from Beep@lemmus.org to world@lemmy.world on 06 Mar 12:03
https://lemmus.org/post/20645773
New satellite images from several key military bases in the Arabian Peninsula suggest that Iran is seeking to degrade air defenses by destroying US-made radars that detect incoming missiles and drones.
The radar system for an American THAAD missile battery in Jordan was struck and apparently destroyed in the first days of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, a satellite image taken on Monday shows.
Buildings housing similar radar systems were also hit at two locations in the United Arab Emirates, CNN analysis shows, although it is unclear if the equipment was damaged.
The radar is a critical element for the high-end missile interceptor system, which is used to engage and destroy ballistic missiles as they fly toward their target. The US operates eight THAAD batteries, while the UAE operates two and Saudi Arabia one. This one was at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, over 500 miles from Iran.
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The radars in question are essentially scaled up, next-gen iterations on the stuff that is put into Arleigh Burke DDGs, and there were only about 20 of them worldwide before this started, and they cost between $500M and $1B a pop.
So yeah - turns out that ignoring the threat of Shahed-style drones and the lack of effective response the US and allies currently have to that style of attack is a pretty fucking serious strategic misstep.