US fighter jet’s attack on Iranian tankers explained | CNN

A US fighter jet disabled two Iran-flagged tankers on Friday by firing precision munitions into their funnels, the US military said, demonstrating the precision of the weapons in use. US Central Command, which oversees Middle East military operations, released a video it says shows the tankers – the Sea Star III and the Sevda – being hit by a US Navy F/A-18. It said the vessels were violating the US blockage of Iranian ports. The video shows slight puffs of smoke from the Sea Star’s smokestack, and then darker smoke rising from it after the strike. In the Sevda clip, a burst of flame is followed immediately by plumes of heavy black smoke. No damage beyond the funnel, or smokestack, area is evident in the videos provided by CENTCOM. The release did not mention any casualties on the tankers. Military experts told CNN the Navy fighter jet likely used 500-pound laser-guided bombs to hit the tankers with such precision. Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and a former Royal Australian Air Force officer, described how the F/A-18 may have carried out the dual attacks. Iran’s ‘mosquito fleet’ means its battered navy still has bite “If you fly at say 5,000 fe

May 9, 2026 → May 9, 2026