Transcription
The ground shakes. A white hot plume of fire and smoke punches skyward. It's February 28th, 2026. The opening hours of Operation Epic Fury. And somewhere in the Persian Gulf region, a Hamar's rocket launcher has just sent a missile blasting toward its target in Iran.
Around the world, military analysts pour over footage of the unnamed weapon. It's clear this is no ordinary missile. Its ascent is faster, more violent than anything the systems ever deployed before. And the launch pod it came from, normally designed to carry a single missile, appears to be carrying, too. It can only mean one thing. The United States Precision Strike Missile or PRSM, has just made its combat debut, and with it, the rules of groundbased fire support have changed forever.
Operation Epic Fury was designed to be a swift and powerful hammer blow. In the first 24 hours, US and Israeli forces needed to strike over a thousand targets inside Iran. From command centers to air defense networks, missile sites to naval assets. All of it simultaneously without warning. But there was a potential problem. Geography. For years, Army Himars batteries could lob attack him ballistic missiles across the narrow Persian Gulf. But with a maximum range of 186 mi, many of Iran's most critical targets buried deep set far back from the coast simply sat beyond reach.
But PRSM has changed that equation overnight. With a range of over 310 mi, nearly double the attacks. Targets that had always been untouchable are suddenly not anymore. And unlike a subsonic cruise missile, PRSM doesn't fly to its target. It falls on it from altitude at Mach 3, leaving its unsuspecting victims with no time to react. Against PRSM, reinforced concrete is no longer a defense. It's just extra material to punch through.
What's more, while Himar's rocket launchers can hold just one attack's missile each, they can carry two PRSMs in their place. The same trucks now have double the firepower. And Operation Epic Fury showed the world the devastating result. Iran's air defenses, the radar installations, missile batteries, or command nodes that might otherwise have threatened incoming strike aircraft were systematically dismantled in the opening hours of the campaign. With those defenses suppressed, the skies over Iran were open. And through those open skies poured the full weight of American and Israeli air power, striking over a thousand targets in the first 24 hours alone. PRSM didn't just hit targets, it unlocked them.
However, the February 28th operation has implications that go far beyond Iran's borders. Every adversary with a military analyst on staff just watched the United States field test a new ballistic missile with nearly twice the range of its predecessor in real combat against real targets on the first day of a major operation. That's a message that doesn't need a press release.
Nowhere was that message received more clearly than in Beijing. A potential conflict over Taiwan has long exposed one of the US military's most uncomfortable limitations. On land, in the Pacific, launch points are scarce, islands are small, distances are vast. The longer a missile can reach, the fewer places you need to fire it from. And PRSM's 310 mi range makes a meaningful difference in that calculus.
But this missile is just the beginning. The version of PRSM that flew over Iran on February 28th was increment one, the baseline. What comes next is something else entirely. Increment 2, due for completion in 2028, will add a multi mode seeker capable of tracking and destroying moving ships at sea, turning a land-based rocket launcher into a coastal defense weapon of extraordinary reach. Slightly later down the line, increment 3 will open the warhead up to swarms of kamicazi drones and precision glide bombs. While increment four will push the range beyond 620 mi deep into medium-range ballistic missile territory.
Distance used to be a kind of protection, a guarantee that certain targets should remain beyond reach no matter how powerful the enemy. PRSM is systematically dismantling that guarantee, transforming the landscape of 21st century warfare.
On March 1st, 2026, air raid sirens scream across Israel. Families rush into crowded shelters as over 40 ballistic missiles rain down mercilessly. Iran's revenge for the elimination of Supreme Leader Ali Kamani the previous day. Yet, a video reportedly showing the attack reveals something unexpected. One missile in particular evading more than 10 interceptor rockets in succession before striking its target. If Iranian claims are to be believed, this is the Fat 2, said to be able to tear through the skies at 15 times the speed of sound. are shrouded in a superheated plasma sheath that swallows radar waves whole, rendering it almost completely invisible to enemy air defense systems. It's a hypersonic ghost, and nobody knows if anything can stop it.
The Vet 2, did not appear from nowhere. Its predecessor, the Fatah 1, had already been used against Israel in strikes dating back to 2024, maneuverable ballistic missile that Iranian state media proudly claimed was hypersonic. The western analysts were skeptical. It was certainly fast and maneuverable, but its ability to evade modern air defenses was limited to the final moments of flight, a party trick rather than a gamecher. It seems the Fat 2 is something else entirely.
