Iranian attack on Saudi air base damages US AWACS aircraft

Iran has claimed to have significantly damaged a United States aircraft during a retaliatory missile and drone strike on an American air base in Saudi Arabia. The strikes reportedly hit Prince Sultan Air Base on Friday, where the now-destroyed E‑3 AWACS command and control plane was stationed alongside other US military assets. Officials familiar with the situation said two of the troops were seriously wounded. The attack damaged several U.S. refueling aircraft, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.Satellite imagery that appeared to show the damage to the aircraft in the latest attack had been posted online. 

Iranian strike reports claim a US $700 million spy aircraft at Saudi Prince Sultan Air Base was hit, allegedly targeting a Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS, a key airborne command and radar system in operations regionally.#Iran #USA #SaudiArabia #AWACS #E3Sentrypic.twitter.com/jE8OnhNole

— Samantha Lopez (@AishaM45229) March 29, 2026

U.S. Central Command said earlier Friday that more than 300 service members have been wounded in the monthlong conflict. While most of the wounded have recovered and returned to duty, 30 remained out of action and 10 were considered seriously wounded. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has not commented on the incident.

The Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia was larger than expected.

Multiple refueling aircraft and an E-3 Sentry AWACS were reportedly among the planes damaged in the strike.

At least 15 U.S. troops were wounded, including five who were seriously injured. https://t.co/PV00pVmyv3 pic.twitter.com/0qJM0z0K21

— Egypt's Intel Observer (@EGYOSINT) March 28, 2026

This is not the first time that Prince Sultan Air Base has been targeted by Iran. Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, was wounded during a March 1 attack on the base and died days later. He is one of the 13 service members who have been killed in the war.The base has been targeted repeatedly since the US and Israel began their unprovoked war on Iran on February 28. The coalition has since assassinated several top Iranian officials, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and security chief Ali Larijani. The targeted missiles also hit a girls school in Minab and killed around 180 school girls. The war, now into its second month, has seen retaliatory strikes by Tehran on US air bases on the Gulf.
The attack, which involved an Iranian missile as well as drones, comes a day after President Donald Trump said Iran has been “obliterated” and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “never in recorded history has a nation’s military been so quickly and so effectively neutralized.”