Direct proof of use
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is directly documented in the 2025 Israel-Iran Conflict through U.S. carrier flight operations during Operation Epic Fury. U.S. Central Command published an image caption identifying an F/A-18F Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 41 preparing to launch from USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 4, 2026.
DVIDS also published U.S. Central Command imagery showing an F/A-18F Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 213 landing aboard USS Gerald R. Ford while operating in support of Operation Epic Fury in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea on March 2, 2026. These official records connect Super Hornet carrier operations to the later U.S. phase of the conflict.
Sources: CENTCOM Abraham Lincoln Super Hornet, DVIDS Gerald R. Ford Super Hornet
Timeline
The catalog's canonical 2025 Israel-Iran Conflict begins with the June 2025 Israel-Iran war and remains open for later directly sourced state-on-state engagements. The Super Hornet evidence here belongs to the March 2026 Operation Epic Fury phase rather than the June 2025 Operation Midnight Hammer strike package.
CRS records the June 13, 2025 opening of the conflict, the June 22 U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Iran's June 23 attack on Al Udeid Air Base, and the June 24 ceasefire. In March 2026, U.S. military imagery and Defense Department reporting documented Super Hornet operations from USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford as part of Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
Sources: CRS 2025 Israel-Iran Conflict, Defense Department Epic Fury Briefing, CENTCOM Abraham Lincoln Super Hornet, DVIDS Gerald R. Ford Super Hornet
Narrative
The documented user was the United States. The cited official imagery identifies F/A-18F Super Hornets embarked with VFA-41 on USS Abraham Lincoln and VFA-213 on USS Gerald R. Ford during Operation Epic Fury. The Defense Department described Epic Fury as a large joint operation involving carrier strike groups, carrier air wings, fighters, tankers, airborne early warning aircraft, electronic attack aircraft, bombers, and unmanned platforms.
The direct Super Hornet evidence confirms carrier-based flight operations in support of Operation Epic Fury. It does not identify a specific F/A-18F target, munition release, or air-to-air engagement. The broader operational role is therefore best described as carrier-based strike-fighter support to U.S. airpower projection, force protection, and deterrence during the Iran campaign.
Sources: Defense Department Epic Fury Briefing, CENTCOM Abraham Lincoln Super Hornet, DVIDS Gerald R. Ford Super Hornet
