Kamal Ghorui
AN-FPS-132 Block 5 early warning radar in Qatar that Iran claimed was destroyed by it
Radars are considered the “eyes” of a war as they provide real-time, long-range situational awareness, allowing military forces to detect, track and identify threats from rival forces. Iran is, therefore, targeting all these “eyes” of the American forces in the Gulf region by launching drone or missile attacks on them.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its forces had targeted radar systems in the UAE, Jordan and Qatar.
Since the conflict began in the last week of Feb, reports and satellite images show that Iran has either destroyed or severely damaged high-value US radar and early warning systems installed in West Asia, including a $300 million AN/TPY-2 radar — used by US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile defense systems — in Jordan, a $1.1 billion AN/FPS-132 Block 5 early warning radar ear Al-Khor in Qatar and US air combat centre and a satellite communications hub at Al Dhafra air base in the UAE.
These strikes are likely to significantly weaken US missile defences in the region.THAAD systems represent one of the most advanced missile defence technologies used by the US military. They are designed to intercept ballistic missiles in the final stage of their flight path, high in the atmosphere, allowing them to neutralise long-range threats before they reach their targetsThe one targeted by Iran was at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, over 500 miles from Iran. The radar and THAAD battery was apparently installed in Muwaffaq around mid-Feb and appeared to have been struck on March 1 or 2.In another satellite image taken on March 1, smoke can be seen rising from a radar site near the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, where dozens of American planes are stationed. At the site, a tent used to shelter a radar system for a nearby THAAD battery was charred.The AN/FPS-132 (Block 5) ballistic missile early-warning radar system operated by the US Space Force in Qatar, which was also allegedly hit by a suicide drone, is the largest radar operated by the US in West Asia, with a detection range of 5,000 km. The US operates similar radar systems at only three sites on its own territory, with additional systems deployed in the UK and Greenland.Iran also allegedly targeted satellite communication (SATCOM) terminals at the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, with two AN/GSC-52B terminals and related buildings estimated to cost around $20 million. Reports indicate that in the first few days of the Iran conflict, the US lost nearly $2 billion worth of military equipment across the region.
