On March 28, during an Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, a US E-3 Sentry AWACS airborne warning and control aircraft was likely critically damaged. Reports also said that 12 US service members were wounded, two of them seriously. At the time of publication, there had been no official comment from the United States.
According to photographs circulated by media outlets, the aircraft appears to have suffered damage severe enough to rule out further service. The same reports say Iran carried out a combined attack using ballistic missiles and strike drones. In addition to the AWACS aircraft, at least two Boeing KC-135 tanker planes were also reportedly damaged.
The E-3 Sentry is considered one of the key aircraft in the US arsenal: it provides 360-degree radar coverage, detects airborne targets at distances of up to 400 kilometers, and coordinates fighters, air defense systems, and aerial refueling. The cost of one such aircraft is estimated at $400-500 million. If the reports are officially confirmed, this would be the first combat loss of an aircraft of this type in its service history.
“The very fact that the Iranians can reach US AWACS aircraft, tankers, and powerful fixed radars should force the Pentagon to protect its assets in the region more seriously,” military analyst David Sharp told Novaya Gazeta Europe.
Military expert Sergey Migdal said that a significant share of these aircraft had been redeployed to the Middle East before the war began. In his view, allies can currently lose AWACS aircraft primarily on the ground. He also suggested that the strike may have been guided by an intelligence network and that the damaged plane will most likely be written off. As safer alternatives for redeployment, he named bases in Israel, as well as Cyprus and Crete.
Migdal added that the United States is already preparing a replacement for the aging E-3: the new E-7, which according to open sources is expected to cost $500-700 million.