Whereas the Fatar 1 merely nudges its warhead in the terminal phase, the Fatar 2 deploys a hypersonic glide vehicle that surfs the upper atmosphere at Mach 15, maneuvering continuously, approaching targets from unexpected directions and generating a superheated plasma sheath throughout its flight. It doesn't follow a predictable arc. It doesn't give defense systems time to calculate. By the time it's detected, the window to intercept it can be measured in seconds.
The missile was first unveiled in November 2023. For over 2 years, it remained undeployed as the world waited to see if it would truly be capable of all that the Iranians claimed. The answer would finally come in March 2026. After the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28th, striking over a thousand targets across Iran in less than 24 hours, the Iranian leadership did not hesitate in ordering a retaliatory attack on Israel the next day. If Iran's assertion that the Fat 2 was among the barrage is true, it would mark the weapon's first ever combat deployment and therefore the first time a hypersonic glide vehicle had ever been used in direct confrontation with Western Patriot and Eegis defense systems.
Those systems have already been under strain. US forces in the region have reportedly been suffering severe shortages of interceptor missiles for both Patriot and THAAD batteries. Shields that have been thinning at precisely the moment they're needed most. And according to Yval Basesi, vice president of Israel's Rafale advanced defense systems, even fully stocked defenses may not be equal to the challenge. As Beski put it, quote, "One interceptor missile tracking one hypersonic missile is like defending LeBron James with a single player. You may keep chasing him, but you won't stop him scoring."
Whether or not it really was a fat 2 deployed on March 1st, or if it performs exactly as Iran claims, its reported deployment has already changed something. Israel's Rafale Advanced Defense Systems is being forced to fundamentally rethink its approach to missile defense. The US is scrambling to replenish depleted interceptors stockpiles, and every military analyst watching this conflict is asking the same question. If a mid-tier military power like Iran can now feel hypersonic glide vehicles, what does that mean for the rest of the world? The answer is uncomfortable.
Distance used to offer a degree of protection. Layered air defenses used to offer reassurance. The fatu or at least the idea of it is eroding both. Iran's message to its rivals is simple. Our most powerful weapons are no longer theoretical. And if Ibrahim Azizi, head of Iran's National Security Commission, is to be believed, this is only the beginning. He issued the country's enemies a stark warning. quote, "You've started down a path whose end is no longer in your control. Iran has a history of making empty threats and overstating its military achievements. But in a conflict already full of surprises, the world is watching more closely than ever to see if its clings about the Patu hold up.
For years, nations around the world have been racing to field the first true sixth generation fighter. a next level air dominance platform built not just to bring cuttingedge avionics, advanced stealth shaping, and adapted propulsion to the skies, but also serve as an airborne command node. From them, pilots could potentially coordinate entire formations of unmanned wingmen and execute conjoined strikes faster than ever before.
In the west, some analysts worry that China may already be pulling ahead. Just last year, reports confirmed that Changdu Aircraft Corporation had flown not one but two prototypes of its highly secretive ultra-longrange six-g design. Early imagery suggests a large tailless platform portedly powered by three engines and optimized for extended range and heavy payload capacity. If accurate, such a configuration could support large radar arrays, expanded missile loads, and combat ranges of around 2500 m.
Still, the United States is not about to let China claim all the glory. In late February, American aerospace giant Prattton Whitney confirmed that the US is closing in on its own breakthrough. The company released a technical video tied to its next generation adaptive engine program, offering a glimpse of an aircraft concept that only a few years ago would have seemed impossible. Now, however, the platform at May Power could take flight as early as 2028.
The system was born out of the US Air Force's nextgen air dominance program, an effort to replace the Loheed Martin Boeing F-22 Raptor. That's no small ask. Even after more than two decades in service, the Raptor is still regarded as one of the most sophisticated air superiority fighters ever built, combining stealth, super cruise, and advanced sensor fusion in a way few aircraft can match. Still, when the Air Force announced last year that it had selected the Raptor's successor, President Trump made it clear that the bar was being raised even higher. He even described the incoming aircraft as quote, "The most advanced, powerful, and lethal fighter ever built."
The jet is officially designated the F-47 with Boeing awarded the contract to produce its airframe. Reports indicate that elements of the aircraft have been in testing for roughly 5 years, but most of its technical details remain classified. The public still doesn't even know what the final jet will truly look like. Only a handful of renders released by the Air Force and Boeing have serviced, and even those, officials have cautioned, were deliberately altered to keep the real design a secret.
According to former Air Force Chief of Staff, General David Alvin, the aircraft will feature quote significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, supportable, and have higher availability than our fifth generation fighters. Additionally, it's also been reported that the F-47 could field a combat radius of around 1,150 mi and achieve speeds exceeding Mach 2, extending both reach and raw performance beyond current benchmarks.
