An Iranian ballistic missile attack on a key U.S. air base in Jordan damaged multiple U.S. warplanes, people familiar with the matter confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine.
One A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft suffered a severely damaged wing and about eight F-15E Strike Eagle fighters were lightly damaged but are considered serviceable after Iran attacked Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Sept. 8 Eastern Time.
The damage to U.S. aircraft was first reported by CBS News.
A spokesman for U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The attack on the base, known as MSAB, came after the U.S. struck five Iranian tankers Sept. 8, and Iran retaliated by lobbing scores of ballistic missiles at the installation. U.S. and Jordanian forces launched dozens of interceptors at the Iranian missiles. U.S. officials said no American personnel were killed. But Iran was able to harm American materiel. In the hours after the attack, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it damaged U.S. aircraft at the base.
The U.S. has dozens of warplanes operating from the base, which acts as a key airpower hub for operations against Iran. Tehran has targeted the facility, near the Jordanian town of Azraq, numerous times since the conflict began in February. Three Army Soldiers were killed in a missile attack on the base in July.
