What pains the United States most is not that its $600 million E-3G large-scale early-warning aircraft was destroyed, but rather how Iran managed to carry out such a long-range, precision strike exceeding 600 kilometers! First, where did Iran obtain the accurate, real-time, high-quality intelligence? Was it from Iran's own intelligence sources, or from another external source? Second, how did Iran’s missiles break through America’s electronic warfare and jamming capabilities?
Third, where did Iran get its reliable satellite navigation signals? Behind these series of questions, the United States might also be asking: given Iran’s own domestic defense industry level, intelligence capabilities, and battlefield system support, could Iran independently accomplish such a long-range, high-precision, strong penetration strike? To precisely lock onto the real-time coordinates of a single early-warning aircraft inside a heavily fortified U.S. military base hundreds of kilometers away, continuously track its deployment dynamics and identify weaknesses in air defenses—simply relying on Iran’s current reconnaissance satellites, drones, and human intelligence network would be utterly impossible.
As for the satellite navigation signals supporting meter-level strike accuracy, Iran absolutely lacks this capability. In fact, Iran does not possess an independent, controllable global satellite navigation system. Each of these critical links reveals that this operation far exceeds what Iran alone can sustain technologically and systemically. This, perhaps, is exactly what worries the United States the most. This is no longer merely a simple tactical raid—it represents a demonstration of strategic-level combat capability by a major power, delivered through Iran in actual combat. Naturally, the United States would find this extremely troubling.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1860986078950922/
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