US loses key E-3 Sentinel after Iran attacks Saudi base: Points to note on $300 million AWACS aircraft

The incident was first reported by Air Force & Space Force magazine, which said at least 10 service members were injured in the Iranian attack on March 27.

While awaiting a statement from U.S. Central Command, The incident was reported in Air Force & Space Force magazineciting people familiar with the matter. Unconfirmed images of alleged missile strikes also circulated on social media, showing a Boeing E-3 rendered inoperable.

according to BloombergThe aircraft has a rotating radar dish mounted above its fuselage to detect distant threats and direct other fighter jets. Sentinels also provide a powerful advantage in combat.

“As an air defense system, the E-3 can detect, identify and track airborne enemy forces far away from the borders of U.S. or NATO countries. It can guide fighter interceptors to attack these enemy targets,” Official website of the United States Air Force.

The E-3 Sentinel is one of the most widely used early warning aircraft and is also exported to the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and France.

“Losing this E-3 is an incredible issue given the importance these battle managers have to all aspects of airspace deconfliction, aircraft deconfliction, targeting and providing other lethal effects that the entire force needs in the battle space,” former F-16 pilot Heather Penney, director of research at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, told Air Force & Space Force magazine.

Peter Leighton, a former Royal Australian Air Force officer and visiting fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, also said the loss of an E-3 Sentinel was a “big deal”.

“This highlights the vulnerability of large aircraft on the ground and the need for active defense. This has been difficult to do and sometimes fails,” Leighton told Bloomberg.