The U.S. military used cheap attack drones in its opening operations for the first time in combat against Iran, Central Command confirmed on Saturday afternoon.
The joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes, called Operation Epic Fury, on Iran early Saturday morning, were the beginning of a broad military campaign seemingly designed to topple the regime that has been in power in Tehran since the 1979 revolution.
“CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike employed low-cost one-way attack drones for the first time in combat,” CENTCOM said in a statement shared on social media.
THE US AND ISRAEL ATTACKED IRAN: WHAT WE KNOW
The U.S. military is trying to quickly expand its drone and counter-drone weapons as the technology rapidly evolves. Drone proliferation and improving technology has dominated the Russia-Ukraine war and has provided a blueprint for the United States. Iran, which has its own drone program, provided hundreds of drones and its manufacturing strategy to Russia for use in the war.
CENTCOM said the drones used were “modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones,” and that they “are now delivering American-made retribution.”
The CENTCOM statement also noted that U.S. forces initially hit targets designed to “dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that posed an imminent threat. Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields.”
The operation was the “largest regional concentration” of the American military’s firepower “in a generation,” the statement continued.
Iran subsequently launched hundreds of missiles and drones targeting Israel and U.S. bases in several Gulf State countries. There have been no reported U.S. casualties related to combat.
“Following the initial wave of U.S. and partner strikes, CENTCOM forces successfully defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks. There have been no reports of U.S. casualties or combat-related injuries. Damage to U.S. installations was minimal and has not impacted operations,” the statement said.
READ IN FULL: TRUMP ADDRESS ON IRAN OPERATION
But President Donald Trump warned in a video released on social media that the U.S. “may have casualties, that often happens in war.” Trump said he approved a “massive and ongoing operation” against Iran, and he urged the Iranian people to overthrow the Iranian government once the war is over.
“When we are finished, take over your government,” he said in a video released on social media about an hour after the U.S.-Israel attacks began. “It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations.”
