U.S. Central Command Reveals Air Combat and Electronic Warfare Assets in Operation Epic Fury’s First 24h
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U.S. Central Command confirmed that American air combat and electronic warfare platforms led the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, a large-scale campaign targeting Iranian military infrastructure. The opening wave highlights how U.S. forces now integrate stealth aircraft, uncrewed systems, and spectrum warfare to suppress defenses and shape the battlespace at the outset of high-end conflict.
On March 1, 2026, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released a fact sheet and infographic outlining the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, the large-scale air and missile campaign targeting Iranian military infrastructure. Published via CENTCOM’s official X account, the document details the extensive array of air combat and electronic warfare assets deployed under presidential authorization to dismantle what Washington characterizes as Iran’s “security apparatus” and counter imminent threats. Beyond the sheer number of strikes, the asset list underscores how U.S. tactical airpower now fuses stealth, uncrewed platforms, and spectrum warfare into a single, integrated strike architecture. The structure of Epic Fury’s air component positions the operation as a pivotal case study in the evolution of high-intensity air campaigns.
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U.S. Central Command detailed how American stealth aircraft, electronic warfare platforms, and strike assets led the opening 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury against Iranian military infrastructure (Picture Source: U.S. Air Force / U.S. Navy / U.S. CENTCOM Edited by Army Recognition Group)
As detailed in the CENTCOM report, the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury centered on a comprehensive air combat and electronic warfare architecture built to ensure air superiority, precision strike capability, suppression of enemy air defenses, and dominance across the electromagnetic spectrum. The campaign’s penetrating layer comprised B-2 stealth bombers and F-22 and F-35 fighters, supported by F-16 and F/A-18 multirole aircraft and A-10 close air support platforms providing sustained firepower once the most advanced defenses were suppressed. Complementing these were EA-18G electronic attack aircraft, LUCAS one-way attack drones, MQ-9 Reaper UAVs, airborne early warning and control systems, RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, and dedicated communications relays, forming a network designed not merely to strike discrete targets, but to reshape the air and electromagnetic environment over critical areas of Iran for the duration of the operation.
At the apex of this force structure are the penetrating strike and air-dominance platforms. B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, operating from extended ranges, have been employed to deliver 2,000-pound precision-guided munitions against Iranian ballistic missile complexes and hardened infrastructure deemed critical to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace and command networks. Complementing these missions, F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning II fighters secure air superiority and conduct early suppression of enemy air defenses. Leveraging their low observability, sensor fusion, and networked situational awareness, they can detect, track, and target air defense radars, surface-to-air missile systems, and adversary aircraft while remaining largely undetectable. Operationally, these platforms not only deliver high-value strikes but also establish corridors and temporal windows that enable follow-on forces to operate with reduced risk, effectively redrawing the usable airspace over Iran during the campaign’s opening phase.
Once this initial phase has degraded the most sophisticated air defense assets, the focus transitions to multirole tactical aircraft and close air support. F-16 and F/A-18 fighters, listed by CENTCOM among assets committed during the first 24 hours, provide the volume and persistence of precision fires needed to sustain pressure on command centers, airfields, naval bases, and communications hubs across multiple sectors. Armed with guided bombs and stand-off munitions, these aircraft can rapidly re-engage surviving infrastructure, prosecute time-sensitive targets, and reinforce the overall air superiority posture as conditions evolve. A-10 attack jets, optimized for low-altitude precision engagement, introduce an additional layer of deliberate, controlled firepower against dispersed ground forces or mobile missile units operating beyond heavily defended areas. Collectively, these fourth-generation assets extend and consolidate the tactical advantages created by stealth and electronic warfare, translating short-lived openings into continuous, theater-wide effects.
