A massive Iranian drone carrier, reportedly roughly the size of a World War II–era aircraft carrier, has been left engulfed in flames after a direct strike by U.S. forces, according to senior American military officials providing an update on the escalating conflict with Iran.
The dramatic strike was revealed Thursday by U.S. Central Command commander Admiral Brad Cooper, who confirmed that American forces had targeted the ship in the latest wave of attacks aimed at crippling Tehran’s military infrastructure.
“In just the last few hours, we hit an Iranian drone carrier ship, roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier. And as we speak, it’s on fire,” Cooper announced during a briefing.
Cooper did not elaborate on which carrier was struck or where it was located.
The burning ship may be the second Iranian drone carrier destroyed or disabled by U.S. forces since the war began.
In the opening hours of the conflict on February 28, U.S. forces struck Iran’s first drone aircraft carrier, IRIS Shahid Bagheri, according to U.S. Central Command.
Commissioned in February 2025, the 240-meter vessel was designed to serve as a mobile platform for Iran’s expanding drone warfare strategy, allowing the regime to project unmanned aerial attacks far beyond its shores.
CENTCOM revealed the strike days later in a statement posted on social media, directly disputing Iranian propaganda claiming that Tehran had sunk a U.S. aircraft carrier.
“The only carrier that has been hit is the Shahid Bagheri, an Iranian drone carrier. U.S. forces struck the ship within hours of launching Operation Epic Fury,” the Central Command post stated.
The Iranian regime’s false messaging machine continues to falsely claim that it has sunk a U.S. aircraft carrier.
The TRUTH: The only carrier that has been hit is the Shahid Bagheri, an Iranian drone carrier. U.S. forces struck the ship within hours of launching Operation… pic.twitter.com/6npT8nJcAt
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 2, 2026
The latest strike on the burning drone carrier is part of a sweeping military operation aimed at destroying Iran’s offensive military infrastructure.
Admiral Cooper said U.S. forces have already destroyed or sunk more than 30 Iranian ships during the operation.
Cooper: “You may have heard the President say just a little while ago that we have sunk or destroyed 24 ships. That was true at the moment. We’re now up to over 30 ships.
[…]
The President gave us another task: to erase or level Iran’s ballistic missile industrial base. So we’re not just hitting what they have; we are destroying their ability to rebuild.
As we transition to the next phase of this operation, we will systematically dismantle Iran’s missile production capability for the future, and that effort is absolutely in progress.
This is going to take some time, but our forces are well supplied, as the Secretary said, and we are absolutely ready to prosecute this mission decisively.
Our combined joint forces have relentlessly destroyed Iran’s air defenses over the past few days, and they have continued hunting for more systems to eliminate. Our air defenders are operating at the very top of their game.
I couldn’t be prouder to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners in the region—many of whom are helping provide the most integrated air defense network in Middle East history.
We are fighting to win.”
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