For the first time in decades, American jets, tankers, and AWACS have been damaged at scale. Iran\u2019s attrition strategy is changing the rules of the air war<\/p>\n
During nearly six weeks of the war on Iran, the US has suffered heavy military aircraft losses, now exceeding those recorded during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Iran\u2019s recent downing of an American F-35 jet marks the first time in 23 years that a US fighter jet has been shot down in combat; the previous instance was in Iraq in 2003, when an A\u201110 was lost.\u00a0
\nOver the seven years of the Iraq campaign from 2003 to 2009, total US aviation losses amounted to 129 helicopters and 24 fixed\u2011wing aircraft, with only 46 attributed to hostile fire. The remaining cases were due to malfunctions, fuel exhaustion, and pilot error.
\nSince the start of the Iran war, the US has lost at least 44 aircraft, including the first incident of the US fifth-generation stealth F-35 Lightning II being hit. The list includes four F-15E Strike Eagle (the Wall Street Journal cited a fact sheet stating that the original model costs at least $31 million, while the cost of newer models is close to $100 million), two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, two Lockheed C-130 Hercules, two Boeing E-3 Sentries, eight Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, one Boeing CH-47 Chinook, one Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk (damaged), two Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks (damaged), four MH-6 Little Bird helicopters, and 17 General Atomics MQ-9 Reapers\u00a0(at about $30 million each, totalling close to $500 million).
\nHigh-value AWACS and multiple KC-135 tankers were damaged by Iranian strikes on regional airbases.\u00a0\u00a0In the first four days of the war, Iran hit almost all US military bases (or locations hosting US aircraft) in the Gulf. It struck key US ground radars linked to the THAAD air\u2011defense system, other early\u2011warning radars, and multiple radar and communication nodes.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Mission accomplished? The costly reality behind the US rescue operation in Iran<\/p>\n
At Bahrain\u2019s Al\u2011Jufair base, two radar domes housing AN\/GSC\u201152B SATCOM systems were destroyed by Shahed\u20112 drones, according to US press reports.
\nIn the UAE, an area of Al Dhafra base with several satellite antennas was hit, while it is still unclear whether the AN\/TPY\u20112 radar of the THAAD system at Al Ruwais was damaged. In Kuwait, structures at Ali Al Salem base connected to SATCOM systems were damaged, and at least three radar domes at Camp Arifjan were destroyed.
\nAt Saudi Arabia\u2019s Prince Sultan base, at least one strike hit a satellite\u2011communications area where an AN\/TPY\u20112 radar had previously been deployed. The large AN\/FPS\u2011132 fixed\u2011face AESA early\u2011warning and long\u2011range anti\u2011ballistic radar at Al Udeid in Qatar also appears to have been struck. Iranian sources further claim damage to another AN\/TPY\u20112 at Muwaffaq Salti base in Jordan, though this remains unconfirmed. In Kuwait, in addition to damage to some structures at the Ali al Salem base that appear to be connected to SATCOM systems, at least three radar domes at Camp Arifjan were destroyed.
\nMost of these high\u2011value radars\u00a0\u2013\u00a0along with aerial refuellers and AEW&C assets\u00a0\u2013\u00a0were targeted using ballistic missiles or relatively inexpensive Shahed drones (costing between $20,000 and $50,000 each).
\nWhile US lost many high-value ground assets in the region and nearly 44 aircraft, Israel had minimal losses on the ground and only slow-moving UAVs in the air. Israel is a regional player, and has had years of experience in targeting ground assets in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, among others. Israel has been perpetually at war. Being a small country, it has been conscious of securing its assets under hardened shelters. It has nearly ten Iron Dome-class AD systems, among others, such as David\u2019s Sling and Arrow. The Israeli Air Force has fine-tuned tactics to keep its own assets secure.
\nThe reasons behind US losses
\nThe Iranian Air Force was grounded or destroyed in the early air action by the US and Israel, which have flown more than 10,000 combat flights since the conflict began. The Iranian Air Force was no match for the US Air Force in terms of numbers and technology. While a significant number of Iranian air defenses were also neutralized, enough survived to engage adversary assets.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Iran has prevailed, and the Middle East has changed<\/p>\n
In view of powerful radar jamming capabilities with the US and Israel, Iran mostly used IRST (infra-red search and track) systems to track and IR missiles to engage and shoot down aircraft.\u00a0\u00a0Iran\u2019s strategy aimed to create a \u201cwar of attrition\u201d to increase costs for the US and its allies\u00a0\u2013\u00a0despite clear US air superiority.
\nThe fact that F-35 stealth fighter jet could be tracked and engaged indicates the possibility of Iran having used Chinese YLC-8B and YLC-8E advanced, mobile Chinese UHF-band 3D surveillance radars specifically designed to detect low-observable, stealth aircraft.\u00a0Iran might have also used up-to-date intelligence from Russian satellites, often including the position of airborne aircraft.
\nThe US lost more aircraft in the air due to a lack of coordination with the Gulf countries, where most of its assets are located. Also, more action has shifted south near the Strait of Hormuz, and when Iran started hitting assets in the countries that allowed housing US assets. Many of their radars and large air platforms were lying in the open. These assets were thus a relatively easy target. Iranians used drones and drone swarms to hit US military assets.
\nWhile the US Air Force and Navy have been exercising regularly with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including \u201clarge force engagements,\u201d the GCC nations have had almost no combat experience. Early coordination challenges with Gulf host nations, contributed to incidents like the initial friendly-fire loss of three F-15Es over Kuwait.
\nWhile the US campaign initially succeeded in degrading Iranian air defenses and leadership, it encountered serious operational and strategic failures as the conflict continued. The US underestimated Iranian defenses and tactics. Reports indicate that Tehran could have 50%\u00a0of its missile launchers and drones intact.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Can the US and Iran turn a ceasefire into a deal?<\/p>\n
Iranian forces successfully hid mobile air defense systems in tunnels and bunkers, allowing them to ambush US planes, proving it was not a one-sided conflict. Clearly, Washington\u2019s \u201cquick war\u201d assumption had failed, turning the campaign into a long war of attrition. Iran also leveraged regional proxies, investing in low-cost drones, and threatening the Strait of Hormuz.
\nIran successfully targeted US military installations across the region, including in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq, causing significant casualties. This demonstrated that US air dominance did not equate to security on the ground. Tehran relies heavily on inexpensive, locally produced drones like the Shahed, costing $20,000\u2013$50,000, to overwhelm sophisticated, expensive air defenses as part of asymmetric warfare. Iran is fostering closer military ties with Russia, supplying drones in exchange for advanced technologies such as the S-400 system.
\nThe US repeated mistakes from previous conflicts (Afghanistan, Iraq) by relying solely on aerial destruction without a viable, clear \u201cday-after\u201d political strategy to replace the targeted regime. Despite neutralizing senior leadership, the \u201crally-around-the-flag\u201d effect became visible.
\nThe conflict has already exhausted US military resources significantly, including high-value assets like Tomahawk missiles and Patriot interceptors, creating shortages in other critical theaters such as Europe and Asia. Most NATO members refused to join or help in replenishments. The global economic downturn\u00a0caused by the war has been of great concern and is likely to have played a role in the ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the first time in decades, American jets, tankers, and AWACS have been damaged at scale. Iran\u2019s attrition strategy is changing the rules of the air war During nearly six…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32875,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t