Epic Fury also introduces a new layer of uncrewed strike and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance into this air combat picture. CENTCOM confirms the first operational use of LUCAS (Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System) one-way attack drones, long-range kamikaze platforms inspired by Iran’s own Shahed-type loitering munitions and developed to offer “affordable mass” at a fraction of the cost of a manned aircraft or cruise missile. Operating alongside MQ-9 Reapers, these drones can loiter over contested areas, probe air defenses, strike radar and missile sites or attack secondary targets such as radar relays and logistics nodes. By compelling air defense units to switch on radars and expend interceptors against low-cost threats, they form part of the suppression of enemy air defense architecture and help preserve high-value manned aircraft for missions where their unique sensors and survivability are indispensable. At the same time, persistent ISR from MQ-9 platforms supports battle damage assessment and rapid retargeting, sustaining the tempo of operations without exposing aircrews.
Command of the electromagnetic spectrum and the aerial battlespace represents another defining pillar of the operation. EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, derived from the F/A-18 platform, are tasked with jamming surveillance and fire-control radars, disrupting communications networks, and enabling the employment of anti-radiation and stand-off munitions against active emitters. Airborne early warning and control aircraft establish persistent radar coverage and airborne command nodes, directing fighter patrols, deconflicting high-density airspace, and cueing intercepts against residual Iranian aircraft or missile launches. Supporting this architecture, RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and specialized airborne communications relays extend the network’s reach, gathering electronic intelligence, detecting new emitters, and ensuring the rapid distribution of sensor data to strike platforms across the theater. The result is a sustained information advantage: even as Iran attempts to retaliate with its own missiles and drones, electromagnetic conditions and situational awareness remain decisively shaped by U.S. systems.
These air combat and electronic warfare assets do not operate in isolation; they are tied into a wider framework of missile defense and joint fires. Patriot and THAAD systems deployed in the region protect bases and partner territories against Iranian missile salvos, giving CENTCOM greater freedom to sustain air operations over time. At sea, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and guided-missile destroyers launch carrier air wings and Tomahawk cruise missiles, while land-based M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems add long-range precision fires from forward positions. Maritime patrol aircraft such as the P-8 and other naval ISR platforms track ships and submarines, feeding target data back into the same air and electronic warfare network. This integrated approach is central to the campaign’s tactical logic: air superiority, strike, SEAD, missile defense and maritime control are treated as mutually reinforcing rather than separate efforts.
Geostrategically, the composition of Operation Epic Fury’s air combat and electronic warfare package conveys multiple, simultaneous messages. To potential adversaries, it demonstrates that U.S. airpower is no longer defined solely by individual high-performance platforms, but by the seamless integration of stealth aircraft, multirole fighters, uncrewed systems, and spectrum-warfare assets into a cohesive and resilient architecture capable of penetrating and operating over large, heavily defended states. To regional partners across the CENTCOM area of responsibility, the deliberate employment of these assets, supported by missile defense, intelligence, and logistics networks, signals that the United States retains both the resolve and the technological capacity to safeguard critical infrastructure and maintain freedom of navigation along key sea lines of communication. For observers in other theaters, particularly the Indo-Pacific, the opening phase over Iran offers a preview of how future U.S. air campaigns could combine affordable uncrewed mass, advanced warfighters, and dense electromagnetic coordination to achieve dominance in high-threat environments.
By disclosing the array of air combat and electronic warfare assets employed during the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, CENTCOM has offered a rare insight into the structure and conduct of modern U.S. tactical airpower. Stealth bombers and fifth-generation fighters shape and open the battlespace; multirole and attack aircraft sustain precision fires; uncrewed platforms provide mass, reach, and persistence; and electronic warfare systems integrate the entire architecture through control of the electromagnetic domain. Official messaging frames this coordinated effort as a defensive necessity, aimed at dismantling capabilities that present imminent threats, while simultaneously reinforcing U.S. commitment to regional stability and allied assurance. In that sense, the aircraft and drones listed within a single CENTCOM infographic encapsulate more than a force composition: they illustrate the emerging operational model of integrated airpower that will define major campaigns for the foreseeable future.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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U.S. Central Command confirmed that American air combat and electronic warfare platforms led the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, a large-scale campaign targeting Iranian military infrastructure. The opening wave highlights how U.S. forces now integrate stealth aircraft, uncrewed systems, and spectrum warfare to suppress defenses and shape the battlespace at the outset of high-end conflict.
