On February 24th, 2026, an Iranian Ghadir-class midget submarine fired a Qader cruise missile at the USS Winston S. Churchill. The missile punched through the destroyer’s hull, killing four sailors and starting fires that threatened to reach the ammunition magazines.

Twenty-three minutes later, while damage control teams were still fighting the blaze, the Churchill launched four Tomahawk missiles at the submarine control facility that had coordinated the attack.

The facility was destroyed. Then twelve more Tomahawks destroyed the submarine’s home port.

This write provides the complete tactical breakdown: the first submarine-launched missile attack on an American warship, Captain Morrison’s decision to launch retaliatory strikes while his ship was still burning, and the comprehensive response that eliminated Iran’s midget submarine capability.

Twenty-three minutes. A new standard for American retaliation.