And the Pentagon announcing it is now deploying the venerable A10 Warhthog attack aircraft.

That’s uh not just the rules of war in the Strait of Hormuz have completely changed.

The Tehran regime has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical energy artery to traffic.

The Iranian revolutionary guards have set up an asymmetric death trap using thousands of small speedboats and hidden sea mines that paralyzes not only US forces in the region but also global trade.

However, US Central Command has deployed game-changing unconventional tactics to break this blockade.

Sentcom brought raw kinetic firepower to the table.

The A10 Warthog and the AH64 Apache.

These two Cold War legends carried out their first combat mission by pounding Iran’s southern coastline.

The deployment of this overwhelming air presence signals the end of the era of high altitude, sterile bombardments conducted by billiondoll aircraft.

Now a relentless, brutal, and merciless hunt at sea level has begun.

To fully grasp what these new deadly American weapons encountered on the battlefield, we must first examine Iran’s naval strategy.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy knows full well that it cannot engage US warships head-on in open waters.

Indeed, in the first weeks of the war, the fate of those large ships that Tan had proudly showcased was far from favorable.

Major naval assets, including Maugeclass warships, the Alvinclass frigate Sabalan and the offshore base ship Macran were sunk or severely damaged within hours.

Realizing that conventional naval tactics would be suicidal for it, Iran deployed its famous mosquito fleet concept, over 1,000 fast attack boats of the boghammer, Siraj 1 and Zulfagar classes.

Their tactics were primitive, attacking civilian ships or massive frigots in swarms with over 20 heavily armed or simply explosive laden boats at the same time.

Dozens of small targets suddenly appearing on radar would lay remote controlled mines and then flee back to where they came from at full speed.

In a choke point like the straight of Hormuz, where the narrowest point is just 24 mi wide, this asymmetric tactic worked perfectly and cut off global oil traffic like a knife.

The US Navy could not respond to this asymmetric tactic with billiondoll destroyers or $2 million cruise missiles.

Hitting a $25,000 speedboat or a Shahhead drone with million-doll weapons means losing the war economically.

This is precisely where the Pentagon’s doctrine underwent a radical shift.

Sentcom withdrew its massive ships to reopen the straight.

It abandoned the use of radar evading aircraft like the F-35 which fly at high altitudes for this mission.

Instead, it adopted a strategy of flying directly close to the ground, known in military terminology as a deck hugger.

Two old legends capable of patrolling the region for hours at a time and shredding targets not with smart bombs, but with cheap and pure kinetic rounds were called in.

The A10 Warthog and the AH64 Apache.

The mission was simple.

to physically grind down every Iranian movement on the sea surface and strip Iran of its asymmetric cost advantage.

Designed during the Cold War to stop Soviet tanks on the European planes and built for a single purpose, the A10 Warthog is now hunting ships on the world’s most critical waterway.

This aircraft is not as delicate as modern jets.

It is a flying tank completely encased in weaponry.

The heart of the A10 is the 30 mm GA AU8/A avenger Gatling gun mounted on its nose.

Firing 3,900 rounds per minute, this gun is a saw in the sky that literally cuts Iran’s lightly armored boats on the water’s surface in half with a single dive.

Armor-piercing rounds tear through those vessels engine blocks like paper.

An A-10 pilot fears neither light ground fire nor fire from speedboats because the pilot sits inside a massive 540 kg armor package known as the titanium bathtub.

In addition, A10s don’t rely solely on their guns.

They carry APKWS laser kits on their wings which transform cheap unguided rockets into precision striking smart munitions.

For those speedboats changing direction and maneuvering on the water every second, the A10 is an inescapable executioner from above.

The A-10’s naval role is not entirely new.

In 2011, during Operation Unified Protector in Libya, A10s destroyed patrol boats and small attack craft in the port of Misraata.

In 2023, the Pentagon launched A10 patrols in the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s harassment of commercial vessels.

In February 2026, attends conducted exercises with a coastal combat ship in the region, but none of these were as intense or took place in a real combat environment as the one in March 2026.

The second phase of this pursuit is carried out by a H64 Apache helicopters.

The Apache is the most effective countermeasure against Iran’s swarm tactics on the battlefield.

Each Apache is equipped with a 30 mm M230 chain gun mounted on its nose, capable of firing 620 rounds per minute and holding a 1,200 round capacity.

Integrated into the pilot’s helmet, this gun swivels and fires wherever the pilot looks.

However, the Apache’s true secret and revolutionary edge in this war lies not in expensive hellfire missiles, but in its kinetic takedowns using unguided rockets.

Iran launches cheap shahed suicide drones every day.

Instead of shooting down these drones with million-dollar air defense missiles, the Apaches employ an incredible tactic by firing plane rockets that don’t even contain explosives.

They crush these drones in midair using only the rocket’s kinetic impact energy.

This nullifies Iran’s asymmetric cost advantage.

But the Apache’s true lethal role is hunting mine laying ships in the dead of night.

Iran’s mine laying capacity is massive.

There are iron mines anchored to the seabed, magnetically triggered ones, pressure activated versions, and those that can be detonated remotely.

And the worst part is you don’t need a massive military ship to lay mines.

Even the Revolutionary Guard’s small, fast boats can deploy mines in the dark using a small crane mounted on the hull.

Apache helicopters using their thermal cameras to turn night into day sink these vessels into the water with hellfire missiles the moment they spot them preparing to deploy mines.

This first wave of operations involving A-10s and Apaches has already caused massive destruction on the ground.

According to statements by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hexith, over 120 Iranian warships and boats have been damaged or sunk so far in this lowaltitude pursuit operation off the Iranian coast.

But that’s not all.

Apache helicopters have specifically targeted and destroyed more than 16 Iranian naval vessels attempting to lay mines under the cover of night.

However, the operation is not limited to targeting boats in open waters.

The goal is to completely dismantle Iran’s attack infrastructure along the straight of Hormuz.

The Revolutionary Guard’s control of the strait rests on three main pillars: fast boat swarms, sea mines, and shore launched cruise missiles.

Together, these three turn the strait into an almost impenetrable wall.

Coalition forces are currently breaking all three of these pillars simultaneously.

The biggest challenge here, however, is the tunnels.

Iran’s coastal cruise missile batteries are hidden inside tunnels dug deep into the mountains.

Missile launchers mounted on trucks rapidly emerge from the tunnels, fire, and retreat within seconds.

As Michael Connell, an analyst at the Center for Naval Analysis put it.

Cruise missiles can be fired from hundreds of miles away and still hit ships passing through the straight.

The US is pounding this extensive missile network with heavy bomber aircraft like the B1B, B-52, and F-15E.

But catching mobile launchers that emerge from the tunnel and fire is an entirely different matter.

This is where the A-10’s loiter capability, which we mentioned earlier, comes into play.

The A-10, patiently waiting over the area for hours, instantly destroys the target with a Maverick missile or Avenger cannon the moment it detects a missile launcher emerging from the tunnel.

The Iranians employing a hitand-run tactic are caught by the flying saw waiting in the sky.

At the same time, the underground boat shelters on the islands of Kish, Larac, and Henam are also at the top of the target list.

These islands are located directly over commercial shipping lanes.

Fast boats emerging from them can reach a massive oil tanker in minutes.

US aircraft are demolishing the entrances to these shelters with penetrating JDAM bombs, burying the targets directly inside the caves.

The Pentagon’s multi-phase plan is no longer a secret.

First, destroy the coastal missile batteries and boat shelters.

Clear the boats in open waters with A10s.

hunt down nighttime mine layers with Apaches, then open the straight with warships, and finally provide a safe escort for commercial vessels.

So, why did the United States pull back its billion-doll ships and put its pilots on such a risky lowaltitude mission?

The answer lies in the global economy’s bloodletting.

The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz instantly sent Brent oil prices soaring to $119.

A full 20% of the world’s oil exports are held hostage in this narrow waterway.

This is not merely a regional security issue.

It is a global act of blackmail that will drag economies from Europe to Asia into recession.

As noted by the Washington-based Center for Naval Analysis, Iran planned to use its control of the Strait of Hormuz to force a mandatory mutual dependency agreement with energy dependent nations.

The ultimatum was clear.

If you want the straight security, we set the rules.

The US’s ruthless kinetic response delivered with A10s and Apaches strikes not only military targets but also directly at the heart of Iran’s global energy blackmail.

However, looking at the current situation and declaring premature victory would be a fatal mistake.

Military experts are highlighting the dangers of the current situation and how long the process could drag on.

Defense experts like Farin Nadimi, who know the region intimately, insist that despite the attacks and losses, Iran maintains a massive stockpile of mines and cruise missiles in those deep tunnels stretching along the coast.

Bombing the entrance to a tunnel does not mean you have destroyed the thousands of munitions inside.

The reality right now is this.

It is impossible to make the straight 100% safe for shipping.

As US officials have openly admitted, we may reach a stage where we can allow ships to pass, but Iran could still land a lucky shot.

That single lucky shot capable of sinking a tanker would be enough to reignite oil prices.

This risk is the most arduous, dirtiest cleanup phase of the war.

One that could last for weeks, perhaps months.

The Pentagon knows full well that air power alone cannot permanently clear the underground tunnels and islands.

The bloody manhunt currently being carried out by A-10s and Apaches is actually a preparation for the third and most critical phase of the war, ground invasion.

Right now, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit is rapidly advancing toward the Middle East with 2,200 fully equipped troops.

When they join the 31st MEU, which has set sail from the Indo-Pacific and is on its way to the region, more than 4,000 US Marines will be gathered off the coast of Hormuz.

The implication is crystal clear.

On President Donald Trump’s desk, plans for a direct land or amphibious assault on critical Iranian bases choking the Strait of Hormuz, such as Keshum or K Island, are actively on the table.

The primary purpose of the A-10s and Apaches currently pounding the sea surface and coastline so aggressively, so ruthlessly, is to clear a safe corridor for this massive amphibious landing force looming on the horizon.

The air clearance is nearly complete.

The sound of boats is approaching.

To sum up, the first mission of the A-10 Warthogs and AH64 Apache helicopters in the Straight of Hormuz has laid bare one of the greatest ironies of modern military history in its rurest form.

Iran’s brand new asymmetric warfare doctrine, which it has spent years developing and showcasing to the world through massive exercises utilizing state-of-the-art kamicazi drones and high-speed boats, was not crushed by billiondoll smart munitions or jets.

Instead, these systems were overpowered by 1970s era armored aircraft, cheap rockets striking with pure kinetic energy and heavy machine guns spewing 3,900 rounds per minute.

The United States has set aside that high-tech, seamless, and sterile illusion of warfare at sea.

It has entered into a direct street brawl in the bloodstained waters of the Strait of Hormuz, not hesitating to get its hands dirty.

The wreckage of 120 Iranian ships sunk in the waters, the downed drones, and the destroyed shelters are the clearest evidence of just how ruthless and cost-effective this new doctrine is.

Those who once choked the global economy now hold their breath at the muzzles of those deck skimming aircraft.

War has in essence returned to its most brutal and fundamental form and now everyone is waiting for the Marines appearing on the horizon.

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