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सुनें/Video/The Infographics Show/How USA Wiped Out Iran's Entire Airforce

How USA Wiped Out Iran's Entire Airforce

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0:00Hey, Josh here and this is how the  USA wiped out Iran’s entire airforce.
0:04On February 28th 2026, Operation Epic Fury  explodes into life. US and Israeli forces  
0:10begin military operations against the  Iranian regime. After weeks of buildup,  
0:14hundreds of US aircraft, alongside 200 jets from  the Israeli Defense Forces, take to the skies.
0:19Details remain extremely hazy but what is known  is that Israeli aircraft were scrambled in ways  
0:24that masked their intention. While the US attacks  from the south and Israel attacks from the west,  
0:29Israeli jets are taking circuitous routes, flying  out to sea before looping through other nations’  
0:34airspace. They then converge for a massive,  tightly coordinated time‑on‑target strike on Iran. 
0:39First, the air armada has to take down  Iran's ability to shoot them down.
0:44Iran has been famously wary of western  air power and thus has an extensive air  
0:48defense network. However, Israel's 12  day war against Iran in 2025 shows that  
0:53Iran's air defenses are at least locally  suppressed by modern western equipment.
0:57Iran's air defense network includes the Bavar-373  surface-to-air missile system. An indigenously  
1:03produced version of Russia’s S‑300, the Bavar‑373  is Iran’s flagship long-range air defense system 
1:10For threats at low to medium altitude,  Iran fields the Mersad and Qader surface  
1:15to air missile systems. The Qader  is a mobile version of the Mersad,  
1:18designed to relocate quickly and ambush  enemy aircraft in unexpected locations.
1:23Despite numerous air defense systems,  Iran's air defense network was itself  
1:27widely considered to be brittle with  numerous points of failure that could  
1:31cripple regional efforts to defend  the skies. During the 12 day war,  
1:35Israel had achieved full air superiority in a  matter of days, allowing them to operate with  
1:39impunity even over Tehran itself. This shocked  global onlookers who had long worried about the  
1:45capabilities of Iran's much touted air defenses. However, the air armada can’t take any chances,  
1:50because while F-22s, B2 bombers, and  F-35s can likely operate freely over Iran,  
1:56the bulk of allied air power was in  the form of 4th generation aircraft.
1:59To kill Iran's air force, first its  air defenses need to be destroyed.
2:03The attack begins with a massive cyber  operation from Cyber Command and Space command,  
2:08targeting Iran's sensors and communications.  Rather than directly attack individual targets,  
2:13the cyber operation instead targets weak  chains in Iran's digital infrastructure.  
2:18This degrades the regime's ability  to communicate or establish a clear  
2:22sensor picture. The goal of a cyber  operation isn't to completely blind  
2:26and deafen an enemy. It's very doubtful even  the US's capabilities are that extensive.
2:30Instead, the US sought to confuse, delay, and slow  Iran's ability to respond. Individual air defense  
2:36units would rely on local sensors rather than be  fed networked data. Local commanders are unable to  
2:41maintain the real-time communications required  to coordinate defense at a regional scale.
2:46The US effectively turns one big  problem into many smaller problems.
2:50The first official shots of the war come  from Tomahawk missiles and ground-launched  
2:55standoff weapons such as the Army's new  Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM missile.  
3:00Built to replace the MGM-140 Army Tactical  Missile System (ATACMS), the PrSM is smaller,  
3:05which allows a Himars to carry two. Despite packs  the same punch and can travel further and faster.
3:11Tomahawks are launched from US ships, and it's  believed, also at least one converted Ohio-class  
3:17submarine. Redesigned to carry cruise missiles,  the Ohio class arsenal ship carries 154 Tomahawks.
3:24Enough to destroy entire enemy armies.
3:26But of the hundreds of Tomahawks fired, one grabs  the world's attention: black Tomahawk was captured  
3:32being fired by a US ship. The image was officially  released by CENTCOM and it’s a clear signal.
3:38The US wants the world to know its  firing a brand new type of missile.
3:41The Maritime Strike Tomahawk has the capability  to target enemy ships, and the black coating is  
3:46likely radar-absorbent material meant  to help it evade enemy fleet defenses.
3:50The initial stand-off attack is aimed at fixed  radar sites, or mobile units which satellite  
3:55and other recon confirmed are in fixed positions.  These would initially be the lower frequency wide  
4:01area surveillance radars designed to give first  warning of an incoming air attack. By flying low  
4:06to the ground, Tomahawks can evade detection  and reduce alert time for Iranian commanders.
