US Patriot system fails in response to the Iranian missile attack.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s missile attack on Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a key US military base in the Middle East, has drawn widespread criticism. Although President Donald Trump initially denied any damage to the base, newly released photos suggest that Iran’s missile attack was successful in at least one instance.
The Pentagon has now admitted that an Iranian ballistic missile successfully hit Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar during a June 23 attack, contradicting previous praise from US defense officials for the performance of the MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems and the Qatari Air Force in protecting the facility.
“On June 23, an Iranian ballistic missile hit Al-Udeid Air Base, while the other missiles were intercepted by US and Qatari defense systems,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.
According to Military Watch, satellite images show the destruction of a radar dome (radome) that housed the Enterprise Terminal’s modern communications system, which is worth about $15 million.
According to the report, although the Fateh-313 ballistic missiles used to attack the Al-Udeid base are not among the most advanced missiles in Iran’s arsenal, the Patriot system has shown significant shortcomings even against relatively simple missile attacks.
Jeffrey Lewis, an analyst and director of a research team specializing in missiles, confirmed this, stating that “governments are lying about the effectiveness of these systems. Or they are ignorant, and that should be of great concern to us.”
The shortcomings of the Patriot system have reportedly become more apparent in Ukraine in recent years, and these systems have suffered heavy losses from Russian missile attacks.