F-15E Armed With Drone Killing Laser-Guided Rockets Appears In Middle East

We now have a picture showing a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle down-range in the Middle East with an air-to-air loadout that includes six seven-shot 70mm rocket pods, as well as four AIM-9X and four AIM-120 missiles. This comes a week after TWZ was the first to report on testing of the laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets as a new armament option for the F-15E. As we noted at that time, the exact loadout we're now seeing on a deployed Strike Eagle turns the jet into a counter-drone and cruise missile 'weapons truck' with a whopping 50 engagement opportunities, not counting the internal gun.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) posted the picture in question, seen at the top of this story, today on social media with a basic caption offering no additional context. TWZ had reached out to CENTCOM and the Air Force for more information.
U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. pic.twitter.com/xxg6F6LlqB
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 30, 2025
There are indications that the image was taken at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which has long been a known hub for U.S. F-15E operations in the region.
Picture posted by USCENTCOM Twitter account showing an F-15E with an anti-UAV loadout.Geolocation is: 31.827123, 36.797503 (Muwaffaq Salti AB, Jordan.F-15E is 87-0210 from 389th Fighter Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
— Evergreen Intel (@vcdgf555.bsky.social) 2025-05-30T17:47:36.641Z
The image of the rocket-toting F-15E that had emerged last week via social media channels associated with The Merge military aviation podcast was taken at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, but it remains unclear when.
'The Eglin AFB test community through strong partnerships have aggressively conducted integrated test of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System,' Gabriel Myers, a spokesperson for the 96th Test Wing at Eglin, previously told TWZ when asked for more information about that picture. 'By working at speed to ensure advanced capabilities have the intended effects, we increase warfighter readiness and lethality to meet the global demands of the joint force.'
The U.S. military still does not appear to have officially announced the integration of laser-guided APKWS II onto the F-15E. Originally designed as an air-to-ground munition, APKWS II is cleared for use on Air Force F-16C/D Vipers and A-10 Warthogs, as well as U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18C/D Hornets on the fixed-wing side. The precision-guided rockets are also part of the arsenals available for Marine AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters, as well as U.S. Navy MH-60R/S Seahawks and U.S. Army AH-64D/E Apaches.
Each APKWS II rocket consists of a laser guidance package inserted between a standard 70mm rocket motor and one of a variety of warhead options.
Regardless, it is not at all surprising that an F-15E with the heavy rocket loadout has now emerged in the Middle East in an operational context. As we previously wrote:
'The Strike Eagle and APKWS II combo's potential in the air-to-air role that is perhaps most exciting. As we noted earlier, Air Force F-16s first began employing the laser-guided rockets in an anti-air optimized configuration to shoot down Houthi drones during operations over and around the Red Sea last year, which TWZ was first to report. The Air Force had announced back in 2019 that it had demonstrated APKWS II's ability to be used as an air-to-air weapon in a test wherein an F-16 downed a surrogate for a subsonic cruise missile, something we were also first to report on. APKWS II is also combat-proven in the surface-to-air role against drones, as well as in air-ground modes and surface-to-surface modes.'
U.S. Fighter aircraft shoot down Iran-backed Houthi one-way-attack drones with AGR-20 FALCO Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Laser Guided 2.75" Rockets.#HouthisAreTerrorists pic.twitter.com/bDoVnKwotc
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 19, 2025
'Since January, F-16s have been observed flying the Middle East carrying air-to-air loadouts that include one or two seven-shot 70mm rocket pods, as well as traditional air-to-air missiles and LITENING targeting pods. This had already underscored the magazine depth benefits of APKWS II. A typical air-to-air for the Viper consists of six air-to-air missiles. Just having a pair of rocket pods on one pylon effectively triples the number of anti-air engagement opportunities per sortie. The F-15E with six seven-shot rocket pods, along with eight air-to-air missiles, goes far beyond that capacity.'
…
'Together with aerial refueling support, an F-15E armed with APKWS II rockets and traditional air-to-air missiles could provide a far more persistent counter-air screen with a huge magazine depth against drones and some cruise missile types. This kind of general scenario is what Air Force Strike Eagle crews found themselves in on multiple occasions while defending Israel from Iranian attacks last year, during which, running out of missiles became the limiting factor.'
The F-15E also has the advantage of being a two-seat aircraft, which allows the pilot in front to focus on flying the plane while the back-seater engages targets in the air or on the ground and performs other tasks.
It is worth mentioning that Muwaffaq Salti was a major staging point for the aforementioned F-15E sorties in the defense of Israel last year. Stunning accounts of those operations have since emerged. This includes at least one instance in which a Strike Eagle crew switched to the jet's 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon after running out of missiles, but was unable to shoot down anything with the gun. It would make sense that an APKWS II capability for the F-15E, particularly for use in the air-to-air role, would have been rushed into service after those experiences, and subsequently fielded to Strike Eagle units deployed in Jordan.
APKWS II is limited in the air-to-air role to engaging non-reactionary, low-performance targets that fly along relatively steady courses like one-way-attack drones and subsonic cruise missiles. Currently, targets have to be manually designated, or 'lazed,' throughout the entire course of the engagement, as well. APKWS II's prime contractor, BAE Systems, is now working on a dual-mode guidance package that incorporates an infrared seeker that is designed to offer a pseudo-fire-and-forget capability to make it easier to move on from engaging on target to the next, as you can read more about here.
At the same time, the aforementioned magazine depth, together with the lower unit cost of an APKWS II rocket compared to traditional air-to-air missiles, offers clear benefits. The latest variants of the AIM-120 cost around $1 million apiece, while current-generation AIM-9Xs each have a price tag around $450,000. The most expensive part of an APKWS II rocket is the guidance section, which costs between $15,000 and $20,000, with the rocket motor and warhead adding a few thousand dollars more to the total price point.
As shown by the F-15E in the newly released picture, air-to-air loadouts incorporating APKWS II can also still include air-to-air missiles for prosecuting more demanding threats. It remains likely that APKWS II will be integrated onto further fixed-wing aircraft in the future for use in the air-to-air role, such as the U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.
The Air Force's F-15E Strike Eagle fleet has now gotten a major firepower boost, especially for hunting down incoming drones and cruise missiles.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