But perhaps the most remarkable capability of America's next fighter won't be found in its shaping or its sensors. It will come from its engine. While no final contract has yet been signed for the F-47's engine, Prattton Whitney stands as one of the front runners to power America's nextg fighter. At the center of its bid is the XA 103, a propulsion system that could become one of the world's first operational nextg adaptive engines.
Unlike traditional fighter engines, which are optimized around a fixed balance of thrust and efficiency, the XA 103 is designed to adjust its bypass ratio and operating cycle in flight. In simpler turns, the engine will be able to reconfigure midair depending on whatever the mission calls for. If a pilot needs speed, the system can shift toward maximum thrust. If the mission calls for extended range, it can prioritize fuel efficiency. And during stealth operations, the engine can adjust air flow and thermal management just as easily, helping to reduce thermal signatures and making the aircraft harder to detect.
Designing an engine this complex would normally stretch development timelines by years. The Prattton Whitney is attempting to compress that cycle through a fully digital development approach. The company is said to have invested roughly $30 million in digital programs that allow engineers to collaborate in real time alongside Air Force partners using a shared modelbased platform that tracks every component, sensor, and performance parameter. Now, instead of relying on fragmented documents or latest stage testing fixes, the system allows teams to simulate, refine, and validate changes instantly, identifying issues early and optimizing performance down to the smallest detail. In other words, Prattton Whitney isn't just working to redefine how fighters fly, but also how they're built, aiming to ensure that the next generation of American air power takes off before any competitor has the chance to claim the skies for themselves.
Three Russian beasts roll across the occupied fields of the Zaparisia region in southern Ukraine. These are no ordinary vehicles. They are a tour surfaceto-air missile system. Russia's short-range all-weather defenders. Mounted on a tracker armored chassis and crowned with a rotating dome. These systems are part tank, part radar station, part rolling missile battery. They've been terrorizing Ukraine even before it crossed its borders. In 2020, outrage spread worldwide after a TOR M1 system operated by Iran mistakenly identified a Ukrainian passenger airliner as a threat and fired, taking out every civilian on board. Now the creature is back, threatening Ukrainian airspace with missiles that tear through the sky at twice the speed of sound and capable of knocking down targets flying higher than 30,000 ft.
But before the tours can push any deeper, something shifts across the night sky. A sneaky agent reporting back to command through a grainy night vision feed. Operators track the signal as it locks on to one of the Russian systems crawling across the terrain. The tour's radar scans the perimeter, but its systems work best when tracking aircraft and fastoving aerial targets, not low signature objects slipping in at night. The silent hunter drifts closer, guided in part by its own coordinates and in part by real-time visual corrections from the team monitoring it as it inches toward the tour. Back at the base at Ukraine's first separate center of the unmanned systems forces, the video feed abruptly cuts to black as the incoming agent makes contact. Signal lost. The unmistakable confirmation that the kamicazi drone has completed its mission. It's February 20th, 2026. That same night, the other two tour systems in the convoy meet a similar fate, reportedly struck by Ukrainian FP2 units in quick succession. A blow costing Vladimir Putin's forces somewhere around $75 million.
And that is far from the only strike Russia has faced in recent weeks. Throughout the month, Ukraine has been letting some of its most advanced drones run the battlefield. With a range of about 125 miles and the ability to carry aviation grade payloads, the FP2 has reportedly operated alongside other drone systems to overwhelm Russian defenses. Targets have reportedly included the Pancier S1 air defense system, BookM1 medium-range batteries, elements of the S400 longrange network, and even the UGN multiple launch rocket system.
Still, Ukraine appears to be only getting warmed up. By early March, Ukrainian forces had identified a far more coveted prize near the city of Marupole. The Soviet era 9S15 Embia radar station, capable of detecting incoming missiles from as far as 108 mi away. It serves as the eyes of Russia's air defense network, spotting threats long before they reach their target. As long as a system like this remained operational, no Ukrainian aerial activity in the region could ever be fully safe. Some estimates suggest Russia fields only a very limited number of S300V systems, making every damage component a critical hit to Putin's defenses. Ukraine could simply not afford to let the opportunity slip.
The attack came on March 1st. Once again, at the helm were operators from the first separate center of the unmanned systems forces. The weapons, a pack of FP2 drones, each carrying a 230lb warhead. Again, the assault unfolded undercover of darkness. The drones approached low and quiet, slipping toward their targets across open ground. Despite the sophistication of the Russian air defense system, none appeared to detect the incoming threat. And if they did, it was already too late. Captured footage shows the drone zeroing in on their objectives before the signal drops at the moment of impact. Follow-up shots by patrolling drones confirm the targets were destroyed, revealing the charred remains of the Russian equipment.
