ISTANBUL: The United States is estimated to have lost almost $2 billion in military equipment during the first four days of its operations against Iran, based on data and estimates compiled by Anadolu Agency using open-source intelligence and confirmations from regional authorities.
The most significant financial loss took place at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, where a US AN/FPS-132 early warning radar system valued at approximately $1.1 billion was struck by an Iranian missile on Saturday.
The radar installation was hit and damaged during the attack, reports the Turkish news agencyAnadolu and also Qatari officials confirmed.
Likewise, three US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets were destroyed in what officials described as a friendly fire incident involving Kuwaiti air defenses.
Although all six aircrew members survived the incident, the aircraft themselves were lost. The estimated replacement cost for the three jets is about $282 million.
Iran struck the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain during its opening wave of attacks on Saturday.
The strike destroyed two satellite communications terminals and damaged several large buildings within the facility.
Using open-source intelligence analysis, the targeted satellite communication systems were identified as AN/GSC-52B SATCOM terminals.
Each unit is estimated to cost around $20 million when deployment and installation expenses are included.
Iran also claimed to have destroyed the AN/TPY-2 radar component of the THAAD Anti-Ballistic Missile System deployed in Al-Ruwais Industrial City in the United Arab Emirates.
Satellite imagery reviewed through open-source intelligence reports suggests that the radar site was indeed struck.
The value of the destroyed radar component alone is estimated to be around $500 million.
Combining these losses, analysts estimate that $1.902 billion worth of US military assets have been damaged or destroyed since the conflict escalated on Saturday.
Since the United States and Israel began striking Iran, Iranian forces have targeted at least seven US military locations across the Middle East.
These include the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, Camp Arifjan, Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Buehring in Kuwait, the Erbil Base in Iraq, Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates, and Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Footage taken in Kuwait Sunday afternoon showed collapsed rooftops and visible structural damage at several locations inside Ali Al Salem Air Base after reports of an Iranian strike the previous day.
Camp Arifjan was reported to be the primary site where six US service members were killed during the attacks.
A widely circulated video recorded Sunday inside Camp Buehring in Kuwait showed a drone flying over the installation before exploding within its perimeter, highlighting the vulnerability of the base during the escalating conflict.
Further north, the military installation at Erbil International Airport in Iraq, where US forces are stationed, was repeatedly targeted by Iranian strikes throughout Saturday and Sunday.
Footage and photographs confirmed by the New York Times showed smoke and flames rising from the area.
By Sunday morning, satellite images revealed that four structures in one section of the base had been damaged or destroyed, with fires continuing to burn into early Monday.
Satellite imagery in the United Arab Emirates taken Sunday showed smoke rising from a large building within a fenced US Navy recreational zone at Jebel Ali Port in Dubai.
Although Jebel Ali is not an official US military base, it is among the US Navy’s most frequently used ports of call in the Middle East.
