By Ellen Mitchell,The Hill,
An Iranian missile attack on a Saudi Arabia base last week destroyed a U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry, a valuable early warning and control aircraft, multiple outlets have reported.
The destruction of the Boeing-made E-3 Sentry, which costs roughly $300 million, marks the first time such an aircraft has been destroyed in combat. Images of the plane quickly spread over social media, showing its tail broken off and its signature radar dome
Several other military planes also were damaged and at least 10 service members were injured in the March 27 strike at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Al-Kharj.
U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to questions from The Hill about the destruction of the aircraft.
Without the E-3, it could be more difficult for U.S. forces to spot incoming Iranian threats. The loss of the plane and its radar dome, part of the airborne warning and control system (AWACS), is “a serious blow to [U.S.] surveillance capabilities,” retired Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton told CNN.
There are only 16 E-3s left in the U.S. fleet but not all are ready to be flown. The aging aircraft are used to spot incoming missiles and help coordinate airstrikes, with Washington sending six to the Middle East ahead of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, TWZ reported.
The U.S. war in Iran is taking a mounting toll on America’s troops and military equipment since it began just over a month ago.
At least 13 U.S. service members have been killed – six in an office space in Kuwait and six in a refueling plane crash – while more than 300 have been injured, including at least 10 critically.
In addition, at least 17 aircraft have been shot down, crashed, or been bombed, including 10 Reaper drones, three F-15s and a KC-135 tanker, Bloomberg reported. Five other KC-135s were reportedly damaged by an Iranian missile strike on an airfield in Saudi Arabia.
— The Hill