USA Today

37 minutes ago

• USA Today

US on 'high alert' for Iran retaliation, says nuke program 'obliterated': Live updates

The U.S. is on "high alert" for any retaliation from Tehran after the nation bombed three Iran nuclear sites, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said Sunday. "Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice. We will defend ourselves. The safety of our service members and civilians remains our highest priority," Caine said at a Pentagon briefing. Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the commander of U.S. Central Command, has elevated force protection measures in the region, Caine said, 'especially in Iraq, Syria and the Gulf.' There are about 40,000 U.S. troops in the region. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran's nuclear ambitions "have been obliterated" in the Saturday night strike. "The order we received from our commander in chief was focused, it was powerful, and it was clear. We devastated the Iranian nuclear program," Hegseth said. Hegseth said the USA's B-2 stealth bombers, in a mission called Operation Midnight Hammer, "went in and out ... without the world knowing at all. In that way it was historic." President Donald Trump, in a live address at the White House on Saturday, said more strikes could come. 'Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,' he said. 'If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.' The U.N. Security Council was also set to meet later Sunday over the bombings, officials said. Midnight Hammer operation uses 'bunker busters,' a first in US history The U.S. used more than a dozen multi-million-dollar, 30,000-pound "bunker busters" to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities in the strike, marking the weapon's first operational use, according to the Pentagon. U.S. bomber planes dropped 14 of the massive bombs on three of Iran's nuclear facilities, Caine told reporters. The bombs used in the strikes, called Massive Ordnance Penetrators, or MOPs, weigh 30,000 pounds each and cost millions to produce. MOPs, also known as the Guided Bomb Unit, or GBU-57, are GPS-guided weapons designed to burrow deep into underground targets, like fortified tunnels or bunkers. The bombs are about 20 feet long and span 6 feet at their widest point. While Israel has bunker-busters a fraction of its weight, only the MOP has the capability to destroy or severely damage Iran's nuclear facilities, experts previously told USA TODAY. Read more: How much did the 30,000-pound bunker-busters cost? Iran government might close Strait of Hormuz, a major oil route The Iranian parliament backed a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S. strikes on the country, but the final decision will rest with Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Iran's Press TV reported Sunday. About 20% of global oil and gas flow through the strait, which lies between Oman and Iran, and its closure could mean rising fuel prices for American consumers. The strait is 21 miles at its narrowest point, and the shipping lane is 2 miles wide in either direction. Asked whether Tehran would close Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi didn't give a straight answer, saying: "A variety of options are available to Iran." Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized any decision to block the narrow channel between Iran and Oman. 'That would be a suicidal move on their part, because I think the whole world would come against them if they did that,' Rubio said in an interview with CBS. − Savannah Kuchar and Reuters Lawmakers push back on Trump's strikes under War Powers Act Trump's ordered airstrikes have attracted criticism from both sides of the political aisle, and some lawmakers are charging that the president did not have the authority to call for the attack. 'Our framers did not believe in the old way that a king could order a nation to war,' Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said in an interview on Fox News Sunday. 'Instead, the framers gave the power to Congress so we would have a debate in front of all the American public whose sons' and daughters' lives could potentially be at risk.' The Constitution puts the power to declare war in Congress' hands, and the War Powers Resolution of 1973 mandates that the president notifies Congress within 48 hours of military action. The law also limits the deployment of armed forces beyond 90 days, in the absence of a formal declaration of war. Kaine has introduced a resolution in the Senate seeking to block Trump's actions in Iran. In the House, Reps. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, have filed a similar measure based on the War Powers Act. − Savannah Kuchar 'We're not at war' with Iran, Vance insists Vice President JD Vance argued in interviews Sunday that the U.S. is not entering an open-ended conflict in the Middle East. 'We're not at war with Iran. We're at war with Iran's nuclear program.' Vance told NBC's Kristen Welker. 'We do not want war with Iran,' Vance added while on Meet The Press. 