Iran has destroyed a US Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft using a combined missile and drone strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
Air & Space Forces Magazine reported the incident, citing internal sources. Aviation observer @TheIntelFrog published photos of the damaged aircraft on the social media platform X.
According to the publication, the attack wounded over 10 service members, two of whom are in critical condition. The strike also damaged several aerial refueling tankers.
The released photos indicate the E-3 Sentry AWACS sustained catastrophic damage, making it likely beyond repair. The aircraft's radome antenna and a significant portion of its fuselage were completely destroyed, while internal equipment likely suffered severe fire damage. Image verification services found no evidence of artificial intelligence manipulation.
The photos reveal a partial registration number, 0005, corresponding to an E-3G Sentry AWACS with the tail number 81-0005 (AE11EE). The aircraft belonged to the 552nd Air Control Wing, based at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
Open-source flight tracking data indicates six E-3 aircraft were stationed at Prince Sultan Air Base prior to the incident. Open-source intelligence analysts estimate that of the total active fleet of 16 aircraft, six were deployed to the Middle East, one to Alaska, and one to Japan, with the remaining eight undergoing maintenance.
AWACS aircraft have a long operational history and play a critical role in airborne command and control, as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
The publication notes that losing one of the few operational AWACS platforms, especially one likely engaged in ongoing missions, could severely complicate the US Air Force's battle management capabilities.
"Losing this E-3 is highly problematic given how essential these battle management platforms are to everything from deconflicting airspace and coordinating aircraft to targeting and enabling other strike capabilities necessary for warfighting," said Heather Penney, a former F-16 pilot and director of research at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, in a comment to Air & Space Forces Magazine.
Overall, US officials report that Operation Epic Fury has resulted in over 300 wounded service members. Thirteen others have been killed, including one soldier at Prince Sultan Air Base during a previous attack in early March.
To replace the aging E-3 Sentry fleet, the United States has contracted the United Kingdom to build modern E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft.
Under the contract, Boeing UK will modify two commercial Boeing 737 airframes into E-7A Wedgetails, upgrading the fuselage and installing avionics, radar antennas, and other vital systems.
The new aircraft's key feature is the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar developed by Northrop Grumman. Utilizing active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology, it provides high-fidelity airspace scanning and ground target tracking at a maximum range exceeding 600 kilometers in search mode.
The MESA radar can detect fighter-sized aerial targets at distances over 370 kilometers and frigate-sized maritime targets at over 240 kilometers. It is capable of simultaneously tracking up to 180 targets and guiding weapons against 24.