(TEHRAN) A series of unprecedented military engagements has unfolded across the Middle East and Eastern Europe, marking historical firsts in modern aerial and naval combat since the Second World War. The United States and its allies have launched Operation Epic Fury, a comprehensive military campaign against Iran involving 50,000 troops, 200 fighter jets, and two aircraft carrier strike groups conducting continuous strikes from seabed to space and cyberspace.
The intensity of the conflict became apparent as American Tomahawk cruise missiles struck the Iranian capital of Tehran, creating scenes of shock and awe. The financial scale of the operation is vast, costing the United States approximately 1 billion US Dollars per day. Maintaining the aircraft carriers costs 13 million US Dollars daily, while operating B2 Spirit strategic bombers requires between 130,000 and 150,000 US Dollars per flight hour. Tomahawk missiles cost 2 million US Dollars each, and interceptor missiles are priced at 12.8 million US Dollars. The staggering expenditure has prompted domestic commentary comparing the cost of such immense military firepower to the hypothetical provision of free healthcare and education for American citizens. The Pentagon is expected to request an additional 50 billion US Dollars in emergency military funding.
Tragically, the conflict has resulted in American casualties. The United States military has identified four soldiers killed in action by Iranian missile and drone strikes: Captain Cody Cork aged 35, Sergeant First Class Nicole Amore aged 39, Sergeant First Class Noah Jetens aged 42, and Sergeant Declan Kuwaiti aged 20.
In Erbil, United States forces successfully deployed the Phalanx Close In Weapon System, firing 30 millimetre rounds at a rate of 60 shots per second to destroy incoming aerial threats. Meanwhile, in a historic naval engagement, the Virginia class submarine USS Minnesota from Squadron 15 in Guam sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena. A single Mark 48 torpedo homed in on the propeller, destroying the engine room and helicopter deck. This marks only the fourth time a submarine has sunk a warship in the last 80 years, following incidents in 1971, 1982, and 2010. The United States has systematically destroyed the entire Iranian navy, including the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, a civilian vessel converted into a drone carrier.
The destruction of Iranian assets has caused severe diplomatic and economic repercussions for China, which supplied much of the failed hardware. In July 2025, Iran received Chinese HQ9B long range air defence systems, which subsequently failed to defend Iranian airspace in early 2026. Furthermore, the disruption of cheap Iranian oil shipments poses a significant threat to the Chinese economy.
In another historic first, an Israeli Defense Forces F35 stealth fighter jet shot down an Iranian Yak130 aircraft over Tehran. This marks the first time an F35 has achieved an air to air kill.
The most significant decapitation strike occurred on a Saturday morning when Israel assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his wife, family members, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Following years of tracking his bodyguards and hacking camera networks, Israeli forces feigned a Sabbath shutdown. They then jammed local telephone towers and launched Blue Sparrow space capable missiles, penetrating both Russian S300 and S400 units and the Chinese HQ9B defences.
In retaliation, Iran launched massive waves of cheap copycat Shahed drones, costing roughly 35,000 US Dollars each, alongside ballistic missiles. In the first four days, Iran fired 538 ballistic missiles at the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. Gulf air defences successfully intercepted 521 of these targets, achieving a 97 percent success rate. However, this defence relies heavily on expensive Patriot PAC3 missiles. With an intercept ratio of two missiles fired per target, defending nations have expended 1,040 interceptors from a total inventory of 1,775. Defence experts note the economic unsustainability of this strategy, likening it to intercepting garbage with luxury sports cars.
United States and Israeli tactics are rapidly degrading Iranian launch capabilities. Drone and missile launches are dropping by roughly 50 percent daily. Allied forces have destroyed 300 of Iran’s 400 necessary ballistic missile launcher vehicles. Military observers colloquially noted the precision strikes delivered American liberty directly inside the Iranian launch equipment. Desperate Iranian forces have begun striking neutral countries such as Azerbaijan. Analysts compare these final attacks to the Third Reich deploying V2 rockets as pure terror weapons in its dying days, reinforcing international consensus that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons.
The interconnected nature of global security was highlighted when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the United States requested Ukrainian assistance in the Middle East. Ukraine will provide specialists and highly cost effective mobile drone interception units equipped with laser sights to help allied nations counter the Shahed threat. Independent military analysts and researchers, including Dallas Dorrington, Shavin Highland, an anonymous source known as Sona, and Rebecca Harrington, have corroborated the effectiveness of these Ukrainian techniques. Observers noted the extraordinary nature of the week, with commentators remarking it was a time for cold beers at the end of the day given the unprecedented volume of historical firsts.
Simultaneously, Ukrainian forces continue to punish the forces of the Russian dictator. The Ukrainian Navy shot down a Russian KA27 helicopter over the Black Sea. In the south, the Ukrainian counteroffensive is steadily advancing past the village of Verbove, threatening to surround Russian troops who historically refuse to retreat. Furthermore, a joint satellite analysis by Cyber Bros and Exilia Nova revealed a massive Ukrainian strike on the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The attack damaged six Russian warships: the frigates Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov, the minesweepers Valentin Pikul and Ivan Golubets, the corvettes Kasimov and Yeysk, and a Project 12700 minesweeper.
Finally, Ukrainian forces executed a spectacular strike on a fully loaded Russian liquefied natural gas carrier. Using a coordinated swarm of four aerial and two maritime drones, they blew a massive hole in the vessel, sparking a fire visible 100 kilometres away. The ship, valued at a quarter of a billion US Dollars, and its cargo, worth up to 60 million US Dollars, were completely incinerated, dealing yet another humiliating and highly expensive blow to the Russian war machine.
