Vital U.S. radar aircraft was destroyed by Iranian strike on U.S. base in Saudi Arabia, photos reveal
The destruction by Iran of a warning and control system aircraft on an American base in Saudi Arabia on Friday could affect the U.S. military’s ability to monitor threats — and raises questions around its preparedness for a “longer war,” experts say.
Images verified by NBC News after they surfaced online appear to show much of the back end of the E-3 Sentry jet was destroyed at the Prince Sultan Air Base, the tail lying at an angle on the ground surrounded by debris.
Several American service members were injured in Friday’s strike on the facility, which sits around 80 miles southeast of the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh. At least one aircraft was also damaged in the strike, two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed to NBC News.
NBC News has reached out to U.S. Central Command for comment.
“Iran is gradually eating away at the network of early warning systems that the US has built over decades in the region,” Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King’s College London’s School of Security Studies, said in written comments to NBC News on Monday.
“Collectively each radar or (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) platform destroyed further degrades the overall monitoring capability of the U.S.,” he said. [Continue reading…]