'We actually want peace. But we want peace in the context of them not having a nuclear weapons program.' Separately, on ABC, Vance described the strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran as 'targeted.' The Pentagon's attack on Iran's nuclear facility employed its most powerful bunker-buster bomb as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from submarines, according to Pentagon officials. Pentagon planners coordinated the attack with Israel to enter Iran's airspace, said the official who had been briefed on the mission but was not authorized to speak publicly. B-2 bombers dropped GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, the first time they have been used in combat. − Savannah Kuchar and Francesca Chambers Operation Midnight Hammer took weeks to plan, involved 125 warplanes The U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, called Operation Midnight Hammer, differs in character, scope and destructive power from those that Trump ordered in his first administration. Those missions included a missile attack in Syria to punish Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons, the raid to kill ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the drone that killed Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian who led its Quds force. The Iranian attacks on Saturday involved some of the most sophisticated weapons in the Pentagon's arsenal and tapped into its commands overseeing operations from the Middle East to outer space, Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Sunday. It took weeks to plan the Saturday attack, which involved 125 warplanes − including nearly one-third of its most sophisticated stealth bomber fleet – and submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles. Strikes weren't aimed at Iran regime change, US officials say The goal of the U.S. strikes on Iran was not to prompt a regime change, Hegseth said during the news briefing Sunday morning. "This mission was not, has not been about regime change," Hegseth said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hasn't denied that an Iran regime change is part of Israel's military objectives, however. "It could certainly be the result because the Iran regime is very weak," Netanyahu said in an interview on Fox News' "Special Report With Bret Baier" a week ago. "I think it's basically left with two things. Its plans to have atomic bombs and ballistic missiles. That's basically what Iran has. They certainly don't have the people. Eighty percent of the people would throw these theological thugs out." Nuclear energy head fears Mideast dynamic has changed The head of an international agency that encourages the peaceful use of nuclear technology said Sunday that the U.S. decision to bomb Iran has completely reset what was once slowly simmering tensions between Iran and Israel. 'This changes the whole dynamic,' Rafel Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview on CNN. Grossi said Iran's current governmental regime, which has been in place since 1979, has been one of the few stabilizing forces in an otherwise 'very very unstable' international scene.' 'I think the unraveling of the nonproliferation regime would be a tremendously serious consequence,' he said. 'I think that now we need to try to go back to the negotiating table as soon as possible.' − Erin Mansfield Israeli president says US involvement in Iran is Trump's decision The president of Israel said Sunday morning that the United States is acting in its own interests and declined to say whether Israel would need additional resources. 'We are not dragging America into a war, and we are leaving aid to the decision of the president of the United States and to the team,' Isaac Herzog said in an interview on CNN. Herzog said the U.S. decision to bomb Iran was made 'because the Iranian nuclear program was (a) clear and present danger to the security interests of the free world, and the United States is the leader of the free world.' − Erin Mansfield Was Iran's nuclear material really 'obliterated'? Trump and his top defense official, Hegseth, say U.S. bombers completely "obliterated" Iran's three major nuclear complexes at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. That may turn out to be the case, though there has so far been no independent assessment of that assertion from nuclear watchdogs, international officials or others with direct information of the situation on the ground. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the main window for how the world assesses the scale and evolution of Iran's nuclear program, has not commented. All wars are information wars, as well as ones fought with conventional weapons. One example: Iran's IRIB state broadcaster claimed that its stockpiles of enriched uranium were "evacuated" from all threes sites prior to the U.S. strikes, another assertion that has not been independently verified. Hegseth: Trump seeks peace, urges Iran to do the same Hegseth lauded the U.S. strikes on Iran as an "incredible and overwhelming success." The strikes did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people, Hegseth said. Trump "seeks peace, and Iran should take that path," Hegseth said. He noted that fighter pilots and sailors aboard ships and submarines joined the attack. All 3 nuke sites sustained 'severe damage,' US says Caine said the U.S. was "currently unaware of any shots fired at the U.S. strike package on the way in." The three nuclear targets were struck from 6:40 p.m. to 7:10 p.m. ET, Caine said. He said the U.S. was also unaware of any shots fired on the way out of Iran. All three nuclear sites "sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," initial assessments indicate, Caine said. Pope Leo urges peace, international diplomacy In a weekly prayer on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church's first pope from the United States, called for diplomacy and peace efforts, not "violence and bloody conflicts," shortly after the U.S.' military action against Iran. "Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss," Leo