WASHINGTON: Iranian strikes damaged multiple American military aircraft this week on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, a US official told Reuters.
The US military, the highest-funded in the world, suffered material damage even before Iran’s strikes on Tuesday. This includes the destruction of more than two dozen drones, Iran striking fighter jets, and aircraft being lost to accidents.
According to a May report from the Congressional Research Service, 42 US military aircraft had already been lost or damaged in the conflict.
Since the Iran war started in February, 18 US service members have been killed and over 800 injured.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Iran’s attack hit one A-10 Thunderbolt II, known as the Warthog, leaving it with a missing wing, while roughly eight F-15s sustained light damage and were returned to service.
Iran’s strike on the US base in Jordan came after US forces said they destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers. The US said its strikes were in response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeting a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the previous two days.
The Iranian attack required US forces to fire roughly 30 Patriot interceptors to counter the missiles, the US official said, amid increasing concern about the inventory of US air defense interceptors and other missiles.
While specific inventory numbers are classified, the Center for Strategic and International Studies has estimated that about 65% of US Patriot interceptors were expended between February and July, with fewer than 850 left on hand, down from 2,330 before the Iran war began.
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