‘Blew the hell out of it’: How Iran damaged US bases in Bahrain, Jordan

Key Points:

• The US Naval Support Activity (NSA) base in Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet, has sustained severe damage from repeated Iranian missile strikes between February and June, prompting the US Navy to evaluate its future use and repairs.
• Iranian forces also launched missile attacks on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base (Al-Azraq) in Jordan, damaging multiple US military aircraft, including an A-10 Thunderbolt and several F-15 jets, despite interception efforts by Jordanian and US defense systems.
• The ongoing conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran has resulted in significant damage to US military assets across the Middle East, with at least 42 aircraft lost or damaged and 18 US service members killed since February.
• Iran has targeted key US facilities in eight Middle Eastern countries, severely impacting bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, and Jordan, and causing millions of dollars in damage to infrastructure and advanced missile defense systems.
• The damage to NSA Bahrain has disrupted operations involving the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which recently ended an extended deployment marked by a mental health crisis among its crew due to the lack of a suitable port for resupply and rest.