The destruction of a US Air Force E-3 Sentry aircraft in an Iranian strike on a Saudi Arabia air base could damage US abilities to spot incoming Iranian threats at distance, analysts say.

Decades of neglect of a once world-class fighter fleet have led to decay and obsolescence in the face of the most advanced air armada ever unleashed against a country.

Experts say Iran's military is built to survive, not win conventionally, as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps retains missiles, proxies and naval threats despite U.S. strikes.

The American and Israeli air forces have a dominant advantage in the skies, but Iran can still muster some resistance.

Iran reportedly hits E-3 Sentry flying radars, which track drones, missiles, aircraft from hundreds of kilometres away.

Iranian missile-drone attack wounds 12 at Prince Sultan Air Base as Trump vows new Middle East free of terror.

India, March 30 -- The situation in the Middle East was worsened when Iran declared that it has launched a drone and a missile strike on a US-linked air base in Saudi Arabia. The Iranian state media disclosed that military properties worth a lot of money such as an airborne surveillance plane were destroyed in the strike evoking the question of an escalation of the situation more in the region.

EADaily, March 30th, 2026. The Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS long-range radar detection aircraft of the US Air Force, destroyed by Iran, costs more than $ 500 million, and its replacement is a difficult task,