PNN – The former US Assistant Secretary of Defense dissected the recent US defeats in the war with Iran, revealing the paralysis of advanced US systems in the face of asymmetric strategies, technological gaps, and the penetration of Iranian jets into radar blind spots.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network from the Asia Times, Steven Bryan writes on the analytical website Arms and Strategy that the United States, despite having far superior air defenses and advanced command and control systems, clearly made major mistakes, losing two AWACS aircraft and three F-15 fighters. It also failed to detect an Iranian jet that inflicted severe damage on Camp Boring in Kuwait.
He said that Iran carried out massive retaliatory attacks against strategic and valuable US bases, adding: According to international reports and satellite data, the damage to aircraft, radars and communications systems during February and March was far greater than initially reported.
Brian continued: Sixteen US military bases in eight Middle Eastern countries were hit, some of which were so damaged that they were unusable.
Domestic fire disaster; 30 deadly seconds over Kuwait
The former US assistant secretary of defense refers to the destruction of three American F-15s over Kuwait early in the war against Iran, saying that a Kuwaiti F-18 fighter jet shot down all three F-15s in a 30-second engagement with AIM-9 Sidewinder (Aim-9M) short-range heat-seeking missiles.
Brian said that the F-15E fighters are not equipped with missile warning sensors (MWS) for infrared threats and that the pilots received no warning. He added: Apparently, the Kuwaiti pilot thought the planes were “Kawthar” jets (an Iranian F-5 model) that had attacked Kuwait the day before. Despite the advanced IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) systems, it is possible that the systems did not function properly due to heavy electronic warfare, showing the friendly planes as “red” (enemy).
Penetrating blind spots; the mystery of the Kowsar jet
The former Pentagon official continued: The Iranian Kowsar jet attack on Camp Boring in Kuwait was another major defense failure. The fighter jet took advantage of the “radar ducting” atmospheric phenomenon in the Persian Gulf to slip through the blind spots of Patriot radars.
An Iranian Kowsar jet reportedly took off from a base in southwestern Iran, flew very low over the Persian Gulf, and attacked Camp Boring in Kuwait. The attack caused extensive damage to the command center, destroyed a Chinook helicopter, and killed six American soldiers.
Military Pride and Field Realities
Steven Bryan believes that the United States paid a heavy price in this conflict for its “technological arrogance” and “ignorance of the asymmetric innovations of the enemy.” Iran proved that with a precise knowledge of geography and modern electronic warfare tools, it could seriously challenge the absolute air superiority of the United States.