Video shows US forces destroying some of Iran's old American-made warplanes
US Central Command released new footage on Wednesday of strikes against some of Iran’s old American-made surveillance and transport military aircraft.
The videos, posted on X, showed a Lockheed C-130 Hercules and a Lockheed P-3F Orion being set ablaze by airstrikes as they were grounded on runways.
It’s unclear when or where the strikes occurred.
The C-130’s frame appears to collapse upon the strike’s impact, with the fuselage separating from its wings in a fireball.
The clips also showed the apparent destruction of an Ilyushin Il-76, a Soviet-designed strategic airlift freighter.
“The Iranian regime is losing air capability day by day,” CENTCOM wrote in its post.
Iran has an aging fleet of C-130E and C-130H transport aircraft, which it acquired from the US before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Tehran was believed to field about 28 of these turboprop planes, but it’s unclear how many remain after recent strikes on its military assets.
Iran also purchased six P-3F Orion maritime surveillance aircraft before the revolution and was, until recently, believed to still operate five of them. Its air force is also reported to have roughly five IL-76s.
Separate satellite images from Monday obtained by Business Insider also show that several of Iran’s American-made F-14 Tomcat fighter jets — made famous by the film “Top Gun” — were destroyed at an airbase in Isfahan.
The US and Israel have continued to launch strikes against Iran, saying they’ve attacked over 5,500 sites and military assets since February 28.
Many of those strikes targeted Iranian naval vessels, which the US is concerned may threaten the Strait of Hormuza vital waterway that services about a fifth of the world’s oil supply. Over a dozen reported attacks on the strait have reduced its traffic to a crawl, sending oil prices briefly spiking over $100.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the war with Iran may end soon and there was “practically nothing left to target” in the country.
“Any time I want it to end, it will end,” he told Axios in a phone call.