On March 1, 2026, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released a fact sheet and infographic outlining the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, the large-scale air and missile campaign targeting Iranian military infrastructure. Published via CENTCOM’s official X account, the document details the extensive array of air combat and electronic warfare assets deployed under presidential authorization to dismantle what Washington characterizes as Iran’s “security apparatus” and counter imminent threats. Beyond the sheer number of strikes, the asset list underscores how U.S. tactical airpower now fuses stealth, uncrewed platforms, and spectrum warfare into a single, integrated strike architecture. The structure of Epic Fury’s air component positions the operation as a pivotal case study in the evolution of high-intensity air campaigns.
U.S. Central Command detailed how American stealth aircraft, electronic warfare platforms, and strike assets led the opening 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury against Iranian military infrastructure (Picture Source: U.S. Air Force / U.S. Navy / U.S. CENTCOM Edited by Army Recognition Group)
As detailed in the CENTCOM report, the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury centered on a comprehensive air combat and electronic warfare architecture built to ensure air superiority, precision strike capability, suppression of enemy air defenses, and dominance across the electromagnetic spectrum. The campaign’s penetrating layer comprised B-2 stealth bombers and F-22 and F-35 fighters, supported by F-16 and F/A-18 multirole aircraft and A-10 close air support platforms providing sustained firepower once the most advanced defenses were suppressed. Complementing these were EA-18G electronic attack aircraft, LUCAS one-way attack drones, MQ-9 Reaper UAVs, airborne early warning and control systems, RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, and dedicated communications relays, forming a network designed not merely to strike discrete targets, but to reshape the air and electromagnetic environment over critical areas of Iran for the duration of the operation.
At the apex of this force structure are the penetrating strike and air-dominance platforms. B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, operating from extended ranges, have been employed to deliver 2,000-pound precision-guided munitions against Iranian ballistic missile complexes and hardened infrastructure deemed critical to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace and command networks. Complementing these missions, F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning II fighters secure air superiority and conduct early suppression of enemy air defenses. Leveraging their low observability, sensor fusion, and networked situational awareness, they can detect, track, and target air defense radars, surface-to-air missile systems, and adversary aircraft while remaining largely undetectable. Operationally, these platforms not only deliver high-value strikes but also establish corridors and temporal windows that enable follow-on forces to operate with reduced risk, effectively redrawing the usable airspace over Iran during the campaign’s opening phase.
Once this initial phase has degraded the most sophisticated air defense assets, the focus transitions to multirole tactical aircraft and close air support. F-16 and F/A-18 fighters, listed by CENTCOM among assets committed during the first 24 hours, provide the volume and persistence of precision fires needed to sustain pressure on command centers, airfields, naval bases, and communications hubs across multiple sectors. Armed with guided bombs and stand-off munitions, these aircraft can rapidly re-engage surviving infrastructure, prosecute time-sensitive targets, and reinforce the overall air superiority posture as conditions evolve. A-10 attack jets, optimized for low-altitude precision engagement, introduce an additional layer of deliberate, controlled firepower against dispersed ground forces or mobile missile units operating beyond heavily defended areas. Collectively, these fourth-generation assets extend and consolidate the tactical advantages created by stealth and electronic warfare, translating short-lived openings into continuous, theater-wide effects.
