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The US has now fired more Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iran during Operation Epic Fury than it did in any other military campaign, surpassing the opening salvos of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
According to figures compiled by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), drawing on US Department of Defence data, congressional research and the Gulf War Air Power Survey, 850 long-range missiles have been fired during Operation Epic Fury, surpassing the 802 launched during Operation Iraqi Freedom two decades earlier.
The chart ranks every major US military operation that involved Tomahawk strikes, stretching from Desert Storm in 1991 through to the present conflict.
The gap between the top two operations is comparatively narrow, but the scale of both far exceeds anything that came before. Operation Desert Fox against Iraq in 1998 ranked third with 325 missiles, followed by Desert Storm (288), Noble Anvil over Yugoslavia (218) and Odyssey Dawn in Libya (199).
What is a Tomahawk?
A Tomahawk is a subsonic, precision land-attack cruise missile that the US Navy and Army have relied on for decades to strike hardened or high-value targets from stand-off distances. Its use at this scale signals a sustained, high-intensity campaign.
The CSIS figures note that an additional 190 Tomahawk deliveries are planned for the US Army and Marine Corps in 2026, suggesting the weapon may be deployed again.
