A year of strikes: US military operations surge under Trump

President Donald Trump has presided over a rapid surge of U.S. military activity abroad since returning to the Oval Office.

In the first year of his second term, he has authorized a series of strikes ranging from the unprecedented use of bunker-buster bombs against Iran’s most fortified nuclear sites to a sustained counternarcotics campaign off the Venezuelan coast .

Trump, who has labeled himself a “peace president,” frames the expansion of force as a strategy of “peace through strength.”

At his inaugural ball in January , he declared, “We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end — and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.”

Trump added that his “proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.”

Since taking office on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump has overseen at least 626 air strikes, according to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project that was shared with Military Times.

By comparison, his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, launched a total of 555 strikes in his entire four-year term.

Here is where the U.S. military operated overseas in 2025.

Somalia – Feb. 1 and ongoing

The first major strike in the second Trump administration targeted the Islamic State in Somalia .

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the strikes aimed to degrade ISIS’ ability to “plot and conduct terrorist attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians.”

The campaign has continued in the region, representing a sustained U.S. military presence against ISIS affiliates in East Africa.

A U.S.-led coalition strike in Iraq’s Anbar Province killed ISIS’ second-highest ranking leader, Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, and one other insurgent.

Iraq’s prime minister described al-Rifai as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.”

Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly, anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, April 18, 2025. (Osamah Abdulrahman/AP)

Yemen – March 15 to May 6

In mid-March, the Trump administration began an air campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The strikes targeted command-and-control hubs, air defense systems and facilities used for manufacturing and storing advanced weapons, according to the Pentagon .

The offensive — which used JASSM long-range cruise missiles, JSOWs and Tomahawk missiles — surpassed $1 billion in costs within its first month.

The operation concluded on May 6 following an Oman-brokered ceasefire with the Houthis.

Operation Midnight Hammer deployed seven B-2 stealth bombers from Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base to strike Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities.

The bombers dropped 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordinance Penetrators on Fordo and Natanz, while a U.S. Navy submarine in the region launched more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at Isfahan.

Trump, in a primetime address, declared the mission achieved “total obliteration” of Iran’s enrichment capabilities, though Tehran disputed that assessment.

The Pentagon estimates the military strikes likely set back Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine discusses the mission details of a strike on Iran, June 22, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean – Sept. 2 and ongoing

Since September, the U.S. military has waged a sustained campaign of lethal maritime strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, part of what the Trump administration says is an attempt to dismantle powerful drug cartels and stop the flow of Venezuelan narcotics into the United States.

Trump boasts that the deployment involves the “largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America,” and pledged it will “only get bigger.”

At least 106 people have been killed in strikes on alleged drug-carrying vessels.

Operation Hawkeye Strike was launched by Trump to avenge the deaths of two U.S. soldiers, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, and a civilian U.S. interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat, killed in a terrorist attack in Syria.

American fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery struck more than 70 suspected ISIS targets across central Syria, according to CENTCOM .

The operation was named in honor of the fallen soldiers from Iowa, the “Hawkeye State.”

A U.S. airman prepares an A-10 Thunderbolt II for flight from a base in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, Dec. 19, 2025. (U.S. Air Force)

On Christmas Day, Trump announced the U.S. carried out airstrikes against ISIS in Nigeria , Africa’s most populous country.

The president said he acted to protect Christians who he asserts are being “mass slaughtered” by “radical Islamists,” and chose the date for symbolic reasons.

“They were going to do it earlier,” Trump said in an interview. “And I said, ‘nope, let’s give a Christmas present.’”

The operation involved more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from a Navy ship in the Gulf of Guinea and was coordinated with the Nigerian military.

Venezuela – December and ongoing

The C.I.A. reportedly carried out a drone strike on a facility in Venezuela – the first known U.S. attack inside the country since the Trump administration intensified its pressure campaign against the government of Nicolás Maduro.

The strike targeted a dock along Venezuela’s coast that officials said was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua to store narcotics and potentially prepare them for shipment, according to CNN.

Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.

自唐纳德·特朗普总统重返白宫以来，美国在海外的军事活动迅速增加。

在他第二个任期的第一年，他授权进行了一系列打击行动，包括史无前例地使用钻地炸弹袭击伊朗戒备最森严的核设施，以及在委内瑞拉海岸附近持续开展禁毒行动。

自诩为“和平总统”的特朗普，将武力扩张描绘成“以实力求和平”的战略。

在他一月份的就职舞会上，他宣称：“我们将衡量我们的成功，不仅要看我们赢得了多少场战斗，还要看我们结束了多少场战争——也许最重要的是，我们从未卷入的战争。”

