Were more than one U.S. military early-warning aircraft hit by Iran?
The story about "U.S. early-warning aircraft smashed at the airbase by Iran" apparently has a follow-up.
On the 30th, according to U.S. military sources cited by National Public Radio, in Iran's attack on the Saudi Prince Sultan Air Base on the 27th, two U.S. E-3 early-warning aircraft were actually struck and damaged. Additionally, this attack caused injuries to more than a dozen U.S. soldiers, two of whom sustained serious injuries.
Although American media still use the term "damaged," we all know from recently leaked photos that one of the early-warning aircraft was actually split into two pieces, with its circular radar dish lying on the ground.
Therefore, even though National Public Radio did not disclose the condition of the second aircraft, given the U.S. media’s tendency to downplay serious issues, it is likely that this aircraft also suffered significant damage—meaning the U.S. Air Force has now lost two early-warning aircraft.
Furthermore, based on photographs recently released by Iran, the aircraft that was hit and severely damaged may not have been struck by a missile as previously speculated by outside observers, but rather by Iran’s “little motorcycle” drones. It appears Iran launched a mixed attack combining ballistic missiles and drones; Saudi Arabia managed to intercept only two of the incoming missiles, while the rest of the missiles and drones all targeted the U.S. base.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861174631675081/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.