In a huge blow to the US air superiority in the region, Iran destroyed an American E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft in its missile and drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base on Saturday.
According to Iranian state media, multiple KC-135 tankers, which refuel US aircraft in flight, were also destroyed in the Iranian attack that also left around two dozen US personnel injured, some of them seriously.
The airbase, about 96 km southeast of the capital Riyadh, is run by the Saudi Arabia Air Force but is also used by the United States military.
Neither the United States nor Saudi Arabia has commented on the Iranian attack on the air base.
The attack on the E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft is seen as a significant blow to the United States in the ongoing war against Iran as it critically hampers the US battlefield awareness in the region.
Furthermore, the damage to the KC-135/KC-46 aerial refueling tankers has also hurt the air refueling capability of the country.
What is E-3 Sentry AWACS?
This is said to be the first combat loss of the E-3 Sentry platform, often called the “eye in the sky”, and serving as a “flying command center” for the United States military.
The AWACS detects missiles, drones and aircraft threats from hundreds of kilometres away and directs the forces to act accordingly.
According to the US Air Force, AWACS is a modified Boeing 707/320 commercial airframe with a rotating radar dome.
This radar has a range of more than 375 km, enabling the platform to provide “situational awareness of friendly, neutral and hostile activity, command and control of an area of responsibility.”
It also provides all-altitude and all-weather surveillance of the battle space, and early warning of enemy actions during the war.
AWACS aircraft played a significant role in early detection of Iranian missile and drone strikes during the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.