New satellite images from a number of key navy bases in the Arabian Peninsula counsel that Iran is searching for 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 primary days of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, a satellite picture taken on Monday reveals.
Buildings housing comparable radar programs had been additionally hit at two areas in the United Arab Emirates, NCS evaluation reveals, though it’s unclear if the tools was broken.
The radar is a crucial aspect for the high-end missile interceptor system, which is used to interact and destroy ballistic missiles as they fly towards their goal. The US operates eight THAAD batteries, whereas the UAE operates two and Saudi Arabia one. This one was on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, over 500 miles from Iran.
The radar system for THAADs is the AN/TPY-2 transportable radar, manufactured by Raytheon. According to a 2025 Missile Defense Agency funds, it prices simply shy of half-a-billion {dollars}.
The picture reveals a pair of 13-foot craters in the sand close to the radar, suggesting that it could have taken a number of makes an attempt to hit the system, which is break up throughout 5 40-foot trailers. All gave the impression to be destroyed or significantly broken.
The radar and THAAD battery had been in Muwaffaq since at the least mid-February and seem to have been struck on March 1 or 2. The base has been a hub of exercise for the United States. In satellite images taken earlier than the combating began, greater than 50 fighter jets might be seen on the tarmac, together with drones and transport plane. Dozens of plane shelters seemingly contained extra planes, hidden from satellite view.
It might not be the one THAAD radar struck in the opening days of the struggle with Iran.
At least three buildings at a navy set up close to Ruwais, and 4 at an set up in Sader, each in the UAE, had been broken between February 28 and March 1. Pull-through automobile sheds used to retailer radar programs for THAAD batteries at each websites had been among the many buildings struck.
NCS decided that this pair of websites hosted THAAD batteries and radars based mostly on a evaluate of satellite imagery that confirmed their presence at Sader and Ruwais way back to 2016 and 2018, respectively. In the images, parts of the radar programs can repeatedly be seen simply outdoors the automobile sheds.
NCS couldn’t instantly decide whether or not the missile protection websites had been used to host THAAD batteries owned by the US navy, or the pair that had been bought to the UAE. High-resolution satellite imagery was not instantly obtainable to find out whether or not the radar programs had been current on the time of the strikes.
Damaging the radar doesn’t make the THAAD system fully inoperable, consultants say, as there are different property and configurations, however it actually degrades functionality and flexibility.
N.R. Jenzen-Jones, a munitions specialist and director of the analysis firm Armament Research Services (ARES), instructed NCS the radar can’t be simply changed and referred to as it a major loss.
“The AN-TPY/2 radar is essentially the heart of the THAAD battery, enabling the launch of interceptor missiles and contributing to a networked air defense picture,” he stated. “It also happens to be an incredibly expensive piece of kit. The loss of even a single radar of this type would be an operationally significant event. It is probable that a replacement unit would have to be redeployed from elsewhere, which will take time and effort.”
THAAD has a broad engagement zone, so it may be used to guard a large space, Jenzen-Jones stated. “However, it also needs to be layered with other (anti-ballistic missile) and air defenses, such as Patriot, to ensure good coverage against different kinds of threats and to provide some measure of protection to the battery itself,” he added.
On Wednesday, NCS reported that Iranian strikes on US navy bases and services throughout the Arabian Peninsula focused and broken communications, radar and intelligence tools in an obvious effort to chop them off from the surface world.
In addition, satellite imagery reveals harm to a US-made Qatari early-warning radar system at Umm Dahal, in response to images analyzed by Sam Lair, a analysis affiliate on the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
A Pentagon spokesperson instructed NCS: “Due to operations security, we are not going to comment on the status of specific capabilities in the region.” NCS has reached out to Jordanian and UAE authorities.
Residents of the UAE reported elevated fighter jet exercise over the nation on Wednesday. On Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated France has deployed Rafale fighter jets over the UAE’s skies to guard its navy bases there. He didn’t elaborate on the missions flown by the jets, or whether or not they have been concerned in taking pictures down any drones or missiles which may threaten the bases.
The UAE has reported a major discount in the variety of missiles launched at its territory for the reason that begin of the struggle, dropping to seven missiles on Thursday from 137 on Saturday, the primary day of the struggle.
Drone assaults, nonetheless, continued in frequency and now make up a lot of the assaults towards the UAE. The UAE, which hosts American troops at Dhafra, has been among the many most focused Arab states in the gulf, with 1,072 drones and 196 ballistic missiles.