A vital US plane needed to hunt deadly drones has been destroyed in a missile strike which also left at least five American troops seriously injured.
Photographs taken at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia show the ravaged remains of an E-3 Sentry aircraft after it was struck on Friday amid the Iran conflict.
The control system aircraft is a critical eye in the sky which helps track drones, missiles and planes from hundreds of miles away.
Air Force Col. John ‘JV’ Venable told the outlet the downing of the plane is ‘a huge deal’ because there are a limited number of E-3s and they cannot be replaced.
‘It hurts the US’s ability to see what’s happening in the Gulf and maintain situational awareness,’ he told the Wall Street Journal.
The Air Force only has 16 E-3 Sentry planes left in the fleet, as production of the aircraft ended in 1992. The Pentagon is in the process of replacing them with Boeing E-7 Wedgetails, at a cost of $700 million each.
At least 12 American service members were injured in the attack, including five seriously, according to PBS.
In one image of the aftermath, the aircraft’s midsection appears to have been blown apart, exposing the internal components in a jumbled wreck.
In another, the tail section lies detached, collapsed onto the runway amid scattered debris.
A third shows personnel in protective suits walking beneath the wing of the crippled jet, dwarfed by the scale of the destruction.
The damage appears concentrated at the rear of the aircraft, the section that houses the rotating radar dome and the sensitive electronics tied to its surveillance system.
Tracking data indicates the destroyed aircraft was tail number 81-0005, an E-3G Sentry assigned to the 552nd Air Control Wing out of Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
The E-3 fleet, already limited in number, is a cornerstone of US air operations providing real-time surveillance, command and control across vast battle spaces.
With the loss of this aircraft, the US Air Force’s operational fleet of E-3s has been reduced further.
The destruction comes after Iran launched a coordinated assault on Prince Sultan Air Base, firing six ballistic missiles and deploying 29 drones in an attack that has escalated tensions across the region.
According to people briefed on the matter, at least 15 US troops were injured in the latest strike, including five who were seriously wounded. Earlier reports had put the number at ten, including two serious injuries.
The base, located about 60 miles from Riyadh and operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force but used by US forces, has been repeatedly targeted since the conflict began.
This latest barrage marks one of the most significant direct hits on US military assets in the region.
The attack is part of a broader escalation that has seen the number of wounded American service members climb above 300 since the conflict began.
Central Command said most of those injured have returned to duty, but about 30 remain sidelined and at least ten are considered seriously wounded.
Prince Sultan Air Base itself has been hit multiple times in recent days. In an earlier strike this week, 14 US troops were injured while another incident damaged a US aircraft without causing casualties.
The war, now entering its second month, has already claimed American lives. Army Sgt. Benjamin N Pennington, 26, was wounded in a March 1 attack on the same base and later died. He is among 13 US service members killed in the conflict.
Meanwhile, the US has surged forces into the region in what officials describe as the largest American military presence in the Middle East in more than two decades.
A Navy amphibious assault ship, the USS Tripoli, carrying about 2,500 Marines, has arrived along with aircraft and assault capabilities. Additional ships, including the USS Boxer and other Marine units, have also been deployed.
In total, roughly 50,000 US troops are now positioned across the region, backed by multiple warships and two aircraft carriers.
The conflict is no longer confined to isolated strikes.
Iran has expanded its response to US and Israeli operations by targeting Israel and Gulf Arab states while exerting pressure on global energy markets through its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
The disruption has rattled oil exports, driven up fuel prices and sent shockwaves through global supply chains.
President Donald Trump has warned that Iran must reopen the strait, saying he has given Tehran until April 6 as diplomatic efforts continue, although Iran has said it is not engaged in negotiations.
The Daily Mail has approached the White House and the Pentagon for comment.
