- USAF B-2 bombers dropped at least 6x GBU-57 MOP bombs on Fordo
- U.S. Navy guided-missile sub USS Georgia (SSGN 729) fired 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Natanz and Isfahan
What we know:
Source: @EricSchmittNYT
Update: One B-2 also dropped two bunker busters on Natanz, according to the U.S. official @EricSchmittNYT
"The B-2’s that struck the Iranian nuclear sites early Sunday flew non-stop for about 37 hours from their base in Missouri, refueling several times mid-air, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity."
Saturday's strike was the first time the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) — a 30,000-pound bomb with 6,000 pounds of explosives — was used operationally by the U.S. Air Force. (CNN)
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PLA Navy in 2025: More warships, farther than ever before
• 1,350+ Chinese vessels near Taiwan (+26%)
• Liaoning’s longest deployment ever, deep into WESTPAC
• First circumnavigation of Australia
• 20+ joint combat readiness patrols
These deployments demonstrate Beijing's blue water ambitions and the capability to project power outside the first and second island chains, sending a clear message to not only the U.S. and Taiwan but also Australia, Japan, and the Philippines.
The Chinese PLA has deployed four big deck warships - two aircraft carriers and two amphibious assault ships - over the last month.
The Liaoning carrier task group is operating deep in the Western Pacific, more than 2,000 miles (3,200km) from its homeport at Yuchi Naval Base. This represents the PLA's longest carrier deployment on record and the first time deploying beyond the second island chain.
🚨 China dispatched 546* PLA aircraft around Taiwan in April, the highest monthly total of 2025 & most since August
Nearly 1,800 PLA aircraft have been detected operating nearby year-to-date (+48% yoy), with 1,200+ crossing into Taiwan's ADIZ (+184%)
New heatmap with @OSINTNW:
Year-to-date, PLA incursions into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in 2025 continue to run significantly higher than 2023 and 2024.
China wasn't fooling around on 1 April when they announced exercise Strait Thunder 2025A, taking advantage of favorable weather conditions to "close in on Taiwan from multiple directions" and execute one of the PLA's largest blockade drills to date. 135 PLA planes were detected over 2 days.
A Bomber Task Force (BTF) deployment of USAF B-1B Lancer aircraft, Airmen and support equipment from the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, arrived at Misawa Air Base, Japan, on 15 April. (PACAF)
New @jointstaffpa map shows the flight paths of Chinese (red) + Russian (yellow) military aircraft operating near Japan, Taiwan, + South Korea in the past year.
Japan scrambled 704 times in response, with two-thirds (464) due to Chinese aircraft. 3x as many PLA drones detected.
704 scrambles in FY2024 (1 April to 31 March) is a modest 5% (+35) increase over the prior period.
During exercise Strait Thunder-2025A, the Chinese PLA released several maps and visuals of Taiwan, some marked with target icons and depicting key locations burning and under attack.
Quick compilation (and more info below):
Here’s everything that happened (as it was happening):
BREAKING: China launches joint military exercises around Taiwan, practicing a “blockade on key areas”
On 1 April, PLA Eastern Theater Command deployed Army, Navy, Air Force, & Rocket Forces to “close in on Taiwan from multiple directions.”
- Sea-air combat readiness patrols
- Joint seizure of comprehensive superiority
- Assault on maritime & ground targets
- Blockade on key areas & sea areas
“It is a stern warning & forceful deterrence against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces.”
The PLA released a theme poster called “Closing In: Sinister Moves of Taiwan Separatists Courting Disaster Upon Themselves.”
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command began conducting joint military exercises around Taiwan on Tuesday, 1 April 2025, according to an announcement by Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the theater command.
Why is China doing this now and what are these exercises designed to do? @WarintheFuture explains: