An Iranian missile strike on a base in Saudi Arabia reportedly destroyed a $300 million U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry, a loss analysts suggest could compromise the military’s ability to detect long-range threats. Iran will have to pay.

     The E-3 Sentry — an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) — was one of six units stationed at Prince Sultan Air Base before Friday’s attack. These aircraft are critical for spotting incoming missiles and coordinating complex airstrikes.  At least 10 American service members were injured during the strike on the facility, located approximately 80 miles southeast of Riyadh.  While 16 E-3s remain in the U.S. fleet, a significant portion of them are not currently mission-ready. Notably, this incident marks the first time an AWACS has been destroyed in combat. By Monday, defense analysts were raising urgent questions regarding how such a high-value asset was left vulnerable to the Iranian strike.

“Extraordinary measures are often taken to protect it from hostile enemy fire while in-flight. Sometimes it receives fighter escorts and is never allowed to overfly hostile territory in order to keep it safe,” said military analyst Cedric Leighton.  Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King’s College London’s School of Security Studies, argues that the U.S. should have anticipated such an escalation and better prepared for a prolonged conflict. He emphasized that the military should have bolstered defenses for permanent installations, particularly in a theater where the adversary possesses extensive inventories of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and one-way attack drones.

     Conversely, Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, expressed a more measured view, warning against underestimating the potential for internal damage within Iran. Ozcelik suggested that at this stage of the conflict, observers should remain cautious and avoid overstating the actual extent of the damage sustained by U.S. forces.

     Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested in a recent interview that Russia may be influencing Iranian operations against U.S. forces in the region. Speaking in Qatar on Saturday, Zelensky stated he was “100% confident” that Moscow is sharing intelligence with Tehran to help refine their targeting of American installations across the Middle East.

     However, Krieg offered a more tempered assessment, noting that while U.S. defenses have been competent, they have not been optimal. Krieg stopped short of attributing Iran’s tactical successes solely to Russian influence, suggesting instead that the current situation reflects gaps in American preparation rather than a decisive shift caused by Moscow’s involvement.  “Moscow has every incentive to tie down U.S. military resources in the Middle East, raise costs for Washington, and reward Tehran for the military support Iran has given Russia elsewhere,” Krieg explained.