More information with pictures on the successful Iranian attack of a US air base in Saudi Arabia, wounding many soldiers, five seriously.
Photos that leaked online on March 29 confirmed that an American E-3G Sentry airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft was completely destroyed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia as a result of an Iranian attack that took place two days earlier.
The attack saw the Islamic Republic firing at least six ballistic missiles and 29 suicide drones at the air base, located in the heart of the kingdom.
Prince Sultan has been serving as a major hub for American aerial operations against Iran, with at least six E-3G aircraft spotted there at one point.
The E-3G is the latest modernized variant of the Boeing 707-based AEW&C. Featuring advanced radar, enhanced mission computing, and improved communications, it provides critical 360-degree, all-weather, long-range surveillance, battle management, and tracking to detect hostile, friendly, and neutral activity over land or water. The aircraft costs upwards of $300 millions, and is no longer in production.
The one destroyed at Prince Sultan carried the tail number “81-0005”. It belonged to the United States Air Force’s 552nd Air Control Wing, based at Tinker Air Force Base in the state of Oklahoma.
The Iranian attack on the air base wounded 15 American troops, including five seriously, according to the Associated Press.
Several other American aircraft which were parked on the tarmac of the air base next to the destroyed E-3G were also destroyed or damaged by the attack. Satellite images suggest that they are most likely KC-135 Stratotankers aerial refueling tankers. The KC-135, based on the Boeing 367-80 prototype, costs around $40 million.
Prince Sultan has repeatedly come under fire since the start of the American-Israeli war on Iran a little bit over a month ago.
Earlier last week, 14 American troops were wounded as a result of an attack on the air base. An even earlier strike on the air base damaged five tankers, reportedly KC-135S, although President Donald Trump later stated that the aircraft took very little damage, and all but one in need for more repairs were flying again.
Despite their vast resources, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have clearly both failed to protect the key air base, just 96 kilometers away from the capital, Riyadh.
The recent losses at Prince Sultan will have a direct impact on American aerial operations against Iran, at least to some extent.