Newly revealed photographs show extensive damage to buildings, vehicles, and military equipment at multiple US positions across West Asia following Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone strikes, the CBS News reported on Tuesday.
The photographs, obtained exclusively by CBS News, were provided by unnamed US forces, who cited strict military restrictions on communicating with the media.
One of the photographs, taken at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, shows a direct hit on the rear section of a Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft. The aircraft’s tail was severed from its charred fuselage, which carries a rotating radar system used for airborne intelligence gathering.
Other images from the Saudi base show heavily damaged buildings and barracks, with their structures left standing alongside cement T-walls that had been considered important defensive barriers against grenade and mortar attacks.
Similar damage was documented at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, a major staging area for US Army ground forces, armored vehicles and some aircraft. Photos from the camp show destroyed trailers, damaged buildings and a vehicle that was reportedly hit during the US-Israeli war of aggression on Iran.
A US troop told CBS News that the scale of the damage had not been adequately communicated to the American public.
“This is major damage to our bases that hasn’t been communicated to the American public,” the troop said. “We’re standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.”
The photographs come after a new report by the Pentagon’s inspector general disclosed up to $3.7 billion in US equipment losses during the war, including nearly 60 aircraft.
The report, submitted to Congress, also said US Central Command had reported Iranian strikes against American positions in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan.
The unnamed troop also disputed the Pentagon’s characterization of Iranian strikes as isolated projectiles getting through US defenses.
“These are not ‘squirters’ getting through,” the service member said, referring to language used by War Secretary Pete Hegseth following the March 1 attack on the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait, which killed six US troops. “We’re not defending these bases. We’re just watching them get destroyed.”