Iranian Missile and Drone Attack Destroys U.S. E-3 Sentry AWACS at Saudi Air Base

An Iranian missile and drone strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Friday, March 27, 2026, destroyed a U.S. E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, marking the first known combat loss of that type in history. Verified photographs, first circulated on a Facebook page covering U.S. military news and subsequently confirmed by BBC Verify, show the aircraft — tail number 81-0005 — split in two at the base, located approximately 100 kilometers southeast of Riyadh. The attack involved 6 ballistic missiles and 29 drones, including Shahed models, according to Iran's Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. At least 12 U.S. military personnel were wounded in the strike, including two in serious condition, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. Al Jazeera, citing unnamed sources briefed on the strikes and quoting the Associated Press, reported the figure as high as 15 wounded, with five in serious condition. U.S. Central Command had not publicly commented on the incident as of Monday morning.

Small, aging fleet makes the loss especially costly The destruction of the aircraft represents a significant material blow to the U.S. Air Force, which operates only 16 E-3 Sentry aircraft in active service, down from an original fleet of more than 30. Six of those aircraft had been deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base prior to the Friday attack, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine. The E-3 is a modified Boeing 707 fitted with a rotating radar dome 30 feet in diameter, capable of monitoring targets on land, at sea, and in the air up into the stratosphere. Production of the aircraft ended in 1992, and the type is expected to remain in U.S. service until 2035. The Wall Street Journal reported that the nearest replacement, Boeing's E-7 Wedgetail, is projected to cost more than $700 million per aircraft. Bloomberg reported the destroyed E-3 itself was valued at roughly $300 million. Satellite imagery captured by the European Sentinel-2 satellite confirmed an intense thermal signature at the base consistent with a large-scale fire, though Le Parisien noted the aircraft may have been destroyed by fire or debris rather than a direct hit.

„It's a big deal. It highlights that large aircraft are vulnerable on the ground and need active defense. That is hard to do all the time, sometimes it fails.” — Peter Layton via Bloomberg

The U.S. Air Force has previously used E-3 Sentry aircraft in operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Yugoslavia. Three other E-3 aircraft have been lost in accidents since the type was introduced in the late 1970s, but Friday's destruction marks the first combat loss. The broader U.S.-Israel war on Iran, designated Operation Epic Fury, began on February 28, 2026. In the weeks since, Iranian attacks have struck U.S. assets at bases in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait, damaging radar systems, a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, and more than a dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones, according to media reports.

Iran claims tanker kills; U.S. has not confirmed losses Several KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft were also damaged or destroyed in the Friday strike, compounding the operational impact on U.S. air operations in the region. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran's central military headquarters, said in a video statement on Saturday that the attack destroyed one refueling aircraft and put three others out of service. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that a separate Iranian attack on March 13 damaged five KC-135 aircraft at the same base, though that report was not independently verified. Neither the U.S. military nor Saudi Arabia officially commented on the Friday strike. The Saudi Ministry of Defence said on Friday it had intercepted several drones and missiles launched from Iran toward Riyadh, but did not address the damage at the air base. Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel John Venable told the Wall Street Journal the strike "hurts the U.S. ability to see what's happening" in the Gulf, and described the loss of the AWACS as affecting situational awareness across the theater.

Original fleet: 34, Current active: 16, Deployed to Middle East (pre-conflict): 6

Trump claims Iran yielded on peace demands; Tehran rejects framing President Donald Trump said on Sunday, March 29, that Iran had accepted most of the 15 demands the United States sent to Tehran as conditions for ending the war. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump declined to specify which concessions Iran had offered but indicated Washington would seek additional terms. Iran has publicly rejected the U.S. 15-point ceasefire list, delivered via Pakistani intermediaries, and countered with five conditions of its own, including maintaining sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar hosted meetings over the weekend in Islamabad with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and Turkey to explore a path toward negotiations. After the talks, Dar said both Iran and the United States had expressed confidence in Pakistan to host future direct talks, though neither side indicated readiness to meet.

„They gave us most of the points. Why wouldn't they? We're going to be asking for a couple of other things.” — Donald Trump via Bloomberg

„Pakistan will be honored to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the coming days.” — Ishaq Dar via Reuters