Photos show heavily damaged US radar jet at Saudi base

[UpInArms]

.webp

Verified pictures show a US command and control aircraft has been destroyed at an air base in Saudi Arabia.
The pictures appear to have been first shared by a Facebook page carrying US military news. They show the E-3 Sentry aircraft appears to have been split in two.

We've confirmed the photos were taken at the Prince Sultan air base about 100km (62 miles) south-east of the Saudi capital Riyadh. Features seen in the pictures, including pylons, storage units and markings on paved areas, matched with satellite imagery.

US Central Command has not yet publicly commented on the incident. The BBC has asked for comment.
On Friday a US official told Reuters that 12 US personnel had been wounded, two of them seriously, in an Iranian military attack on the air base. The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported that at least two US refuelling aircraft were also damaged.

On Sunday Iran's IRGC-linked Fars news agency said a Shahed drone had struck the E-3 aircraft.

More at:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyd07m7e1xo

Or

https://archive.ph/77u82

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Tail number 81-0005, according to another site. The "OK" on the tail means it's from Tinker AFB.

U. S. Air Force Tail Codes

{snip}

Different units located at the same air base can use different 2-letter codes.

Tail Code LF (Luke AFB), 56th Fighter Wing, on McDonnell-Douglas F-4D Phantom II, ordered in 1966, Serial Number 66-8812


{snip}

[Irish_Dem]

2. Someone is leaking highly classified pictures.

[David__77]

4. We deserve to know

[Irish_Dem]

5. Yes we do. Someone else agrees and is leaking classified info.

Typically, you don't show the damage the enemy is doing during wartime.

But we are not in typical times.

[Swede]

32. Sorry, Trump said this was an excursion, not a war.

[Blue Full Moon]

3. Trump is abetting Putin.

🔴 Russia shared satellite images of a US base in Saudi Arabia with Iran days before it was struck, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

Follow the latest updates below. 🔗
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/29/iran-war-latest-news-trump-pentagon-ground-operation/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_tw_post_news-trump-pentagon-ground-operation/

[Prairie Gates]

6. Uh oh...Better Get Maaco

[Wednesdays]

10. I think it's totaled, to be honest.

They need to get in touch with their insurance company.

[rubbersole]

22. Flo will bundle it with your car/RV insurance for extra savings.

[Topomi]

27. Flo's or any general insurance

Most policies if not all for homeowners and auto have exclusions for acts of war. Sorry no coverage. Check your agent.

[rubbersole]

31. Our previous policy had "acts of god" which wasn't supposed to mean hurricanes.

We live on the east coast of Florida and hurricane insurance is all we really care about. We're covered now but in 5 years it's gone from $1,900 a year to $6,300 with a 10% deductible. Which is about $70K. That's a lot of damage. We'd drop insurance (no mortgage) except the hurricanes are all becoming super-storms and they're scary as hell.

[eggplant]

33. Spicoli can fix it.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Holy crap -- that's the radar antenna (or at least its aerodynamic shell; the "flying saucer") lying on the pavement. nt

[mitch96]

36. Ukraine did the EXACT same thing to ruzzian Beriev A-50 AWACS with drones

Ironically the USAF did not follow their own Agile Combat Employment Doctrine Note 1-21. This states to NOT put all your aircraft in one spot. Spread them out to make them more difficult targets..Uff..stupid
m

[eppur_se_muova]

37. I didn't get that Note, but I did watch Tora! Tora! Tora! -- I thought THAT was when we learned to disperse aircraft. nt

[mitch96]

39. I remembered that in TORA TORA TORA... History repeats.. Here is the vid

of the ruzzian AWACS and some bombers getting hit by drones...
Pretty slick operation for Ukraine... They put drones in a trailer and then got close to the airbase.. Then released them thru the top...
Inexpensive way to take out very expensive aircraft...

[eppur_se_muova]

41. Well, it wasn't a monkey with a hand grenade dangling from a balloon (from the movie dialog) but it was effective. nt

[tanyev]

8. I guess that's another thing Iran wasn't supposed to do, right Donny?

[YorkRd]

9. $300 million loss

[Brother Buzz]

14. Tagged by a $20,000 Shahed drone

I suspect the replacement cost for the AWAC will be closer to 500 Million dollars.

