Iran Fired 6 Missiles at One Destroyer — Operation Anvil Strike Destroyed 9 Batteries in 49 Minutes

On February 18, 2026, at precisely 7:33 AM local time, the USS Forest Sherman found herself at the geographic center of the Strait of Hormuz, fulfilling her mission of presence in these strategically vital waters.

This Arleigh Burke-class destroyer stood as a testament to American naval power, positioned equidistant from Iran and Oman, sending a clear message: American warships transit these waters freely.

However, the Iranians had other intentions.

At 7:33, a swarm of six anti-ship missiles was launched from two separate batteries located on the Iranian coast, targeting the USS Forest Sherman.

This marked the beginning of one of the most intense defensive actions ever fought by a single American destroyer.

The attack was meticulously coordinated from two positions: a NOR battery near Bandar Abbas and a College Fars battery near Jask.

The missiles were timed to strike the target within seconds of each other, demonstrating a significant evolution in Iranian tactical capabilities.

They had learned from previous encounters that single missiles could be intercepted, and even paired missiles often failed to reach their targets.

The lesson was clear: saturate the defenses.

As the missiles approached, the Forest Sherman’s A/SPY-1D radar detected the launches at 7:33:14 AM.

The fire control system began calculating engagement solutions immediately, with approximately 110 seconds until the first impact.

Captain Marcus Williams was in the combat information center when the alarm sounded, giving him just 110 seconds to save his ship.

“Weapons free all threats,” he ordered, and the Aegis combat system sprang into action.

At 7:33, the first SM-2 missiles launched, targeting the closest threats: a pair of NOR missiles approaching from the northeast.

At 7:33:24, two more SM-2s were launched, aimed at the College Fars missiles coming from the east.

At 7:33:28, two additional SM-2s were fired at the remaining NOR missile.

In total, six missiles were inbound, and six interceptors were outbound.

In theory, this should have been sufficient; however, theory means little in the chaos of combat.

At 7:34:41, the first intercepts occurred.

SM-2 number one found its target, disintegrating the leading NOR missile eight nautical miles from the ship.

It was a clean kill.

However, SM-2 number two missed, as the second NOR had executed a terminal maneuver that threw off the intercept solution.

The missile detonated, but the NOR was outside the lethal radius, continuing its trajectory toward the Forest Sherman.

Meanwhile, SM-2 numbers three and four engaged the College Fars missiles, which approached at a faster speed and steeper angle, making them harder to intercept.

SM-2 number three scored a proximity kill, fragmenting the College Fars missile, but the warhead section remained intact and continued its descent.

SM-2 number four missed entirely due to a guidance malfunction, splashing harmlessly 2 kilometers away.

With one College Fars warhead section falling and another intact, the situation was becoming dire.

SM-2 numbers five and six were tasked with the remaining NOR missiles from the northeast.

SM-2 number five hit, destroying the second NOR missile at five nautical miles.

However, SM-2 number six faced the third NOR, which had evaded earlier intercepts and was now within three nautical miles, descending toward its terminal attack run.

At 7:34:58, SM-2 number six scored a proximity kill, but this meant only damage, not destruction.

The NOR was damaged, wobbling and leaking fuel, but it was still flying.

With four missiles intercepted or destroyed, two missiles were still tracking.

Time was running out, and the close-in weapon system (CIWS) could engage only one target at a time.

Captain Williams made a split-second decision: “Helm, hard to port. Emergency flank!”

The Forest Sherman pivoted sharply, presenting her narrowest profile to the inbound threats.

The CIWS engaged the closest threat—the damaged NOR from the northeast—shredding it with 20mm tungsten rounds.

The missile broke apart at 400 meters, debris raining into the sea beside the turning ship.

However, the remaining College Fars warhead section was tumbling but still lethal, just 12 seconds from impact.

At 7:35:11, the warhead struck the water 23 meters from the Forest Sherman’s starboard side, resulting in an underwater detonation.

The blast from a 450 kg warhead detonating so close to the hull created a shockwave that traveled through the water at 1,500 meters per second.

