Five U.S. Air Force refueling planes were struck and damaged on the ground at Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing two U.S. officials. This brings the total to at least 7 US refueling planes lost or damaged recently, that US media has accepted and reported so far.
The report was published within a day or two after NYT released satellite images showing at least 17 military bases and other installations across the Middle East had been damaged as a result of Iran’s drone and missile strikes.
The WSJ report says that the planes, which were hit during an Iranian missile strike on the Saudi base in recent days, were damaged but not fully destroyed and are being repaired, the Journal said, adding that no one was killed in the strikes.
Saudi air defenses (Patriot and other systems) intercepted most incoming threats, but some missiles or debris penetrated, causing ground damage to parked aircraft and thus adding to US logistics strain.
Prince Sultan Air Base has been a vital airbase for the US since it was established in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, it was drawn down, and most operations shifted to Al Udeid. Amid tensions with Iran, the US forces returned in 2019, and the 378th Expeditionary Wing was formed.
In the build-up to the current conflict, the US moved a huge number of air assets to the base, starting as early as last summer.
Multiple Iranian missiles and drones have reportedly targeted Prince Sultan Air Base over the past two weeks. Much of the news has emerged from open-source intelligence monitoring, while official sources have remained largely silent on the extent of any damage.
With several additional KC-135 tankers now reportedly non-operational, the US Air Force could face increased pressure on a fleet that underpins its ability to conduct long-range strikes and air patrols.
CENTCOM has not yet publicly commented on the report by The Wall Street Journal.
