CENTCOM Releases Satellite Images Showing Destruction of Iran's Drone Engine Plant

Before-and-after satellite imagery released by U.S. Central Command on Monday showed the Qom Turbine Engine Production Plant in Iran reduced to rubble, with the contrast between a March 6 photograph of the intact facility and a second image taken three days later capturing the extent of the destruction CENTCOM attributed to U.S. airstrikes.

In a post on X, CENTCOM wrote: "The Qom Turbine Engine Production Plant produced gas turbine engines for attack drones and aircraft components used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps." The plant was part of the broader industrial base sustaining the IRGC's drone program, making it a central target in the ongoing air campaign.

CENTCOM commenced Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, at the direction of the President of the United States. The stated objectives included destroying Iran's ballistic missile infrastructure and nuclear program, eliminating IRGC leadership, and annihilating Iran's naval capabilities. The Qom strike was among a series of hits on Iranian defense-industrial sites catalogued in Monday's briefing.

CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper presented the imagery during a video briefing, displaying before-and-after photographs of multiple facilities. Beyond Qom, the images covered a naval drone storage facility near the Strait of Hormuz struck on March 1, an attack-drone production factory in Tehran targeted on March 5, and the Yazd Military Depot, which was hit last month. At Yazd, Cooper said eight destroyed buildings had formed part of the IRGC's missile command infrastructure and were used to manufacture both light and heavy torpedoes.

Cooper framed the campaign in sweeping terms. "U.S. and partner strikes are doing exactly what they are intended to do, deliver on very clear military objectives to eliminate Iran's ability to project power against Americans and against its neighbors," he said. He added that the U.S. is focused on dismantling Iran's ability to threaten global commerce in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which a significant share of the world's oil supply flows. Shipping through the strait had already slowed to a standstill, with 150 freight ships, including many oil tankers, stalled.

The scope of the naval destruction Cooper claimed was striking: "Through a combination of air, land, and maritime capabilities, we have successfully destroyed over 100 Iranian naval vessels, and we aren't done," he said. "We will continue to rapidly deplete Iran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz."

There has been no immediate official response from Iranian authorities regarding the extent of damage or possible casualties at the Qom site. The imagery CENTCOM released has not been independently verified by third-party satellite analysts, and the claim of more than 100 naval vessels destroyed rests solely on Cooper's statements as presented in the briefing. The U.S.-Israel and Iran conflict has now entered its fourth week.