said. "In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent," he said. Iranians disconnected from world Iranians have been intermittently cut off from the world since the start of Israel's air war on its military and nuclear sites more than a week ago, now joined by the United States. Iran's government has imposed a near countrywide internet blackout in recent days, saying it was necessary to prevent Israeli cyberattacks and for unspecified security reasons, though some residents have reported the shutdown's efficacy has varied and sometimes they were able to get online. There have also been reported disruptions to cellphone text messages in Iran. On Sunday, NetBlocks, an organization that monitors global Internet access, reported that connectivity in Iran "again collapsed" in the hours before the U.S. strikes. NetBlocks also reported that Trump's Truth Social platform was "experiencing international outages for many users," a scenario it said was not related to "country-level Internet disruptions or filtering." UN watchdog to hold emergency meeting The United Nations' nuclear watchdog will hold an emergency meeting in Vienna on Monday following the U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency, created in 1957 amid growing concern over nuclear weapons, called for an end to "hostilities" so that it can continue inspections in Iran. "In view of the increasingly serious situation in terms of nuclear safety and security, the Board of Governors will meet in an extraordinary session tomorrow, which I will address,' Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. The sites targeted by the U.S. strikes contained nuclear material in the form of uranium enriched to different levels, the IAEA said, according to its most recent information before Israel's strikes on Iran on June 13. The material "may cause radioactive and chemical contamination within the facilities that were hit," the IAEA said. Grossi said no health impacts outside the targeted sites are expected after the U.S. strikes. 'I have repeatedly stated that nuclear facilities should never be attacked,' Grossi said. World reacts to US bombing of Iran Israel hailed the United States' decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites as an action that would "deny the world's most dangerous regime the world's most dangerous weapons." Elsewhere around the world the reaction was far more constrained. The United Nations and some leaders from Britain to Mexico called for swift de-escalation while other longtime U.S. adversaries such as Cuba and Venezuela were deeply critical of the attacks. "There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control − with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region and the world," U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. Guterres said he was "gravely alarmed" by the use of U.S. force on Iran. 'Perilous hour': World reacts after US bombs Iranian nuclear sites Russia, China condemn US attacks on Iran Russia and China on Sunday condemned the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, the countries' foreign ministries said. "The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb attacks, whatever the arguments it may be presented with, flagrantly violates international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council," the Russian foreign ministry said in its statement. "We call for an end to aggression and for increased efforts to create conditions for returning the situation to a political and diplomatic track." Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, launching a drawn-out conflict that is ongoing over three years later. Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, recently suggested that the "whole of Ukraine" belongs to his country, even though Russia only controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory. China's foreign ministry said the move violates the United Nations Charter and would worsen tensions in the Middle East. The ministry urged an end to attacks for all parties to the conflict, particularly Israel. What we know about the US strikes on Iran Trump ordered the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, effectively joining a war that Israel started on June 13 when it started bombing Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure. One of the U.S. targets was Fordow, a uranium enrichment facility hidden deep inside a remote mountain in the desert. Nuclear sites at Natanz and Isfahan were also struck. Israel said it helped the U.S. coordinate and plan the strikes. Trump said all three sites were "totally obliterated" but an independent assessment has not yet been carried out. The International Atomic Energy Agency − the United Nation's nuclear watchdog − released a statement saying that so far it had not detected an increase in "off-site radiation levels," one of the feared consequences of the strikes. What will Iran do now? Iran's next move is being closely watched. The country has already ramped up its rhetoric. "Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. Ahead of the U.S. strikes, Tehran signaled that if the Pentagon were to join Israel's war U.S. military bases and Navy ships in the region could be attacked. Iran has a large arsenal of drones and ballistic missiles. It has been using these on Israel for days. It launched a fresh wave of missiles toward Israel hours after the U.S. bombing started. Iran might even opt for a diplomatic route, which Trump was encouraging prior to authorizing the U.S. attack. Contributing: Reuters

