THAAD, E-3 Sentry, F-35, F-15, F-16, KC-135: How Iran is busting the myth of US technical and aerial supremacy?

The ongoing war in West Asia has questioned the traditional notion of military analysts about the US army's technological and aerial dominance, forcing a re-evaluation. For decades, US fighter jets were presented as ghosts, for their stealth, speed and precision could shrug off the geographical and political limitations. At the onset the US-Israeli strikes and the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to reinforce the US superiority, buft as the war evolved, Iran has managed to struck several high-profile assets of the US-army, challenging it not just strategically at the Strait of Hormuz, but also in the aerial domain, in the skies over Iran and military bases in the Gulf.

A $300 million worth THAAD at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, roughly $300-$600 million worth E-3 Sentry (AWACS) in Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan Air Base, roughly $100 million worth F-35 lightening II in the airspace over central Iran, roughly $100 million worth F-15 E over southwestern Iran, $40-$50 million worth HH-60W in Jolly Green II specialised Combat Search and Rescue Black Hawk over southern Iran, $10-$15 million worth A-10 Thunderbolt II or “Warthog” over the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, roughly $70 million worth of F-16 Falcon in Iraq-Iran border, several KC-135 Stratotankers each worth roughly $80 million. All these have been either struck, severely damaged or destroyed by Iran. While a few of these are claimed by the IRGC without proper independent verification, most of these have been substantiated with visual proof and confirmation from the US military.

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How is Iran challenging the US?

As the conflict progresses, it is increasingly revealing the loopholes in the US doctrine of over-reliance on technological superiority. Iran knew that the US had an advantage, and it had been preparing for this war for 47 years. It is employing distributed layered air defence with asymmetric warfare using and strategic use of geography. This does not necessarily imply that Iran has achieved parity in the battlefield with the US, but it signifies the debunking of the myth of US technological dominance.

Liaowang 1, a Chinese naval asset, is reportedly operating in the international waters off the coast of Oman. It is just sitting quietly there, not moving, not doing anything. But it is equipped with the technology to capture electromagnetic signals emitted from almost all devices. This might seem like a random observation, but the precision strikes of Iran, like the fortified helipad in the US Embassy compound in Baghdad, taking out stealth jets, E-3 Sentry, and THAAD radars, are not random. At the same time, Chinese commercial provider MizarVision is providing detailed views of US military troops and movement in the region, and those visuals are circulating through open source. There are also reports of Russia sending food, weapons like drones and S400 air defence system and medicine to Iran, along with the Kremlin's intelligence support, targeting data and satellite imagery for Iran. But Russia denied those reports.

The physical presence of the ship Liaowang 1 in the region is heavily debated between intelligence reports and publicly available satellite tracking data. Maritime tracking service AIS showed its location in Shanghai, China. While intelligence reports cited by defence outlets like Defence Security Asia state that the floating supercomputer is assisted by Chinese missile destroyers, Type 055 and Type 052D and is present off the coast of Oman. Washington knows what is happening, but it can't risk escalating tension with Beijing or Moscow.