特朗普补充说，他“最引以为豪的政治遗产将是和平缔造者和团结者的身份”。

根据武装冲突地点和事件数据项目汇编并与《军事时报》分享的数据，自 2025 年 1 月 20 日上任以来，特朗普至少监督了 626 次空袭。

相比之下，他的前任，前总统乔·拜登，在其整个四年任期内总共发动了 555 次袭击。

以下是美军在 2025 年的海外作战地点。

索马里——2月1日及之后

特朗普第二任期内的第一次重大打击目标是索马里的伊斯兰国。

国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯表示，此次空袭旨在削弱ISIS“策划和实施恐怖袭击，威胁美国公民、我们的伙伴和无辜平民”的能力。

该军事行动已在该地区继续进行，代表着美国在东非地区持续打击ISIS附属组织的军事存在。

美国领导的联军在伊拉克安巴尔省发动空袭，击毙了ISIS二号人物阿卜杜拉·马基·穆斯利赫·里法伊和另一名叛乱分子。

伊拉克总理称里法伊是“伊拉克乃至全世界最危险的恐怖分子之一”。

2025年4月18日，在也门萨那，胡塞武装支持者在每周一次的反美反以色列集会上高喊口号。（奥萨马·阿卜杜勒拉赫曼/美联社）

也门 – 3月15日至5月6日

3月中旬，特朗普政府开始对也门境内伊朗支持的胡塞武装发动空袭。

据五角大楼称，此次袭击的目标是指挥控制中心、防空系统以及用于制造和储存先进武器的设施。

这次进攻使用了 JASSM 远程巡航导弹、JSOW 和战斧导弹，第一个月的成本就超过了 10 亿美元。

在阿曼斡旋下，胡塞武装与阿曼达成停火协议，行​​动于5月6日结束。

“午夜铁锤行动”从密苏里州怀特曼空军基地部署了七架 B-2 隐形轰炸机，打击伊朗深埋地下的核设施。

轰炸机向福尔多和纳坦兹投掷了 30,000 磅重的 GBU-57 大型穿透弹，与此同时，该地区的一艘美国海军潜艇向伊斯法罕发射了十几枚战斧巡航导弹。

特朗普在黄金时段发表讲话，宣称此次行动“彻底摧毁”了伊朗的铀浓缩能力，但德黑兰方面对这一评估提出异议。

五角大楼估计，此次军事打击可能会使伊朗的核计划倒退多达两年。

2025年6月22日，美国参谋长联席会议主席、空军上将丹·凯恩讨论了对伊朗发动打击的任务细节。（安德鲁·哈尼克/盖蒂图片社）

加勒比海和东太平洋——9月2日及之后

自 9 月以来，美国军方在加勒比海和东太平洋持续开展致命的海上打击行动，特朗普政府称这是旨在瓦解强大的贩毒集团并阻止委内瑞拉毒品流入美国的行动的一部分。

特朗普吹嘘说，此次部署涉及“南美历史上集结的最大舰队”，并承诺“规模只会越来越大”。

至少有106人在袭击涉嫌运毒船只的事件中丧生。

“鹰眼打击行动”是特朗普发起的，目的是为两名美国士兵威廉·纳撒尼尔·霍华德中士和埃德加·布莱恩·托雷斯·托瓦尔中士以及一名美国平民翻译阿亚德·曼苏尔·萨卡特在叙利亚的一次恐怖袭击中丧生而复仇。

据美国中央司令部称，美国战斗机、攻击直升机和火炮袭击了叙利亚中部 70 多个疑似 ISIS 目标。

这次行动以爱荷华州（“鹰眼之州”）阵亡士兵的名字命名。

2025年12月19日，一名美国空军士兵在美国中央司令部作战区域内的一个基地为A-10“雷电II”攻击机做好起飞准备。（美国空军）

圣诞节当天，特朗普宣布美国对非洲人口最多的国家尼日利亚境内的ISIS目标发动了空袭。

总统表示，他采取行动是为了保护基督徒，他声称基督徒正遭到“激进伊斯兰分子”的“大规模屠杀”，而选择这一日期是出于象征性的原因。

“他们本来打算更早这么做，”特朗普在一次采访中说。“我说，‘不，我们送一份圣诞礼物吧。’”

此次行动涉及从几内亚湾的一艘海军舰艇上发射十几枚战斧巡航导弹，并与尼日利亚军方协调进行。

委内瑞拉——12月及后续

据报道，美国中央情报局对委内瑞拉境内的一处设施发动了无人机袭击——这是自特朗普政府加大对尼古拉斯·马杜罗政府施压以来，美国首次在该国境内发动袭击。

据 CNN 报道，此次袭击的目标是委内瑞拉海岸附近的一个码头，官员称委内瑞拉犯罪团伙 Tren De Aragua 使用该码头储存毒品，并可能准备将其运往国外。

Tanya Noury 是《军事时报》和《防务新闻》的记者，她的报道主要集中在白宫和五角大楼。