CBS News

42 minutes ago

• CBS News

Transcript: Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," June 22, 2025

The following is the transcript of an interview with retired Gen. Frank McKenzie that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on June 22, 2025. MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to the former commander of CENTCOM, which controls U.S. forces in the Middle East, our CBS News contributor, retired General Frank McKenzie. Welcome back to "Face the Nation," general and- and your former colleagues at CENTCOM extremely busy over these last few hours. From the operation as you've heard it described, what are the questions that- that come to your mind about Midnight Hammer and being able to assess its success? GENERAL FRANK MCKENZIE (RET.): So it looks like it was a successful operation, from what we know now, it'll take a little while to build the battle damage assessment, and that'll come out here in the next- in the days ahead, and we'll get a much better picture. But I think we've done significant damage, significant, perhaps irreversible damage, to the Iranian nuclear program. I think right now, though, at CENTCOM, everybody is focused on the next step, and the next step will be will there be an Iranian response? What will that response look like? What can we do to defend our forces, our embassies, our citizens in the region? And what options can we give the president should we choose to respond as a result of an Iranian attack? So they're extremely busy down there right now, and- but one of the key things they want to do is you want to make it very clear to Iran that we possess significant combat power in the theater and will be able to use it against them should they attack us? MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that's- that's the hope that they don't do something. Are you surprised that there has been no retaliation in the past few hours? And where would you be looking as an area of concern? There are a lot of Americans who have family members in the region. GEN. MCKENZIE: Absolutely, Margaret. So for one thing, I think Iranian decision making is a little crippled right now because of the loss of senior leaders. And as you're well aware, the Iranians don't have good succession planning. People tend to go into jobs and stay there for a long period of time while they enrich themselves and their families. So cronyism is what- how you get to the top in their system, which is bad news, if suddenly that person is no longer there, there's no one ready to step in, so the supreme leader probably has trouble talking to people and getting his orders followed. Now to your question about where they might strike, I think we're certainly vulnerable in Iraq. I think we're certainly vulnerable in Syria, and I'm certain that Central Command has done all the things we need to do to harden ourselves against those potential attacks. The same for our other bases across the region. I don't know that it would be localized to the region though. Iran has long harbored the desire to attack us in the United States. They typically have not been effective when they've done that. We've caught them in a a couple of plots that are very public, that you're well aware of. So I think all those things are on the table, but it may take the Iranians a little while to work through this process, because nobody's excited about going to a meeting in Iran right now. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you're talking about some of the intelligence actions taken by the Mossad to convene some of these leaders and then kill them all at once. When it comes to what the secretary of state said earlier in this program, I asked him specifically if the U.S. would take military action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Iran tried to close it. We know that's being talked about, at least in the public space, in Iran right now. What would that operation look like? Rubio said they're not exactly talking about it in this moment, but they are worried about the- the Iranians mining it. GEN. MCKENZIE: The Iranians do have the capability to mine the Strait of Hormuz. We have very good plans to clear that if we had to do it. We work on those plans all the time. It would be a- it would be a blow to world commerce for a period of time, but at the end, the Strait would be cleared, and I'm pretty confident the Iranian Navy would all be sunk at the end of that operation. MARGARET BRENNAN: So the CIA- the former CIA director, Bob Gates, former secretary of defense, was on this program very recently, and I asked him about bombing the Iranian nuclear program. He said, when he had looked at it, he thought it would at best delay Iran's nuclear ambitions, not end them. You have looked at this problem set in great detail. Do you agree that military force is not enough to end the program? GEN. MCKENZIE: Ultimately, you need a policy decision from Iran to end the nuclear program. So I think the secretary's right in that- in that- in that position. Now, if- if you don't get a policy decision from Iran, you've got to commit yourself, perhaps, to revisiting striking the nuclear program as the Iranians begin to spread out and- and- and continue to pursue the nuclear option. Here's the one thing, though, we have pretty good knowledge of what goes on in Iran, and that good knowledge is going to continue. So they're not likely to be able to do something in secret that would suddenly creep up on us. We- we- we tend to keep very close track of this. MARGARET BRENNAN: But it comes up again and again in the concern, as we were talking about with our lawmakers, this creeping towards a broader war, this creeping towards America getting drawn in to a war that Israel started to take out Iran's nuclear program. I'm not asking about the intent of the state itself, but what is the end goal here? How do you judge success? Have you even heard the Israeli government or the U.S. government say what success is? GEN. MCKENZIE: Well, I think we've been pretty clear that we don't want Iran to possess a nuclear weapon. They're close to possessing a nuclear weapon. I heard all the exchanges back and forth with the- the other guests on your show this morning about how close they might or might not have been, but I think it's the one absolutely non-negotiable thing here. And you can get that through an Iranian policy decision to not pursue a nuclear weapon, or you can get that through removal of that capability to such a level that they can't do it. The second case is not the preferable case, obviously, but you- but there are ways to do this. The one thing I would add about the strike that occurred here over the last few hours, it was carefully crafted, narrowly designed against the nuclear program to give Iran room to maneuver, diplomatic room to maneuver if they want to seek a way out. So I think it was very clever. Let's see what happens. The principal goal of Iranian statecraft is today, as it has always been, survival of the regime. Under certain of these scenarios, if you go forward and the war widens, I think the survival of the Iranian state is very much on the table, and that's something they're going to want to avoid, Margaret. MARGARET BRENNAN: But as you were just saying, there's- there's no clear succession plan that the U.S. knew of at least recently, and they can't get a hold of the boss. He's in a bunker. So how do you actually get a policy decision and then can orders actually be given? GEN. MCKENZIE: So it's a- it's a very difficult time for Iran right now. I- I acknowledge all your points, but- but the commanding remains alive, at least as far as I know. He remains alive. He's probably having trouble having meetings. He's probably having trouble getting his orders followed, but he still asserts that he's in charge as of a couple of days ago, and we, I don't think we've made any effort to strike him, nor have the Israelis. MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, well, right, and CBS had been reporting that President Trump advised the Israelis not to take out the supreme leader. We'll leave it there, and we'll be right back.

