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“Iran’s theater ballistic missile shots fired are down 86% from the first day of fighting, with a 23% decrease in the last 24 hours,” Caine told reporters.
The collapse of Iran’s strike capacity extends beyond missiles.
“Iran’s ‘one-way attack drone shots are down 73% from the opening days,” Caine added, highlighting the rapid degradation of Tehran’s drone warfare network.
For years, Iran has relied heavily on ballistic missiles and attack drones as its primary tools for projecting power across the Middle East. Those systems have been used to threaten Israel, harass U.S. troops in the region, and intimidate shipping routes critical to global trade.
But U.S. commanders now say those capabilities are being dismantled at a remarkable pace.
According to Caine, the early phase of the campaign focused on creating control of the skies along Iran’s southern coastline. Establishing air dominance allowed American forces to systematically dismantle Iranian defensive systems before launching deeper attacks.
“CENTCOM began by establishing localized air superiority across the southern flank of Iran’s coast,” Caine explained.
With Iran’s air defenses weakened, American forces moved quickly to break through the regime’s protective shield.
“CENTCOM penetrated their defenses with overwhelming precision and firepower, and will now expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory – creating additional freedom of maneuver for US forces.”
That next phase of the operation is already underway.
Pentagon officials say U.S. forces are now pushing deeper into Iranian territory, targeting the logistical backbone that allows the regime’s military to function.
Instead of focusing only on launch sites, the campaign is hitting command nodes, transportation networks, weapons depots, and infrastructure used to sustain Iran’s military operations.
Military planners believe that dismantling these support systems will make it increasingly difficult for Tehran to continue fighting, even if some missile or drone units remain intact.
The results are already becoming visible on the battlefield.
The dramatic reduction in missile and drone launches suggests that Iran’s stockpiles are shrinking and that its launch capabilities are being disrupted faster than the regime can recover.
U.S. officials say the strikes have also dealt heavy damage to Iran’s naval assets, which play a critical role in controlling key waterways and threatening commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf and surrounding regions.
Air defense systems protecting those installations have also taken significant hits, leaving more of Iran’s military infrastructure vulnerable to follow-on strikes.
For U.S. commanders, the drop in retaliatory attacks is a key indicator that the strategy is working.
While Iran continues to attempt limited responses, the volume of incoming missiles and drones has plummeted since the early days of the conflict.
American officials say that decline reflects multiple pressures hitting the regime simultaneously: fewer operational launch sites, disrupted command-and-control systems, and the destruction of critical military hardware.
Caine’s briefing made clear that the operation is far from over.
Instead, the campaign is transitioning into a new stage aimed at expanding the scope of the strikes beyond the coastal defenses that were targeted first.
By moving deeper into Iran’s interior, U.S. forces hope to pressure remaining military hubs, weapons factories, and strategic infrastructure tied directly to the regime’s leadership.
Supporters of the campaign argue that the early results are exactly what military planners hoped to achieve.
Fewer missile launches.
Fewer drone attacks.
And a regime that appears to be rapidly losing its ability to project force across the region.
If the current trajectory continues, the Pentagon believes Iran’s military capacity could face even deeper setbacks in the coming days as Operation Epic Fury expands further into the heart of the regime’s war machine.
