The operation combined stealth bombers, one-way attack drones and fighter jets, with CENTCOM saying strikes are ongoing and detailing targets hit in the first 24 hours.
Visuals released by US Central Command show aerial targeting footage and a naval gun firing during Operation Epic Fury against Iranian-linked targets. | X/@CENTCOM
The United States used artificial intelligence tools alongside stealth bombers and drones in its ongoing military action against Iran under “Operation Epic Fury”, according to a Reuters report.
The development marks a new layer in the conflict, as the Pentagon is said to have relied on artificial intelligence services from Anthropic, including its Claude tools, during the strikes. Reuters, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that it was not clear how the AI systems were deployed in the operation.
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The reported use of Anthropic’s tools comes weeks after the company had been labelled a potential supply chain risk and threat to national security by US authorities.
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Reuters said the US military sent B-2 stealth bombers from American soil to hit fortified underground missile facilities in Iran using 2,000-pound bombs. The same aircraft had been used last year during strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June.
The report added that the Pentagon indicated it had deployed one-way attack drones resembling Iran’s Shahed drones. Photographs released by the Pentagon also showed suicide drones that appear similar to the newly developed LUCAS (Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System), produced by Spektreworks based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Visuals shared by US Central Command (CENTCOM) showed F/A-18 and F-35 fighter aircraft involved in the strikes. On Monday morning, CENTCOM posted additional images and videos on X, stating that operations under “Op Epic Fury” were ongoing.
The command also published details of weapons used and targets struck during the first 24 hours of the campaign.
Separately, the Israeli Air Force said on Monday that it continues to conduct “extensive attacks” against what it described as assets of the Iranian regime. In a statement, it said another round of strikes had been launched in Tehran under the direction of Military Intelligence.
Operation Epic Fury was launched jointly by the United States and Israel on February 28. Israel referred to the coordinated strike as “Operation Roaring Lion.”
US President Donald Trump and Iranian state media have confirmed that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the joint US-Israel strikes. According to the confirmations, members of his family, including his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law, were also killed.
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