over Tehran, over Iran, over their capital… Iran’s leadership will look up and witness nothing but U.S. and Israeli air dominance every minute of every day until we choose to end it.”
In an exclusive Tuesday interview with Digital, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin stated, “The collaboration with the American military is extraordinary. We engage in joint planning and joint execution of operations within Iran and elsewhere.”
John Spencer, the Urban Warfare Institute’s executive director, commented to Digital on the initial U.S. airpower onslaught.
“Israel fielded an equal number of aircraft to the United States,” Spencer noted. “For Israel, that constitutes about 80% of its total air force strength.”
He further said that the degree of coordination between Washington and Jerusalem establishes a new paradigm for coalition warfare.
“This isn’t independent action,” Spencer explained. “This is unified action. Fully integrated and synchronized operations that merge capabilities.”
“Historically, we’ve seen coalitions of many nations,” Spencer added. “However, a partner that is both ready and able to contribute such massive force is exceptionally uncommon.”
The Israeli offensive, dubbed Operation Roaring Lion, commenced with approximately 200 fighter jets conducting the most extensive coordinated air mission ever undertaken by the Israeli Air Force.
According to the Israeli military, within the campaign’s initial day, its fighter jets had secured a corridor enabling persistent operations over Tehran.
In a first wave, Israeli planes hit systems throughout western and central Iran, striking hundreds of locations at once based on intelligence from Israel’s Intelligence Directorate and the CIA.
They released hundreds of ordnance on roughly 500 targets, such as missile launchers, command hubs, and air defense installations.
Israeli intelligence head Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder said the initial attack attained a degree of surprise uncommon in contemporary conflict.
“Within 40 seconds, we removed more than 40 of Iran’s most significant figures,” Binder stated, alluding to high-ranking regime and military leaders, including Iran’s Supreme Leader. “We are delivering an unambiguous message to our adversaries — there is no sanctuary we cannot reach.”
Spencer asserted that the opening strike’s tactics signify a radical change in modern combat.
“Israel’s actions in this initial phase were previously inconceivable in military history. It is unprecedented,” he said. “To begin by decapitating the leadership… typically, you first engage military forces. Here, they aimed at the political and military command structure and possessed the capacity to eradicate them within hours.”
Spencer, a veteran of the 2003 Iraq War, said the mission demonstrates progress in intelligence and precision strike technology.
“I participated in the 2003 invasion,” he recalled. “An operation of this nature was unimaginable just two decades ago.”
An IDF spokesperson declared a historic achievement on Wednesday: an Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet destroyed an Iranian plane, recording the first-ever combat kill by an F-35 against a manned aircraft globally and the first Israeli air-to-air victory in 40 years.
Figures released Wednesday show that since the operation began, Israeli planes have flown over 1,600 sorties and used more than 5,000 munitions.
Per the IDF, the attacks have demolished approximately 300 missile launchers and struck over 600 Iranian military infrastructure locations.
Pre-operation Israeli intelligence estimates suggested Iran was speeding up its missile program, aiming for 8,000 missiles by 2027. Israel assessed Iran held about 3,000 missiles when the campaign started.
The IDF reports the strikes have already halted the manufacture of at least 1,500 ballistic missiles and ruined hundreds more from Iran’s existing stockpile.
Israeli authorities state the missile initiative posed a direct threat not only to Israel but also to U.S. forces and regional allies.
“A regime that openly avows its goal to annihilate the State of Israel possessing missiles represents an existential danger,” the IDF stated.
Six individuals have been killed, and multiple others wounded, during Operation Epic Fury.
Israeli emergency services reported that, as of Wednesday night, 13 civilians in Israel had been killed and over 1,000 injured by Iranian missile and drone attacks retaliating for the operation. The United Arab Emirates has recorded three fatalities and 68 injuries since hostilities began.
Accurate casualty numbers in Iran are still hard to confirm. Media accounts indicate dozens were killed in the campaign’s opening stage, with more military personnel and civilians dying after strikes on military sites and infrastructure.
With the conflict widening beyond Iran, Israeli forces have hit more than 160 targets in recent days. To maintain the multi-front effort, Israel has called up around 110,000 reservists.
“Wars are tests of resolve,” Spencer concluded. “Iran’s approach is to shatter the United States’ and Israel’s determination to proceed. The issue is whether they can withstand the strain sufficiently to achieve that.”