Axios

2 hours ago

• Axios

U.S. used 14 bunker-busters, 7 B-2 bombers in "Midnight Hammer" strikes on Iran

A surprise U.S. military attack on Iranian nuclear facilities involved more than 125 aircraft and 75 precision-guided weapons. The operation, dubbed Midnight Hammer, produced the longest B-2 Spirit mission since 2001 and the first real-world use of 30,000 pound bunker-busting bombs. Why it matters: The U.S. again finds itself fighting in the greater Middle East. This time, it's alongside Israel and against Iran. Here are some of the weapons used in the operation, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, who briefed reporters Sunday morning: Seven stealthy B-2 bombers and dozens of refueling aircraft that worked in tandem to execute an over 30-hour round-trip flight from Missouri to Iran. Fourth- and fifth-generation fighters that cleared the way for the airstrikes. (The Pentagon would not disclose makes and models, but a public graphic depicted what looks like F-22s.) One submarine that fired more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles. Fourteen GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, the world's most powerful non-nuclear bombs. Zoom in: Satellite imagery shared by Maxar shows several large holes or craters at Fordow, effectively an underground nuclear fortress. The area is also blanketed in dirt and ash. What they're saying: "Our initial assessment is ... that all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike and had the desired effect," Hegseth told reporters. The intrigue: Caine said Iran was caught flatfooted. He was unaware of any shots fired at U.S. warplanes as they entered and exited the region.