On the opening day of the war, Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles in massive salvos aimed at overwhelming US and Israeli air defenses through sheer numbers. Most were intercepted.
But since February 28, Tehran has launched fewer short and long-range missiles -- about several dozen per day on average. Yet its hit rate has increased, according to military analysts analyzing open-source data.
Why?
That is partly down to the United States and Israel degrading Irans military capabilities, but also Tehran conserving its remaining arsenal and becoming more selective in what it targets, experts say.
US and Israeli strikes have clearly caused significant damage to Iran's launcher infrastructure, said Kelly Grieco, senior fellow at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank. That physical attrition likely accounts for a significant share of the launch rate decline.
But Iran also seems to have also made a deliberate choice to change strategies, she added. Over time, Iran has shifted toward smaller, more precisely targeted salvos aimed at specific high-value targets.
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Those targets include key US military installations and radar systems in the Middle East, the critical oil and gas infrastructure of Americas Arab allies in the Persian Gulf, and industrial and energy sites in Israel.
By firing a relatively small number of missiles, Iran appears to be achieving its core war aims -- expanding the battlefield, disrupting the global economy, and imposing direct costs on the United States and its allies.
'Few Rockets Left'
Eliminating Irans large arsenal of ballistic missiles has been a key aim of the monthlong war, with the United States and Israel pummeling the Middle Eastern countrys above-ground missile launchers and stockpiles as well as its underground missile storage factories.
US President Donald Trump said on March 26 that Iran had very few rockets left. Other American officials have claimed Tehrans ballistic missile capabilities have been obliterated.
Israeli and US officials have said more than 10,000 Iranian targets have been hit since the air strikes began.
Washington has pointed to a 90 percent drop in Irans missile launches since the beginning of the war as evidence of its success in all but eliminating Tehrans missile program.
Israel hassaidat least 70 percent of Irans missile launchers and stockpile has been destroyed since the start of the war.
Still, air raid sirens are a daily occurrence across the Middle East.
The Islamic republic is firing 20 to 30 ballistic missiles per day on average, according to military analyststrackingIrans salvos. On top of that, the country continues to launch scores of cheap but deadly drones each day with devastating effects.
