Ayatollah's arsenal vs. American firepower: Iran's top 4 threats and how we fight back

Iran's military tactics against US forces include ballistic missiles, Shahed drones, and swarming boats, but American forces have proven countermeasures. Opinion Ayatollah's arsenal vs. American firepower: Iran's top 4 threats and how we fight back US forces plan to utilize Patriot batteries, F-35 fighters and Navy destroyers to intercept Iranian threats By Rebecca Grant Fox News Published February 23, 2026 5:00am EST Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video Trump warns Iran, Netanyahu issues threat as US military presence in Mideast grows President Donald Trump warns Iran against nuclear weapons as U.S. military assets surge into the Middle East. Benjamin Netanyahu issues a stark warning to Iran amid joint drills with Russia, intensifying regional tensions. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Ayatollah Khamenei on X ramped up threats to send U.S. warships to the bottom of the sea. "Americans constantly say that they’ve sent a warship toward Iran. Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware. However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea," he (or his minions) tweeted Feb 17. Admiral Brad Cooper, who’s in charge of United States Central Command, has forces to counter Iran, and to carry out strikes if so ordered. Sadly, Iran has taken American lives over the years, and now the regime is desperate. With the airspace laid bare by attacks on integrated air defenses prior to Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran has little ability to defend against stealth aircraft. Count on Iran trying to hit U.S. ships and bases. Here are the four top tactics in the ayatollah’s arsenal – and how the U.S. will fight back. US MILITARY WARNS IRAN IT WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY 'UNSAFE' ACTIONS AHEAD OF LIVE-FIRE DRILLS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ Vessels of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps are seen during a ceremony marking National Persian Gulf Day near Bushehr, Iran, on April 29, 2024. (Shadati/Xinhua via Getty Images)Ballistic missiles Iran launched short- and medium-range ballistic missiles against the U.S. airbase at Al Udeid, in Qatar, on June 23, 2025. A skeleton crew of American soldiers with two Patriot missile batteries intercepted Iran’s missiles. "We believe that this is the largest single Patriot engagement in U.S. military history," said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine in a Pentagon briefing the next day.The U.S. Space Force will once again be on alert to detect the heat of Iranian missile launches and cue the target tracks. Iran’s ballistic missiles can attack multiple targets, but U.S. forces are ready to intercept. In 2024, American Navy destroyers sailing in the eastern Mediterranean nailed Iranian missiles with nose-on shots. They used Standard Missile SM-3, both the older Block 1 and the wide-coverage Block 2A. SM-3 is a hit-to-kill weapon: it smashed Iran’s missiles at 65,000 feet, in the exo-atmosphere, using just the 600-mph velocity. Bullet hits bullet. That’s why Navy destroyers are fanned out from the Med to the North Arabian Gulf. IRAN TO HOLD LIVE-FIRE DRILLS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ WITH US ARMADA IN MIDDLE EASTDronesIran manufactures a lot of drones, but they are going to die if they tangle with U.S. forces. A Marine Corps fighter pilot flying an F-35C from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shot down one of Iran’s Shahed drones on Feb. 3. That was a Shahed-139 surveillance drone, which also carries glide bombs and can loiter for up to 24 hours. It got too close to the aircraft carrier, as Central Command put it. Victory credit goes to the "Black Knights" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron VMFA-314, as reported by USNI News. The drone kill was easy work for the F-35C, with its sensitive, long-range radar and vectoring by Navy E-2D radar planes, which fly with a massive dish radar to sort out good guys and bad guys. Forward surveillance by the E-2Ds will be essential if Iran launches waves of drones toward U.S. ships. The USS Gerald R. Ford en route could add options for day and night combat air patrols against drones and missiles. MORNING GLORY: PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S MOST IMPORTANT DECISION IS COMING VideoIf the attack is over land, look for the U.S. Air Force to pounce. Over the last two years, American pilots have become masters of anti-drone tactics. It started when U.S. Air Force F-15E "Strike Eagles" from an undisclosed Mideast base shot down waves of Iranian drones in April 2024. At one point, crew chiefs came out of bunkers while the base was under fire to pull the arming pins on weapons before the F-15Es took off. They are ready to do it again.Swarming boatsCLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps navy has a long history of harassment with small boats, and they like to boast about their exercises with "swarms" of boats. That’s over. Iran thug small boats can’t form up to "swarm" under the constant eye – and guns – of this many U.S. ships and planes. Foolishly, two Iranian small boats and a drone tried to "swarm" a Swedish tanker carrying fuel for U.S. forces. How