The Forest Sherman’s turn had exposed her stern quarter to the blast, the most vulnerable angle.

The shockwave hit like a hammer, buckling hull plates, splitting seams, and warping both propeller shafts.

Inside the ship, sailors were thrown off their feet as equipment broke loose from mounts, pipes ruptured, and electrical systems shorted.

The Forest Sherman had survived the missile swarm attack but was now crippled.

Damage ᴀssessment came quickly: both propulsion shafts were damaged, reducing maximum speed to 8 knots, and the steering rudder was jammed at 15 degrees to port.

Multiple compartments were taking on water, and damage control teams were struggling to manage the situation.

Surprisingly, the weapons systems were intact, with the vertical launch system (VLS) cells forward of the blast effect.

Sensors remained operational, with only minor damage to the aft arrays.

Casualties were remarkably light; while six sailors were injured, none were critically hurt, and there were no fatalities.

The ship had survived, albeit barely.

At 7:37, Captain Williams transmitted to the Fifth Fleet: “Forest Sherman engaged by six missile salvo. All missiles defeated, but ship damaged by near-miss detonation. Propulsion and steering compromised. Request immediate ᴀssistance. Recommend—strongly recommend—maximum retaliation.”

Vice Admiral Santos received the report at 7:40, having monitored the engagement in near real-time.

The Aegis system continuously transmitted data to fleet headquarters, allowing her to witness the missile launches, intercepts, and the near-miss detonation.

The Forest Sherman had faced the most intense attack any American destroyer had ever survived, defeating five of six missiles and sustaining damage from the sixth.

The Iranian gambit had failed, but they had come alarmingly close to success.

Another few meters, and the warhead would have struck the hull directly.

Another few seconds, and the CIWS might have engaged the wrong target.

The response needed to ensure that such an incident never occurred again.

At 7:44, Santos authorized Operation Anvil Strike, aptly named for its intended purpose: to hammer Iran’s coastal defense network until nothing remained.

The target list included both batteries that had attacked the Forest Sherman, three additional NOR batteries along the Bandar Abbas coast, two College Fars batteries in the eastern sector, the coastal defense command center coordinating battery operations, and three radar installations providing targeting data.

In total, there were 12 targets designated for comprehensive destruction.

American ᴀssets had already been prepositioned for this contingency.

The USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group was operating in the Gulf of Oman, ready to provide the primary strike capability with 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets armed for ground attack, supported by four EA-18G Growlers for electronic warfare.

The guided missile submarines USS Ohio and USS Michigan were positioned in the Arabian Sea, carrying a total of 308 Tomahawk cruise missiles, with 40 allocated for Anvil Strike.

Two B-2 Spirit stealth bombers were airborne over the Indian Ocean, originally tasked for a different mission but diverted to participate in the strike.

At 7:51, the first wave launched as the Ohio and Michigan began their Tomahawk salvos.

Forty missiles rose from the sea in rapid succession, targeting the two batteries that had attacked the Forest Sherman, along with two radar installations.

The Tomahawks would arrive first, suppressing air defenses and destroying confirmed shooter positions.

At 7:58, the aircraft launched from the USS George H.W. Bush.

The Super Hornets catapulted from the deck in pairs, forming strike packages as they climbed.

The Growlers followed, their electronic warfare pods ready to blind any surviving Iranian radar systems.

Their targets included the secondary missile batteries and the coastal defense command center.

At 8:07, the B-2s received their final targeting data, with their mission focused on the two College Fars batteries in hardened positions that other weapons might not penetrate.

The B-2s carried bunker-busting munitions specifically designed for this mission.

At 8:22, 49 minutes after the Forest Sherman was hit, the first Tomahawks struck.

The NOR battery near Bandar Abbas, responsible for part of the earlier swarm attack, was hit first, with eight Tomahawks saturating the position.

The launchers, radar, command vehicles, and reload stocks were all obliterated.

The battery that had fired three missiles at an American destroyer had just three minutes of existence left—then it had none.

The College Fars battery near Jask received the same treatment, with eight more Tomahawks resulting in complete destruction.

