Top American admiral in the Middle East says the US struck an Iranian drone carrier. He said ‘it’s on fire.’

• The United States shot down an Iranian drone ship and the ship burned, the CENTCOM commander said Thursday.

• Capable of launching crewless systems, the carrier is the size of a World War II aircraft carrier.

• Admiral Cooper shared other war-related developments, including reductions in Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.

The United States has shot down an Iranian drone ship and the ship is now burning, the top American admiral in the Middle East said Thursday afternoon.

Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle carrier It is a dedicated crewed warship capable of launching a mix of unidirectional attack drones and uncrewed reconnaissance and attack platforms. Destroying Iran’s naval forces is a priority for us Epic Operation Rage.

On Thursday afternoon, Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said: “Just in the last few hours, we have hit an Iranian drone carrier ship about the size of a World War II aircraft carrier, and as we speak, the ship is on fire.”

Cooper did not elaborate on where the carrier was or what type of ordnance hit it. He said US forces were sunk More than 30 Iranian ships Since the start of Operation Epic Fury last weekend.

Tehran has several ships that could serve as launch platforms for drones, including a former tanker converted into a forward base ship that was seen smoking in its home port in recent satellite images; but Iran’s private, purpose-built drone carrier is IRIS Shahid Bagheri.

Cooper did not reveal the identity of the targeted Iranian ship, but in the video released by CENTCOM, a ship bearing the hallmarks of Shahid Bagheri can be seen taking a serious hit.

Shahid Bagheri, formerly a container ship, was overhauled and incorporated into the navy last year.

The Iranian ship has a ski jump-style launcher that resembles in some respects Soviet-built carriers like the Russian Admiral Kuznetsov or Chinese derivatives used to launch aircraft. The ship can launch a mix of different drones.

During Thursday’s briefing, Cooper also offered several other updates on the matter. US war with Iran. He said that in the past 72 hours, US bombers had hit nearly 200 targets “deep within Iran, including around Tehran.” In the final hour, at 5 p.m. EST, the U.S. Air Force said B-2 Spirit bombers dropped “dozens” of 2,000-pound penetrating bombs on buried ballistic missile launchers.

The final day of operations saw a dramatic drop in Iranian attacks across its borders compared to the beginning of the conflict, Cooper said. Ballistic missile attacks decreased by 90% and drone attacks decreased by 83%. Reducing these attacks reduces the burden on air defenders and interceptor stocks.

U.S. forces also targeted Iran’s equivalent of U.S. Space Command, which “weakened their ability to threaten Americans,” Cooper said.

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