Global Security and Defense Developments - 13 March 2026

Executive Summary

The United States and Israel have expanded the scale and intensity of their military campaign against Iran, conducting sustained air strikes against ballistic missile infrastructure, radar networks, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command centers. U.S. strategic bombers operating from both forward locations and the continental United States have participated in strike missions, with RAF Fairford emerging as a central hub for bomber operations. The concentration of B-1B and B-52H bombers at the base indicates a significant forward deployment designed to sustain long-range strike capacity against Iranian targets. At the same time, the operational tempo of the campaign has been supported by extensive logistical and refueling activities, although the crash of a U.S. KC-135R tanker aircraft in western Iraq highlights the operational risks associated with sustained high-intensity air operations. Operational indicators suggest that the ongoing air campaign is significantly degrading Iran’s ballistic missile launch capabilities. The number of daily missile launches has declined substantially since the beginning of the conflict, reflecting the impact of continued strikes on missile launchers and related infrastructure. At the same time, Iran continues to pursue retaliatory operations through missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli territory as well as U.S. and allied military facilities across the Gulf region. Iranian strategy increasingly appears to focus on expanding the conflict into maritime and energy domains by threatening commercial shipping and energy infrastructure in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding Gulf waters. The broader regional security environment is becoming increasingly unstable as attacks on commercial shipping and military facilities expand and the risk to energy infrastructure grows. Since the beginning of the conflict multiple commercial vessels have reportedly been attacked in the Gulf and near the Strait of Hormuz, while Iranian authorities have openly warned that shipping linked to the United States, Israel, or their partners could be targeted. The war is also driving a redistribution of global military resources as the United States shifts certain air defense systems and other capabilities from Europe and Asia toward the Middle East to sustain regional operations.