4:11In a video, an Iraqi captured a swarm of Tomahawks  flying by just a 100 feet (30 meters) overhead.
4:16A portion of these missiles are aimed at high  frequency radar arrays and the missile batteries  
4:21of air defense systems. With long-range radars  blinded, Iranian air defenses have little time  
4:26to react to incoming missile swarms. So far,  all indications show that their defenses fail to  
4:31intercept the targets they were built to stop. Next on the missile barrage’s chopping block  
4:36are command-and-control nodes and airfields  hosting alert fighter aircraft. These targets  
4:41are hit with a mix of Tomahawks and PrSMs. The PrSM’s heavy payload is perfect for  
4:46punching massive holes in runways,  keeping enemy aircraft grounded. 
4:50Strikes on command-and-control centers appear  extremely successful. After the 12-day war,  
4:54Iran drilled to respond faster and on a  larger scale. Yet in this new conflict,  
4:59their initial response is fragmented and fails  to achieve any real strategic effect. This is  
5:04despite the country having thousands of missiles  and potentially tens of thousands of drones.
5:09It's known that Iran had lowered command authority  for retaliation to lower echelon commanders.  
5:14It was a critical vulnerability exploited  by Israel during the 12 day war. However,  
5:18the scattered nature of Iran's initial  retaliatory attacks indicates that the  
5:22US and Israel struck command and  control centers and networks with  
5:26such precision that commanders were  incapable of coordinating at scale.
5:30Instead, individual commanders appear to  respond as they see fit, leading to a wide  
5:35number of attacks. It’s not enough to overwhelm  air defenses or seriously damage well-protected  
5:39targets. While Naval Support Activity Bahrain  is hit multiple times and suffers significant  
5:45destruction, the facility had already been largely  abandoned by the US, leaving it lightly defended.
5:50Against well defended targets, Iran largely fails  to penetrate missile defenses in a meaningful way.
5:56The world is on edge, and events are  moving fast, so make sure to Like, share,  
6:00and subscribe to get the latest developments… or  just to distract yourself while the chaos unfolds.
6:05Next up is the penetration of Iran's  airspace by stealth platforms.
6:09With key air defense sites damaged  or destroyed, fleets of F-35s, F-22s,  
6:14B-2 bombers, and low-observable drones begin  to clear a path for non-stealthy aircraft.  
6:20Israel and the US's stealth fleet focus on  mopping up targets that may have survived the  
6:24initial missile barrage, carrying out strikes  against less deadly threats. Secondary command  
6:29and control targets are precisely targeted  by stealth fighters, while B2s carry out  
6:34still-classified strike missions likely aimed  at destroying Iran's most defended targets.
6:38The F‑22 likely provides air cover for F‑35s  and B‑2s. It’s a stealth assassin in the sky,  
6:44daring any Iranian fighters to take off.  Meanwhile, F‑35s carry out follow-on strikes  
6:49against air bases, precisely hitting individual  aircraft with small-diameter bombs and destroying  
6:54hangars where planes are stored and ready  for action. Dozens of Iranian aircraft are  
6:59destroyed on the first day. The inability  of Iranian air defenses to shoot down a  
7:03single aircraft seems to deter the Iranian  air force from trying the job themselves.
7:08What we do know about the Iranian air force is  that it did take part in retaliation attacks-  
7:13and nearly caused a disaster for allied forces.  Flying at just 80 feet (24 meters) off the ground,  
7:18two Iranian Su-24 attack aircraft nearly reach  Al Udeid air base in Qatar, America's largest  
7:25military base in the middle east. Just two minutes  from their target and having completely evaded  
7:30air defenses, the Su-24s are discovered by a  pair of Qatari F-15s and promptly destroyed. 
7:35At this point, limited conventional  aircraft begin operations inside Iran. 
7:40According to CENTCOM, F‑16s, F‑18s, and  EA‑18G electronic attack aircraft take  
7:46part in strikes against Iran’s integrated  air defense systems. These jets focus on  
7:51mobile defenses that would have sprung up in  response to the initial attacks and weren’t  
7:56targeted by the missile barrages. Inbound aircraft employ an HTS pod,  
8:00or HARM Targeting system, which lets them to  detect enemy radars and precisely locate them. 
8:05It's an incredibly dangerous mission, but one  that the US is likely the best in the world at  
8:10given its reliance on air power. New generation  electronic warfare pods are likely to be used in  
8:16Iran, providing a real-world opportunity  to test them in battlefield conditions.
8:20The first targets are Iran's large fleet of F-4  Phantoms, leftover from the original revolution.  
