Kamal Ghorui
Since Feb 28, Iranian airstrikes, mostly through drones, have damaged or destroyed at least 228 defence structures or pieces of equipment at US military sites, damaging hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft and key radar, communications and air defence equipment. There seems to be far more destruction of US military assets than earlier reported, according to a Washington Post analysis of satellite imagery. However, US Central Command has till now not given an assessment of the total military assets damaged in the region. On Tuesday, a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker — a critical air asset valued between $40-$52 million — vanished from the radar over the Strait of Hormuz. Flight tracking data confirmed the aircraft squawked a 7700 distress signal before its transponder went dark over Qatar. The KC-135, serves as a flying gas station — a lifeline that keeps bombers, fighters, and surveillance planes flying for hours beyond their natural range. Centcom is also silent on the “missing plane”. Though Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported on the disappearance, citing data from Flightradar24, there is no statement from Tehran indicating its involvement. US lost 39 aircraft, including four F15E Strike Eagle jets, throughout the first week of April, with another 10 damaged to various degrees, according to internal tracking by TWZ, a premier defence technology news group. The WaPo report said the Iranians struck a satellite comm site at al-Udeid airbase in Qatar, Patriot defence equipment at Riffa and Isa airbases in Bahrain and Ali al-Salem airbase in Kuwait.
