Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said about 1 percent of the latest U.S. strikes on Iran are from long-range weapons.
ARLINGTON, Va.—Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on March 13 that U.S. forces have made significant progress gaining control over Iran’s skies, and are now relying almost entirely on relatively cheap gravity bombs to strike targets inside the country.
Hegseth provided the update following concerns U.S. forces could exhaust stocks of long-range weapons to strike Iran. Referred to in military parlance as stand-off weapons, these long-range weapons allow U.S. aircraft to attack Iran from a distance while incurring relatively little risk of being shot down, but are expensive and in shorter supply.
“I can say, based on the report I read this morning at 0600, only one percent of the munitions we’re using today are stand-off munitions,” Hegseth said in response to a question from The Epoch Times during a Pentagon press briefing.
He said the rest of the U.S. strikes will rely on weapons that can be dropped from directly over Iranian airspace.
The transition from long-range weapons to bombs dropped from within Iranian airspace allows U.S. forces to fight more economically. Early on in the conflict, U.S. forces relied less heavily on these relatively cheap gravity bombs due to the prevalence of Iranian air defense systems.
During the March 13 press briefing, Hegseth said Iran has no remaining air defenses.
U.S. forces are taking advantage of their increased air superiority to intensify strikes on Iran.
“Today will be, yet again, the highest volume of strikes that America has put over the skies of Iran and Tehran,” Hegseth said. “The number of sorties and number of bomber pulses; the highest yet. Ramping up and only up.”
Hegseth said Iran’s offensive capabilities are also falling.
He said Iranian missile launches are down 90 percent from their height early on in the conflict, while launches from explosive-laden Iranian one-way attack drones are down 95 percent.
Despite the reduction in Iran’s offensive capabilities, several recent attacks have struck merchant vessels operating in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iranian forces had used surface-to-surface missiles to target shipping at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, near Kuwait.
By Ryan Morgan