8:26A hunt for the nation's small fleet of Russian  Mig-29s also begins. These newer jets present  
8:31the greatest threat to allied air forces. A  trainer delivered to Iran as it prepared to  
8:36acquire more modern Russian jets, the Yak-130  can pose a threat to bomber or strike aircraft.  
8:41The Israeli F-35 however destroyed the  Iranian plane shortly after take off.
8:46Perhaps the most painful aspect of the destruction  of Iran's air forces though is the hunt for its  
8:51fleet of F-14 Tomcats. Purchased right before the  revolution, the F-14 still poses a significant  
8:57threat even today. Designed to intercept Russian  bombers threatening American carrier groups, the  
9:02F-14's high speed could pose a huge safety risk  to support aircraft and even US/Israeli fighters.
9:08It’s not clear if any of Iran’s F‑14s remained  operational before the war. The country has been  
9:13cannibalizing them to keep a shrinking fleet  flying. But it seems none make it into the sky,  
9:18as Israeli strikes destroy the jets on the  ground. With the US having dismantled all  
9:22decommissioned F‑14s to deny spare parts, the  once-vaunted Tomcat is now officially extinct.
9:28We know that by day 3 of the war Iran's air  defense network was largely destroyed. This  
9:33is evidenced by the fact that combat jets  were increasingly being seen carrying JDAMs  
9:38and other non-standoff munitions.  With air superiority established,  
9:41allied aircraft no longer have to engage  targets at large ranges, and can afford  
9:46the risk associated with delivering  attacks with more conventional weapons.
9:49The mopping up of Iran's air force begins  in earnest. High flying strike aircraft  
9:54use small diameter bombs to destroy  individual aircraft on the ground one  
9:58by one. Everything from transports to  fighters to trainers are targeted in a  
10:03systematic effort to eliminate any remaining  threat the Iranian air force might pose.
10:08The two-week hunt has been so thorough,  
10:10that it's believed Iran could take decades to  have a significantly sized air force again.
10:15It’s likely Iran’s air force could have  been destroyed on the ground even faster,  
10:19but higher priority goes to seek-and-destroy  missions targeting missile launchers and  
10:22drone facilities. In an operation reminiscent of  Desert Storm’s ‘Scud hunt,’ allied air forces hunt  
10:28down and eliminate Iranian launchers with such  efficiency that by day 4, launches drop by 90%
10:34Iran's missile cities prove to be a massive  liability. They were designed with the loss  
10:39of air superiority in mind, a place where  missiles can be safely stored and launched  
10:43while protected deep under the earth. While it’s  difficult to locate some of these facilities,  
10:48America's space-based surveillance network  quickly fixes locations. Ballistic missile  
10:52launches light up like a spotlight in a dark  room on infrared surveillance satellites.
10:57US air power begins striking  deeply buried missile bases.  
11:00Rather than destroy the bases outright,  the attacks focus on entrances and exits,  
11:05trapping launch vehicles inside and collapsing  shafts used for firing missiles. Much of Iran’s  
11:10missile stockpile isn’t destroyed… it’s just  inaccessible, buried under tons of debris
11:15Then there's the suspicion that America's  airborne stealth assassin- the B2 bomber-  
11:19has been involved in the attacks using the now  famous GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator.  
11:26First dropped on Iranian nuclear facilities  during the 12-day war, evidence suggests the  
11:31GBUs may have been used again on at least one  more site. Satellite imagery of the Taleghan  
11:362 site shows a pattern of 3 impact closely  matching the pattern from the earlier strikes
11:41The facility had been reinforced  with concrete and buried under  
11:44tons of earth as a direct result of  America's strikes in 2025. Satellite  
11:49imagery shows that this may have  been insufficient to protect it.
11:52As America's air war evolves and the threat  of Iranian air power shrinks to zero,  
11:56air operations have expanded to an even greater  scope. As of the writing of this script,  
12:01allied air power is now striking targets  as small as Basij checkpoints. The Basij  
12:06are Iran's government-backed militia, and were  instrumental in the suppression and killing of  
12:10tens of thousands of protesters in the build-up  to this war. Despite the losses of several drones,  
12:15the targeting of targets as small as road  checkpoints indicates that Iran's air force,  
12:19and its air defenses, is well and truly  destroyed. At best, the nation only poses  
12:24a small threat from surviving and mobile air  defenses which can be hard to locate in advance.
12:29If you want to see the full picture of how  these operations could escalate, check out  
12:33our video ‘This Is How WORLD WAR 3 Starts –  USA vs IRAN’. Or click on this video instead.