Iranian strikes on Tuesday damaged multiple US military aircraft at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, including an A-10 Thunderbolt II Warthog that was left with a missing wing, according to the information available on the attack. Roughly eight F-15s also suffered light damage and were returned to service.
The US military had already suffered material damage in the wider conflict, including the destruction of more than two dozen drones. The Iranian attack required US forces to fire roughly 30 Patriot interceptors against Iranian missiles. The total number of Iranian missiles or other weapons used in the attack has not been disclosed. The extent of any damage to the base's wider infrastructure and facilities is also unknown.
The attack followed US action against five Iranian crude oil carriers, which US forces said they had destroyed. The US said those strikes came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the previous two days. Specific details of those missile attacks, including the warship involved, have not been provided.
The sequence leaves both sides engaged in a continuing exchange of military action that began with the Iran war in February. The damage at the Jordanian base adds aircraft losses and repairs to a conflict that has already imposed a substantial cost on US personnel and equipment.
Since the war began, 18 US service members have been killed and over 800 injured. A May report by the Congressional Research Service said 42 US military aircraft had already been lost or damaged in the conflict.
The latest Iranian attack also underlines pressure on US air-defence supplies. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that about 65% of US Patriot interceptors were expended between February and July. It said fewer than 850 remained on hand, down from 2,330 before the Iran war began.
The interceptors fired during the Tuesday attack were used to counter Iranian missiles directed at the base. Patriot systems are therefore being drawn down both by earlier operations in the conflict and by the immediate need to protect US forces and equipment from further strikes.
Iranian casualty figures and losses from the wider exchange have not been provided. The dates of the US strikes against the crude oil carriers have also not been specified. What is clear from the available account is that the confrontation has moved beyond attacks on maritime targets and missile exchanges involving a US Navy warship to damage at a US air base in Jordan.
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