Epic Fury also introduces a new layer of uncrewed strike and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance into this air combat picture. CENTCOM confirms the first operational use of LUCAS (Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System) one-way attack drones, long-range kamikaze platforms inspired by Iran’s own Shahed-type loitering munitions and developed to offer “affordable mass” at a fraction of the cost of a manned aircraft or cruise missile. Operating alongside MQ-9 Reapers, these drones can loiter over contested areas, probe air defenses, strike radar and missile sites or attack secondary targets such as radar relays and logistics nodes. By compelling air defense units to switch on radars and expend interceptors against low-cost threats, they form part of the suppression of enemy air defense architecture and help preserve high-value manned aircraft for missions where their unique sensors and survivability are indispensable. At the same time, persistent ISR from MQ-9 platforms supports battle damage assessment and rapid retargeting, sustaining the tempo of operations without exposing aircrews.
Command of the electromagnetic spectrum and the aerial battlespace represents another defining pillar of the operation. EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, derived from the F/A-18 platform, are tasked with jamming surveillance and fire-control radars, disrupting communications networks, and enabling the employment of anti-radiation and stand-off munitions against active emitters. Airborne early warning and control aircraft establish persistent radar coverage and airborne command nodes, directing fighter patrols, deconflicting high-density airspace, and cueing intercepts against residual Iranian aircraft or missile launches. Supporting this architecture, RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and specialized airborne communications relays extend the network’s reach, gathering electronic intelligence, detecting new emitters, and ensuring the rapid distribution of sensor data to strike platforms across the theater. The result is a sustained information advantage: even as Iran attempts to retaliate with its own missiles and drones, electromagnetic conditions and situational awareness remain decisively shaped by U.S. systems.
These air combat and electronic warfare assets do not operate in isolation; they are tied into a wider framework of missile defense and joint fires. Patriot and THAAD systems deployed in the region protect bases and partner territories against Iranian missile salvos, giving CENTCOM greater freedom to sustain air operations over time. At sea, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and guided-missile destroyers launch carrier air wings and Tomahawk cruise missiles, while land-based M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems add long-range precision fires from forward positions. Maritime patrol aircraft such as the P-8 and other naval ISR platforms track ships and submarines, feeding target data back into the same air and electronic warfare network. This integrated approach is central to the campaign’s tactical logic: air superiority, strike, SEAD, missile defense and maritime control are treated as mutually reinforcing rather than separate efforts.
Geostrategically, the composition of Operation Epic Fury’s air combat and electronic warfare package conveys multiple, simultaneous messages. To potential adversaries, it demonstrates that U.S. airpower is no longer defined solely by individual high-performance platforms, but by the seamless integration of stealth aircraft, multirole fighters, uncrewed systems, and spectrum-warfare assets into a cohesive and resilient architecture capable of penetrating and operating over large, heavily defended states. To regional partners across the CENTCOM area of responsibility, the deliberate employment of these assets, supported by missile defense, intelligence, and logistics networks, signals that the United States retains both the resolve and the technological capacity to safeguard critical infrastructure and maintain freedom of navigation along key sea lines of communication. For observers in other theaters, particularly the Indo-Pacific, the opening phase over Iran offers a preview of how future U.S. air campaigns could combine affordable uncrewed mass, advanced warfighters, and dense electromagnetic coordination to achieve dominance in high-threat environments.
By disclosing the array of air combat and electronic warfare assets employed during the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, CENTCOM has offered a rare insight into the structure and conduct of modern U.S. tactical airpower. Stealth bombers and fifth-generation fighters shape and open the battlespace; multirole and attack aircraft sustain precision fires; uncrewed platforms provide mass, reach, and persistence; and electronic warfare systems integrate the entire architecture through control of the electromagnetic domain. Official messaging frames this coordinated effort as a defensive necessity, aimed at dismantling capabilities that present imminent threats, while simultaneously reinforcing U.S. commitment to regional stability and allied assurance. In that sense, the aircraft and drones listed within a single CENTCOM infographic encapsulate more than a force composition: they illustrate the emerging operational model of integrated airpower that will define major campaigns for the foreseeable future.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
