Iran attack on base in Jordan damaged American military aircraft, US official says

Iranian strikes damaged multiple American military aircraft this week on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, a U.S. official told Reuters.

The U.S. military, the highest-funded in the world, suffered material damage even before Iran’s strikes on Tuesday. This includes the destruction of more than two dozen drones, Iran striking fighter jets, and aircraft being lost to accidents.

According to a May report from the Congressional Research Service, 42 U.S. military aircraft had already been lost or damaged in the conflict.

Since the Iran war started in February, 18 U.S. service members have been killed and over 800 injured.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Iran’s attack hit one A-10 Thunderbolt II, known as the Warthog, leaving it with a missing wing, while roughly eight F-15s sustained light damage and were returned to service.

Iran’s strike on the U.S. base in Jordan came after U.S. forces said they destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers. The U.S. said its strikes were in response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeting a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic ​missiles twice over the previous two days.

The Iranian attack required U.S. forces to fire roughly 30 Patriot interceptors to counter the missiles, the U.S. official said, amid increasing concern about the inventory of U.S. air defense interceptors and other missiles.

While specific inventory numbers are classified, the Center for Strategic ​and International Studies has estimated that about 65% of U.S. Patriot interceptors were expended between February and July, with fewer than 850 left on hand, down from 2,330 before the Iran war began.

一名美国官员告诉路透社，本周伊朗对约旦穆瓦法克萨尔蒂空军基地发动的袭击损坏了多架美国军用飞机。

美国军方是世界上经费最高的军方，即便在伊朗周二发动袭击之前，就已经遭受了物质损失。这些损失包括二十多架无人机被摧毁、伊朗击落的战斗机以及因事故损失的飞机。

根据国会研究服务处 5 月份的一份报告，已有 42 架美国军用飞机在冲突中损失或受损。

自2月份伊朗战争爆发以来，已有18名美国军人丧生，800多人受伤。

一位不愿透露姓名的美国官员表示，伊朗的袭击击中了一架A-10“雷电II”（绰号“疣猪”）攻击机，导致其机翼被炸毁；另有约8架F-15战斗机受到轻微损伤，但已恢复服役。

伊朗袭击美国在约旦的军事基地之前，美军声称摧毁了五艘伊朗原油运输船。美国表示，此次袭击是对伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队在过去两天内两次用弹道导弹袭击美国海军军舰的回应。

一位美国官员表示，伊朗的袭击迫使美军发射了大约 30 枚爱国者拦截导弹进行拦截，与此同时，人们越来越担心美国防空拦截器和其他导弹的库存。

虽然具体的库存数字属于机密，但战略与国际研究中心估计，2 月至 7 月期间，美国大约 65% 的“爱国者”拦截导弹已被消耗，剩余数量不足 850 枚，而伊朗战争爆发前的数量为 2330 枚。