[hatrack]

11. Hmm . . I'm no aviation professional, but I'm wondering about that plane's airworthiness . . .

.

[Skittles]

17. yes

that is not "heavily damaged", that is destroyed

[Buddyzbuddy]

12. Way to go Felon, between you and Putin we'll

soon be on our way to weakest Nation.

The non-comprehensive list, once
again;

Kill Americans, check

Destruction of

Military, check

Economy, check

Cause an energy crisis, check

Destroy U.N., check

Destroy relationships with allies, check

Rape women and children, check, check.

Destroy D.C./Whitehouse, check.

You really know how to pick winners, MAGA.

Republicans are really serious about going down with the ship.

[rubbersole]

23. Just the "little people" republicans.

[IronLionZion]

13. That base is pretty far inland

so the drones flew past plenty of other bases and evaded countermeasures to hit these planes. It's not looking good for our troops in the area.

[BidenRocks]

15. Parts!

The radar is toast but the engines, black boxes and instruments seem undamaged.
Aircraft mechs and techs are waiting for them.

[3Hotdogs]

21. Probably a fuck up in the control tower. The guy directing the planes was fired.

---won'thappen again.

[LiberalArkie]

30. The drone must have homed in on the residual RF emissions from the radar

[Turbineguy]

16. Trump thinks that will buff out.

[LudwigPastorius]

18. Not to worry.

Scumbag can just replace it with that "free" plane he got from the Qataris.

[tclambert]

19. The WH will claim that was not from Iranian missiles, but, um, you know, insect damage.

Really bitey insects. With big teeth. And claws. Metal-cutting teeth and claws. Hey, you don't know all the kinds of insects there are!

[BWdem4life]

20. What's the difference between "heavily damaged" and "destroyed"?

Just curious

[rubbersole]

24. Like Kristi Noem's reputation?

[BidenRocks]

25. It's just a flesh wound!

[COL Mustard]

26. Well, there goes another $700 million

Thanks, Russia, for giving them such good target information.

[Nigrum Cattus]

28. they can't hide a $530,000,000 + loss

the E-3 AWACS cost, you’re usually asking one of two things: what it costs to fly per hour or what one aircraft is “worth” as a unit-cost reference. A practical expected operating-price anchor is about $33,950 to $37,413 per flight hour (FY2025 DoD reimbursable rate tables), and a practical expected “per-aircraft” reference is about $530+ million in 2025 dollars using the Air Force’s published unit-cost figure in constant dollars and

[LiberalArkie]

29. Bondo is not going to fix that.

[PCIntern]

34. Oh come on...

Duct tape and WD-40- universal repair kit

[Kid Berwyn]

38. Flex Seal is what it craves.

[PCIntern]

43. Then wipe it down with a ShamWow.

[Probatim]

35. I'm torn between - "that'll buff out" and "it got blowed up real good".

Spongebob or Bill Sol Hurok. Either one will do.

[turbinetree]

40. Well since this country had 16 of these planes and 6 of them are over in the Middle East area, this means

that well, we are down to 15 overall and 5 in the region...........what could possibly go wrong.............Hey Marco did you tell your sniffling boss about this or did you just say screw it and not have National Security meetings.........so are you and your boss going to send the Wedgetail to make up for this loss...............were any personnel associated with this plane hurt...........I have the funny feeling that some got injured............

[UpInArms]

42. Here is a report

https://houseofsaud.com/iran-strike-prince-sultan-air-base-us-troops-wounded-awacs-damaged/

RIYADH — An Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh wounded at least ten American service members and damaged multiple US military aircraft on Friday, in the single deadliest strike against American forces stationed in Saudi Arabia since the war began on 28 February. Two of the wounded are in serious condition, according to a US defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The attack struck an installation building housing personnel and hit the base’s flight line, damaging an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft and several KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling planes that form the backbone of the coalition’s air operations over the Gulf.