The war is far from over, but the strikes are forcing Russia onto the defensive, and Ukraine has no intention of surrendering the momentum. Firepoint, the company behind the FP2, just recently announced it's developing a new version of the drone. The goal is to retain the same 230lb warhead that has proven so devastating for Russia while significantly extending its operational range beyond its current 124 mi, perhaps as far as its sister system, the FP1, which is loaded with lighter payloads, but can cover almost 870 mi of terrain. It remains unclear when this upgraded FP2 will enter service. But Russia ought to keep an eye on the skies because if new, stronger versions of these drones start showing up, it's unlikely the nation will be able to keep sustaining million-doll losses overnight to drones valued at around $50,000 slipping in undetected from the other side of the battlefield.
The dawn of a new era in warfare arrived when following the first strikes of Operation Epic Fury over Iran, US Central Command announced that the United States Task Force Scorpion had for the first time in history deployed one-way attack drones in combat. The system in question was the lowcost unmanned combat attack system or Lucas. A platform unveiled last July in the Pentagon's courtyard where defense officials including Pete Hegath could inspect it up close. Spectreworks, the company behind Lucas, must have impressed military leaders enough during this presentation as only 8 months later, the systems were already flying above the battlefield.
Part of what likely sold the system was its low price tag. According to officials, each Lucas unit cost roughly $35,000. By comparison, defense budget reports suggest that a single American PRSM ballistic missile can cost up to $3.5 million. In practical terms, for the cost of one precision strike missile, the US could field around a 100 Lucas drones. Of course, a single Lucas unit doesn't deliver the same sort of explosive punches as America's most advanced longrange missiles. While the exact technical aspects of the system are not yet confirmed, some sources analyzing similar existing Spectre Works models estimate that each unit could carry a payload no heavier than 40 lb, about 1/5if of the estimated total weight of a PRSM's warhead.
However, delivering single massive strikes is not the point. When deployed in groups, Lucas offers something different. a flexible, difficult to counter strike package, capable of overwhelming defenses in ways traditional munitions cannot. In other words, it's a weapon built for the next era of warfare, one that Russia has already demonstrated over the skies of Ukraine and one in which the United States has shown some interest.
Last year, American defense officials confirmed that the US military had obtained an Iranian Shahed drone, giving way to a reverse engineering effort aimed at building an American clone. It remains unclear exactly when or how the drone was acquired. The most likely scenario is that it was recovered from the battlefield in Ukraine, where Russia has been launching relentless waves of shahads against cities and infrastructure ever since Iran began supplying them to Moscow back in 2022.
Despite earning the unfortunate nickname of the poor man's cruise missile, given their relatively low price tag of roughly 20 to $50,000 and modest speed of about 115 mph, the shaheds have proven far more dangerous than what their label suggests. The Shahed 136, known in Russian service as the Guran 2, is believed to have a range of roughly 1200-,600 m. It can be launched from fixed racks, trucks, or mobile platforms. And once airborne, it follows pre-programmed GPS coordinates toward its target before diving in with an explosive payload.
Its real power, however, lies in numbers. Shaheds rarely attack alone. They arrive in swarms, dozens at a time, saturating air defenses so that even if many are intercepted, others slip through. About a year ago, estimates suggested Ukraine was facing as many as 140 shahads per day as part of a sustained pressure campaign. In one particularly intense barrage reportedly involving more than 800 drones in September of last year, dozens were said to have penetrated Ukrainian defenses, striking targets across roughly 30 locations and even hitting a government building in Kev for the first time since the full-scale invasion began.
While Ukraine has steadily increased the use of interceptor drones to counter the threat, shaheds are difficult to eliminate completely. Their low altitude, small radar signature, and volume mean that at times high-end systems are the only way to stop them. Israel was reminded about this back in 2024 when comparable drones were used in attacks against the country. In some cases, defenders relied on advanced ASRAM air-to-air missiles supplied by the Royal Air Force to intercept them, sacrificing about a quarter of a million dollars just to shoot down a drone costing no more than 50,000.
Given those advantages, it's easy to see why the United States would want its own version of the Shahed. And while details of its initial operational performance over Iran remain limited, the fact that American variants are already flying is enough to worry the country's enemies. Because now the same asymmetric power Russia and Iran have used to pressure their rivals may soon be part of America's own toolkit.