Iranian strikes cause billions of dollars in damage to US bases: report

The analysis found that, through August, more than 115 drone and missile strikes claimed by Iran or Iran-backed groups had damaged or destroyed structures at 26 military bases and other sites housing US equipment., Iran initially focused on aircraft hangars and systems designed to detect incoming strikes, before broadening its targets to warehouses, troop accommodation and other facilities.

The attacks, the analysis said, were aimed at weakening the systems that helped protect US bases and enabled them to function. Read:81 US aircraft lost or damaged during Iran war, congressional document shows.

The attacks have significantly altered the American military presence in the region, with the US moving many of its assets out of the Persian Gulf, two regional officials. These included aircraft, air defence and communications systems, as well as other equipment crucial to base operations, the report said.

The report said the damage raised questions about the effectiveness of American defences in the region as President Donald Trump considered fresh strikes after Tuesday's midterm elections and Tehran vowed major retaliation.

It warned that a resumption of hostilities could cause further costly damage to military bases, deepening uncertainty over whether Washington would rebuild its installations and replace equipment in the region after the war. The analysis found that Iranian strikes had damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and other structures at US bases between April 1 and June 30.

The report said its findings offered a broader picture of the destruction than previously released independent assessments, including those by the Pentagon's inspector general. The Trump administration and US military have disclosed few details about the conflict's toll on personnel and equipment.

Delays in releasing satellite imagery have also hampered independent assessments, the report further said. US Central Command declined to comment on the damage, citing operational security. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, however, said US forces and bases were well protected and the military was stronger than ever.

“Our service members in CENTCOM have everything they need to continue their historic success ensuring Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon,” he said in a statement. Kuwait bears brunt of attacks.

Most Iranian attacks have targeted Kuwait, although US installations in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also been hit, theAPanalysis of satellite imagery showed. The deadliest known strike on US troops during the war took place in Kuwait, where six soldiers were killed in a drone attack at Port Shuaiba on March 1.

Ali Al Salem Air Base was struck at least 30 times, damaging or destroying 15 aircraft hangars, several warehouses and 10 buildings near a residential area. Also Read:US costs of Iran war rise to over $47 billion,, also in Kuwait, suffered extensive damage.

Most of its hangars were rendered inoperable, while its gym was destroyed in March and a store for troops was hit in late July. A separate strike severely damaged the garage and dining room, two regional officials.

The officials and two other regional military officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details about the damage. Although the strikes inflicted far greater damage on Iran, American equipment losses were inevitable, said Raphael Cohen, director of the National Security Programme at the RAND School of Public Policy.

Modern warfare had made militaries “susceptible to large-scale, cheap drone attacks”, he said. “This should be a wake-up call for the United States,” Cohen added. Early-warning systems among first targets.

Iran began its retaliation by striking systems designed to detect incoming attacks before expanding its targets to buildings and equipment that kept US bases operational, the report said. Within the first two days of the war in late February, Iran destroyed protective enclosures housing US radar systems at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait and Naval Support Activity Bahrain.

It also struck portable radars at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia and Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Iran prioritised key early-warning radars that form the backbone of the US air defence system and are difficult and expensive to replace, said N.R.

Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services. A radar in Jordan was reportedly destroyed. It was one of only 13 such systems possessed by the US Army worldwide, with each costing about half a billion dollars,.

Another radar in Qatar was significantly damaged, although it remains unclear whether it was destroyed. The system was purchased under a 2013 deal worth $1.1 billion and appeared to be the only one of its kind in the region.

The attacks were likely “intended to disrupt and degrade the U.S. and allies’ ability to respond to further strikes”, Jenzen-Jones said. Read More:It's going to get wrapped up soon: Trump on Iran war.

After hitting the radar, Iran carried out more than 50 successful strikes on 18 locations housing US military equipment during the first month of the war, prioritising sites with aircraft. The attacks damaged refuelling aircraft, communications systems, fuel bunkers and troop accommodation, two regional officials said.

A strike on Prince Sultan Air Base damaged the rear half of a Boeing E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft, while another hit a CIA unit at the US Embassy in Riyadh. A regional military official who recently visited the Saudi air base described damaged equipment, debris and bombed-out barracks and dining halls.

He said the attack on the surveillance plane also damaged several other aircraft, including two aerial refuelling tankers. A Congressional Research Service report updated in October said 15 US aircraft had been damaged at bases across the region.

Al Dhafra Air Base, south of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, was also frequently targeted early in the war. A regional military official said aircraft hangars, other installations, an early-warning radar system and surveillance drones had been damaged.

Satellite imagery delays hamper assessment. Major satellite imagery providers with US contracts blocked or delayed the public release of images at the request of American officials, sometimes citing national security concerns, the report revealed. This limited independent verification until imagery became available from One.

Atlas, a satellite provider owned by Airbus. At Camp Buehring, high-quality imagery from reliable providers was unavailable until late August. More than 30 structures were damaged or destroyed between the suspension of imagery in early March and its return in August.

The report said it confirmed repeated strikes on the base in March, April, May and July. With neither side outlining a clear end to the conflict, further damage remains possible if hostilities resume, the report said.

The conflict could signal a new operating environment for US forces, Cohen said, warning that military installations and equipment were increasingly vulnerable to relatively inexpensive drone attacks. “This is the operating environment that we’re going to face in the future,” he said.

“The idea that we can rely on fixed infrastructure in the way that we have during the global war on terrorism is over.”