After over a month of war, US forces have hit thousands of targets in Iran — all while consuming millions of meals and energy drinks, hundreds of thousands of gallons of coffee, and a lot of nicotine, the top US general said.
The US, Israel, and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement late Tuesday, halting American military action against Iran for two weeks.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shared updated numbers from Operation Epic Fury, the US military campaign against Iran. Caine said the US forces had struck more than 13,000 targets in Iran.
Among those targets were more than 4,000 dynamic targets that “popped up on the battlefield,” the general said.
Targets have ranged from Iranian air defenses to command and control infrastructure to nuclear facilities, as well as missile systems and defense industrial sites. Caine said the US has destroyed more than 2,000 command and control nodes.
Per Caine’s estimates, roughly 80% of Iran’s air defense systems are destroyed, equating to more than 1,500 targets. Over 155 Iranian naval vessels have been damaged or destroyed as well. The US also struck more than 700 naval mine targets, destroying more than 95% of Iranian naval mines.
The country’s defense industrial capacity has also been devastated. Caine said 450 ballistic missile storage facilities and 800 one-way attack drone storage facilities had been destroyed, including roughly 90% of Iran’s weaponry factories, including “every factory” that makes Shahed drones.
Throughout the operation, American and Gulf state allies have intercepted around 1,700 ballistic missiles along with numerous one-way attack drones from Iran. Iran’s firing rate has decreased since the start of war but remained steady in recent days.
Caine also shared other operation numbers in the briefing. Throughout the operation, Caine said, “We consumed more than six million meals, and by my estimate, more than 950,000 gallons of coffee, two million energy drinks, and a lot of nicotine. But I am not saying that we have a problem.”
The US has also further burned through key munitions already facing strained stockpiles, including an estimated more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles, the most ever used in a single military campaign.
The US military has also seen asset losses and damage, with three crewed fighters lost to friendly fire, a refueling tanker to a crash, and two aircraft to enemy fire. Multiple drones, specifically Reaper drones, have been lost as well. Additionally, the most advanced aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, suffered a severe onboard fire that forced it into port for repairs.
A more sobering statistic from Epic Fury is the death of 13 American service members and, as of last Friday, a total of 365 personnel wounded in action. The US military says 315 of the injured personnel have already returned to duty. Caine said that a total of 50,000 US military personnel have participated in this operation.
Based on local estimates, thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East, with tens of thousands more injured.
Iran’s health ministry has reported over 2,000 people have been killed, with over 20,000 wounded. The US-based human rights group HRANA has said around 3,540 people have been killed since the war began, including 1,665 civilians, and at least 248 children.
With a ceasefire now in effect, US military leadership said its forces will remain in the area to ensure compliance.
“We’ll be hanging around,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Wednesday. “We’re gonna make sure Iran complies with this ceasefire and then ultimately comes to the table and makes a deal.”
The US has amassed a substantial force presence in and around the Middle East, including bombers, fighter jets, electronic warfare assets, refueling aircraft, Patriot and THAAD missile defense systems, counter-drone technologies, and naval vessels.
Estimates on the cost of the war with Iran vary. The first six days of the conflict cost around $11.3 billion and increased to $16.5 billion by day 12, according to estimates from the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
The daily cost of the war has decreased as the operational tempo has evened out, but the total cost will continue to rise, with some estimates predicting as much as $50 billion.
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