Simultaneously, the radar installations were hit, with four Tomahawks each obliterating the facilities that had provided targeting data and tracked the Forest Sherman.

At 8:29, the aircraft arrived.

The Growlers went in first, their jamming pods filling Iranian radar screens with noise, ensuring any air defense systems that had survived the Tomahawk strikes were blinded.

The Super Hornets followed in waves, with the first wave targeting the remaining NOR batteries—three positions along the coast that had not participated in the attack but could do so in the future.

Seventy-two JDAMs were deployed for precision destruction.

The second wave targeted the coastal defense command center, the brain of Iran’s anti-ship network, coordinating battery positions and managing the entire system.

A total of 48 JDAMs and 16 JSOWs struck the compound, collapsing above-ground structures and breaching underground bunkers.

The officers who had planned the attack on the Forest Sherman were buried in the rubble.

At 8:37, the B-2s arrived at their targets.

The College Fars batteries, situated in hardened mountain sites with tunnels carved into rock and blast doors protecting the launchers, were now in the crosshairs.

Conventional weapons might damage these sites, but the B-2s carried unconventional weapons: GBU-57 Mᴀssive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP), weighing 30,000 pounds each and designed to penetrate 200 feet of concrete before detonating.

Each B-2 carried one MOP for each of the two targets.

The first MOP struck at 8:38, causing the mountain to shake as dust and rock erupted from the tunnel entrance.

The facility inside, along with the launchers, missiles, and crew, was crushed under millions of tons of collapsing stone.

The second MOP struck at 8:39, resulting in the same catastrophic outcome.

A hardened position that had taken years to construct was obliterated in seconds.

At 8:44, the last American aircraft cleared Iranian airspace, marking the completion of Operation Anvil Strike.

The damage ᴀssessment compiled over the following week revealed the extent of destruction: two NOR batteries involved in the attack were destroyed, two College Fars batteries that participated were eliminated, three additional NOR batteries were taken out, two hardened College Fars batteries were destroyed, three radar installations were obliterated, and one coastal defense command center was annihilated.

In total, nine missile batteries were destroyed, three radar installations were eliminated, and one command facility was obliterated.

Estimated Iranian casualties ranged from 400 to 500 personnel, and between 60 to 80 anti-ship missiles were destroyed.

Iran’s coastal defense network in the Strait of Hormuz was functionally eliminated.

The USS Forest Sherman was towed to Bahrain by the fleet tug USNS Navajo, with repairs expected to take seven months.

Her crew received the Navy Unit Commendation for their exemplary performance during the engagement, successfully defeating five of six missiles in a salvo attack that should have overwhelmed their defenses.

Captain Williams received the Navy Cross for his critical decision to execute an emergency turn at the moment of impact, which ultimately saved his ship.

The diplomatic response from Iran was predictably furious, accusing the United States of destroying their legitimate defensive capabilities.

Iran claimed the original attack was a response to American aggression, demanding international sanctions and threatening to close the Strait permanently.

In contrast, the United States released the full engagement record, including radar tracks, missile trajectories, and damage pH๏τos, providing overwhelming evidence of an unprovoked six-missile salvo against a ship in international waters.

The international community expressed concern, and the UN convened, but resolutions were vetoed, leading to no significant changes.

However, the military balance had shifted decisively.

Iran’s ability to threaten American ships in the Strait of Hormuz was dramatically reduced, though not entirely eliminated; they would eventually rebuild, but it would take years to reconsтιтute effective operations.

The message of Operation Anvil Strike was clear: attack one American ship, and we will destroy your entire regional capability.

The USS Forest Sherman returned to service seven months later, with Captain Williams promoted and her crew ᴀssigned to new postings.

Her story became required reading at the Naval War College, serving as a powerful reminder of the stakes in modern naval warfare.

In just 49 minutes, the response transitioned from a near-catastrophic attack to the systematic destruction of an entire defense network, reshaping the military balance in one of the world’s most critical waterways.

The Strait of Hormuz remains contested, oil continues to flow, ships keep sailing, and both sides continue to count the costs.