The U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia was bombed, and Gulf countries criticized Iran for going crazy, but the Patriot missile system failed to intercept it!
At 3 a.m. on March 3, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. embassy suddenly came under attack by two missiles. In the video footage, flames shot up into the sky, and the explosion was deafening. This was definitely not a small drone "motorcycle" attack; judging from the destructive power and impact point, it was clearly a ballistic missile attack.
Previously, the U.S. had been attacked mostly at consulates. It can be said that this is the first time in U.S. history that an embassy outside its own territory has been directly "blasted" with such a level of firepower. Iran's attitude was also clear: this counterattack "has no red lines," which sounds chilling, meaning that any U.S. diplomatic outpost in the Middle East may be on their target list next.
In recent years, Gulf countries have invested a lot in air defense, especially the Patriot missile system, which has become a standard equipment. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain mainly have PAC-2GEM and GEM-T models. These are older models and have not completed the latest upgrades yet.
The older version of the Patriot has a long-standing problem: limited radar identification capability, especially when facing small, slow, or low-altitude penetration targets, it tends to "make mistakes." However, this time the incoming object was a ballistic missile, which moves very fast, and should have been a strong point for the Patriot. But the result? The interception failed.
Last year, the U.S. Congress approved a $400 million upgrade contract for Kuwait, but before the money was spent and the system was upgraded, there was a big mistake - the Patriot system in Kuwait mistakenly shot down three of its own F-15 fighter jets. This incident has made Gulf countries doubt the reliability of the air defense system.
Dao Ge thinks that Iran has clearly started to launch indiscriminate attacks, and anyone who supports the U.S. is on the hit list. Of course, the main focus is still on U.S. military bases stationed locally, as well as U.S. embassies and consulates. Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Syria were attacked by missiles, and now Middle Eastern countries have started to complain, and they have not ruled out the possibility of retaliatory actions. Will they really join the U.S. and Israel in attacking Iran?
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1858601244047360/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.