Iran missile strike damages five KC-135 tankers in Saudi Arabia, officials say

An Iranian missile strike damaged five U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft on the ground at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, two U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal .

The aircraft were parked on the flight line at the time of the strike and sustained damage but were not destroyed, according to the officials. The tankers are being repaired and are expected to return to service. No U.S. personnel were killed in the attack, The Wall Street Journal reported.

President Donald Trump disputed those characterizations in a Saturday Truth Social post, saying, “The Base was hit a few days ago, but the planes were not “struck” or “destroyed.” Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service. One had slightly more damage, but will be in the air shortly. None were destroyed, or close to that."

Trump singled out The Wall Street Journal by name, saying its reporting was “the exact opposite of the actual facts.”

U.S. Central Command declined to comment on the strike.

Prince Sultan Air Base has served as a key hub for U.S. aerial refueling operations supporting Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran. An Iranian attack on the base March 1 led to the death of one U.S. soldier, Sgt. Benjamin Pennington , 26.

In addition to the five aircraft struck in Saudi Arabia, a KC-135 crashed in western Iraq last week. All six crew members aboard the downed aircraft were killed , the Pentagon announced Friday. U.S. Central Command has said the crash was not due to hostile or friendly fire and remains under investigation.

The U.S. Air Force operates approximately 376 KC-135s across active duty, Air Force Reserve,and Air National Guard units, according to the Congressional Research Service. The Air Force has been gradually replacing the Stratotanker with the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus, which entered service in 2019 and has reached a fleet of 100 aircraft.

KC-46A deliveries were paused for several months in 2025 after cracks were discovered in multiple aircraft, and the program continues to address technical deficiencies, including issues with its refueling boom, according to the Department of Defense’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.

两名美国官员告诉《华尔街日报》，伊朗导弹袭击损坏了停放在沙特阿拉伯苏丹王子空军基地地面上的五架美国空军KC-135同温层加油机。

据官方消息，袭击发生时，这些飞机停放在跑道上，虽然受损但并未被摧毁。加油机正在维修中，预计将恢复服役。《华尔街日报》报道称，此次袭击中没有美军人员伤亡。

唐纳德·特朗普总统在周六的“真相社交”（Truth Social）帖子中反驳了这些说法，他表示：“基地几天前遭到袭击，但飞机并没有被‘击中’或‘摧毁’。五架飞机中有四架几乎没有损坏，已经恢复使用。另一架受损稍重，但很快也能重新上空。没有一架飞机被摧毁，或者说，没有接近被摧毁的程度。”

特朗普点名批评了《华尔街日报》，称其报道“与事实完全相反”。

美国中央司令部拒绝就此次袭击发表评论。

苏丹王子空军基地一直是美国空中加油行动的关键枢纽，为美以联合打击伊朗的“史诗狂怒行动”提供支持。3月1日，伊朗对该基地发动袭击，导致一名美国士兵，26岁的本杰明·彭宁顿中士丧生。

除了沙特阿拉伯境内被击落的五架飞机外，上周一架KC-135加油机在伊拉克西部坠毁。五角大楼周五宣布，机上六名机组人员全部遇难。美国中央司令部表示，此次坠机并非敌方或友军火力所致，目前仍在调查中。

据美国国会研究服务处的数据，美国空军现役部队、空军预备役部队和空中国民警卫队共装备约376架KC-135空中加油机。空军一直在逐步用波音KC-46A“飞马”空中加油机取代KC-135，后者于2019年投入使用，目前机队规模已达100架。

据美国国防部作战测试与评估主任称，2025 年，由于多架飞机发现裂缝，KC-46A 的交付暂停了几个月，该项目仍在解决技术缺陷，包括其加油吊杆的问题。