During the first ten days of Operation Epic Fury, U.S. forces reportedly destroyed around fifty vessels of the Iranian fleet. According to Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, American forces used a wide range of weapons, including anti-ship missiles, fighter aircraft, bombers, and even artillery.
Regarding the latter, an unnamed U.S. official confirmed to the outlet TWZ that the M142 HIMARS rocket system was also used to strike Iranian vessels. At the same time, U.S. officials have not disclosed which specific ships were targeted or which missiles were used against Iran's fleet.
Read more: Replacing ATACMS: New U.S. PrSM Missile Makes Combat Debut in Operation Epic Fury
Photos and videos suggest that U.S. forces have used both ATACMS and the newest PrSM missile during operations against Iran. The latter appears to have received its first combat use in these hostilities. Depending on the variant, these missiles have ranges of about 300 km and at least 500 km. The use of GMLRS-ER rockets has not been confirmed so far. One video even shows a HIMARS launcher firing from a beach location in Bahrain.
It is worth noting that the United States has been preparing for years for a scenario in which HIMARS could be used against naval targets. In 2022, the U.S. military tested the anti-ship capabilities of this rocket system during the Rim of the Pacific 2022 (RIMPAC 2022) exercise, when HIMARS launched missiles against surface targets.
The United States had previously considered developing a dedicated anti-ship version of the ATACMS ballistic missile. Later, however, the focus shifted to the PrSM program. The new missile is expected to receive a multi-mode seeker similar to that used by the LRASM anti-ship missile, allowing it to engage moving and maritime targets starting with the Increment 2 variant. In other words, striking naval targets is one of the intended missions of the newest PrSM ballistic missile.
It remains unclear which variant of PrSM the United States is using in operations against Iran. Nevertheless, both ATACMS and PrSM can effectively strike vessels that are stationary or located in port.
At the same time, Operation Epic Fury appears to be the first known case in which the U.S. military has used ballistic missiles to strike naval targets.
Interestingly, the Armed Forces of Ukraine already have experience using ballistic missiles against ships. In March 2022, a Tochka-U ballistic missile destroyed the russian Project 1171 large landing ship Saratov.
The russians later raised the sunken vessel, which allowed observers to see the damage caused by the Ukrainian Tochka-U strike.
Previously, Defense Express also reported that the United States had unveiled the new PrSM Increment 4 aeroballistic missile equipped with a ramjet engine, capable of reaching ranges of up to 800 km when launched from HIMARS.
Read more: Where U.S. May Deploy Aircraft Near Ukraine to Support Operations Against Iran, and Whether Fighters Are Involved
