Attack on US military base reveals Iran's air combat capabilities
(Baonghean.vn) - Up to now, the US has not yet released an official casualty report after Iran fired 12 missiles at a US military base in Iraq. But according to military experts, Iran's lightning attack has demonstrated the Islamic nation's precision strike capabilities.
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| Location of 2 US bases in Iraq attacked by Iranian missiles Photo: CNBC |
The missile attack on a US military base in Iraq was Iran's first response to the killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike. It also marked the first time Iran has directly attacked state-level targets in another country without the help of proxy forces since the 1988 Iran-Iraq War.
Although the US has not yet reported any casualties, the attack has shown a clear improvement in Iran’s ballistic missile system, thereby enhancing the country’s air combat capabilities. This assessment is further reinforced when linked to the September 2019 precision attack by pro-Iran forces on an oil production facility in Saudi Arabia.
According to Dr. Fabian Hinz of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, the attacks show that Iran has made a huge step forward, from developing missiles as a political and psychological tool to a weapon with real combat capabilities. This step could create an important balance change in Iran's relations with other countries.
A US defense intelligence official also confirmed that Iran has successfully developed short- and medium-range missiles, carrying nuclear warheads and capable of accurately attacking targets.
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| Some missile models publicly displayed by Iran. Photo: AFP |
In the early 1980s, the most sophisticated missiles Iran had were Soviet-developed Scud versions with limited range and low accuracy. But today, Iran is believed to have one of the largest ballistic missile arsenals in the world, especially accurate at short ranges of about 3,000 km. The range in the missile attack on the military base in Iraq this morning was about 1,600 km.
