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US Air Force Details Grueling Toll of Epic Fury Campaign
(MENAFN) US Air Force personnel backing Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East endured roughly 1,200 "Alarm Red" alerts triggered by Iranian missile and drone strikes, carried out 48 emergency runway repairs, and ran more than 400 sweeps for unexploded ordnance, a top military official disclosed Monday.
Gen. Ken Wilsbach, the Air Force's chief of staff, told attendees at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference that the operation would stand as a case study in operational scale, precision, and speed.
Wilsbach reported that across 38-plus days of active combat, the Joint Force struck upward of 13,000 military targets. A 500-aircraft fleet flew 10,000 sorties total, sustaining a pace exceeding 250 flights per day, he said — all while crews handled urgent infrastructure repairs and carried out more than 420 reportable bomb-disposal missions while under direct fire.
Those combat operations unfolded during the broader Iran war, which erupted Feb. 28 when joint US-Israeli forces struck Iranian leadership and military infrastructure.
Although the campaign weakened Iranian military positions, American installations throughout the Gulf region and Jordan have absorbed retaliatory missile and drone barrages in return — attacks that have significantly drained interceptor supplies and inflicted operational damage on US facilities.
The fighting is part of a conflict now in its sixth month, having claimed the lives of 18 US service members and left 824 wounded since February 2026.
Washington has since drawn an administrative line between Operation Epic Fury and the broader war footing against Iran, continuing to carry out strikes and naval operations under separate designations, including Project Freedom and Overseas Operations.
Looking ahead, Wilsbach announced a new initiative to counter emerging threats: the Point Defense Weapon System, which combines kinetic and directed-energy platforms to strengthen base defenses, backed by the creation of a dedicated point-defense career track within the service.
Gen. Ken Wilsbach, the Air Force's chief of staff, told attendees at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference that the operation would stand as a case study in operational scale, precision, and speed.
Wilsbach reported that across 38-plus days of active combat, the Joint Force struck upward of 13,000 military targets. A 500-aircraft fleet flew 10,000 sorties total, sustaining a pace exceeding 250 flights per day, he said — all while crews handled urgent infrastructure repairs and carried out more than 420 reportable bomb-disposal missions while under direct fire.
Those combat operations unfolded during the broader Iran war, which erupted Feb. 28 when joint US-Israeli forces struck Iranian leadership and military infrastructure.
Although the campaign weakened Iranian military positions, American installations throughout the Gulf region and Jordan have absorbed retaliatory missile and drone barrages in return — attacks that have significantly drained interceptor supplies and inflicted operational damage on US facilities.
The fighting is part of a conflict now in its sixth month, having claimed the lives of 18 US service members and left 824 wounded since February 2026.
Washington has since drawn an administrative line between Operation Epic Fury and the broader war footing against Iran, continuing to carry out strikes and naval operations under separate designations, including Project Freedom and Overseas Operations.
Looking ahead, Wilsbach announced a new initiative to counter emerging threats: the Point Defense Weapon System, which combines kinetic and directed-energy platforms to strengthen base defenses, backed by the creation of a dedicated point-defense career track within the service.
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