US strikes Iranian underground missile storage with 5,000-pound penetrator

The U.S. military employed 5,000-pound penetrator weapons against underground Iranian storage facilities holding coastal defense cruise missiles and related support equipment during the latest phase of Operation Epic Fury, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine confirmed Thursday.

“As reported by U.S. CENTCOM yesterday, the US military dropped 5,000 pound penetrator weapons into underground storage facilities storing coastal defense cruise missiles and other support equipment,” Caine said at a Pentagon briefing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “These weapons are bespokely designed to get through concrete and/or rocks and function after penetrating those barriers.”

Coastal defense cruise missiles, which Iran has deployed along its coastline to target naval and commercial vessels transiting the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, have been a recurring focus of U.S. strikes since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28.

The munitions are consistent with the GBU-72 Advanced 5K Penetrator, a bunker-buster, which U.S. officials confirmed made its combat debut in similar strikes on hardened coastal missile sites near the strait on Tuesday, The War Zone first reported .

The GBU-72 is a precision-guided, deep-burial defeat weapon designed for hardened and deeply buried targets. It uses GPS guidance and a high-explosive warhead optimized for post-penetration detonation. Developed to replace the GBU-28, which has been in service since 1991, the Air Force expects the GBU-72 to offer substantially higher lethality against deeply buried and fortified targets.

Caine said U.S. forces are expanding operations eastward, penetrating deeper into Iranian airspace to hunt one-way attack drone units and eliminate remaining maritime threats. He said forces have also continued to hunt and destroy mine storage facilities and naval ammunition depots across the region.

“To date, we’ve struck over 7,000 targets across Iran and its military infrastructure,” Hegseth said, adding that Thursday’s operations would feature “the largest strike package yet, just like yesterday was.”

Caine also said U.S. forces have continued to expand maritime operations since the campaign began.

“We continue to hunt and kill afloat assets, including more than 120 vessels and 44 mine layers,” he said.

The Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply transits, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration — has been a central focus of Epic Fury operations.

Pentagon officials did not provide battle damage assessments or further details on munitions expenditure at Thursday’s briefing.

美国参谋长联席会议主席丹·凯恩将军周四证实，在“史诗狂怒行动”的最新阶段，美军对伊朗地下储存海岸防御巡航导弹及相关支援设备的设施使用了5000磅穿甲弹。

凯恩在五角大楼与国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯举行的简报会上说：“正如美国中央司令部昨天报告的那样，美军向储存海岸防御巡航导弹和其他支援设备的地下仓库投放了5000磅重的穿甲弹。这些武器是专门设计用来穿透混凝土和/或岩石的，并在穿透这些障碍物后发挥作用。”

自 2 月 28 日“史诗狂怒行动”开始以来，伊朗在其海岸线部署了岸基防御巡航导弹，用于打击途经波斯湾和霍尔木兹海峡的海军和商船，这些导弹一直是美国打击的重点目标。

据《战区》网站率先报道，这些弹药与 GBU-72 先进 5K 穿透弹（一种钻地弹）相符，美国官员证实，该弹药已于周二在海峡附近加固的沿海导弹基地进行的类似打击中首次投入实战。

GBU-72是一种精确制导的深埋式炸弹，专为打击加固和深埋目标而设计。它采用GPS制导，并配备高爆弹头，该弹头经过优化，可在穿透目标后引爆。GBU-72的研发目的是为了取代自1991年以来一直在服役的GBU-28，美国空军期望GBU-72能够显著提高对深埋加固目标的杀伤力。

凯恩表示，美军正在向东扩大行动范围，深入伊朗领空，搜寻单向攻击无人机部队，并消除剩余的海上威胁。他还表示，美军继续在该地区搜寻并摧毁水雷储存设施和海军弹药库。

“迄今为止，我们已经打击了伊朗及其军事基础设施的 7000 多个目标，”赫格塞斯说，并补充说，周四的行动将“像昨天一样，是迄今为止规模最大的打击行动”。

凯恩还表示，自战争开始以来，美军一直在扩大海上行动。

他说：“我们继续搜寻并摧毁海上目标，其中包括 120 多艘船只和 44 艘布雷船。”

据美国能源信息署称，全球约 20% 的石油供应都要经过霍尔木兹海峡，而霍尔木兹海峡一直是 Epic Fury 行动的中心。

五角大楼官员在周四的简报会上没有提供战斗损失评估或有关弹药支出的更多细节。