Satellite Photos Reveal Extent Of Damage From Iranian Strike On Air Base In Iraq

[War Thunder]

A satellite photo from the commercial company Planet shows damage to at least five structures at the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq.

Planet/MIIS
Updated at 2:45 p.m. ET

Satellite photos taken Wednesday show that an Iranian missile strike has caused extensive damage at the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq, which hosts U.S. and coalition troops.

The photos, taken by the commercial company Planet and shared with NPR via the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, show hangars and buildings hit hard by a barrage of Iranian missiles that were fired early Wednesday morning local time.

At least five structures were damaged in the attack on the base in Anbar province, which apparently was precise enough to hit individual buildings. "Some of the locations struck look like the missiles hit dead center," says David Schmerler, an analyst with the Middlebury Institute.

Iran's attack targeted at least two military bases in Iraq. The extent of the damage to the second base, in Irbil, was unclear.

Shortly afterward, President Trump said in an optimistic tweet: "All is well!

Satellite images show damage to hangars and buildings in what appears to be a series of precision missile strikes launched by Iran.

Planet Labs Inc./Middlebury Institute
There are no reports of casualties as a result of the strike on Ain al-Assad, which follows last week's U.S. drone strike in Iraq that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

Schmerler says it is unclear whether targets on the base were chosen to avoid loss of life. "The buildings we're tallying now seem to be used for storing aircraft," he says. "There are other structures at the air base that would be exclusively for people so maybe they intended to strike sites with equipment over people."

Photos circulating online that were reportedly taken on the ground some 20 miles from the air base show the wreckage of two missiles. "These appear to be the remnants of a Qiam missile body/airframe," tweeted Michael Elleman, who directs nonproliferation and nuclear policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The Qiam-1 missile is a single stage, liquid-fueled, short-range ballistic missile developed by Iran with a range of up to 500 miles, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies' Missile Defense Project. It is capable of carrying a 1,650-pound warhead and has a precision guidance system that can be redirected during flight.

Videos posted on Iranian state media also showed what appeared to be solid-fueled missiles being launched, according to Fabian Hinz, an Iranian missile expert at the Middlebury Institute. Such missiles can be launched at short notice, are precision guided and can include decoys to foil missile defenses. They are "very advanced," Hinz says.

All the missiles used are far larger than the rockets used in previous attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq. Those weapons carry warheads of a few pounds in size, while these ballistic missiles have warheads that are many hundreds of pounds. "It's a really, really substantial difference," Hinz says.

A U.S. official confirmed to NPR that 10 missiles struck Ain al-Assad, one hit the base in Irbil, and four missiles apparently fell short.

Analysts at Middlebury identified several impact points at Ain al-Assad, including one missile that landed on a runway — a likely miss.

"Overall I think it's a relatively modest response," says Tom Karako, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Karako says he believes the strike deliberately avoided areas that house personnel. Given the apparent precision of the missiles used: "If they wanted a bunch of causalities they could have done something different," he says.

"U.S. early warning systems detected the incoming ballistic missiles well in advance, providing U.S. and Coalition forces adequate time to take appropriate force protection measures," added a U.S. defense department official.

Despite the possibly symbolic thrust of Iran's attack — Iraq's foreign minister says it targeted the base where the Reaper drone used to kill Soleimani was launched — Iran's military has also demonstrated its ability to openly strike U.S. forces in Iraq at the same military installation that Trump visited last year.

"For the time being, the Americans have been given a slap, revenge is a different issue," Iran's Fars News Agency quotes Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as saying Wednesday. "Military moves like this are not enough. The Americans' corruption-stirring presence should come to an end."

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump sought to portray the missile attacks as the end of Iran's military response to the killing of Soleimani. "All of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases," he said. "Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world."

But one expert on Iran says the missile attacks may prove to be only a prelude to further reprisals.

"My mother used to say a gentleman carried two handkerchiefs: 1 for show (in the breast pocket of his jacket) and 1 for blow, ie, use. I expect what we have seen is the Iranian retaliation for show," tweeted Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass. "What is likely to come at some point are the deniable attacks meant to cause harm."

NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman contributed to this report.


https://www.npr.org/2020/01/08/7945...-reveal-extent-of-damage-at-al-assad-air-base

 

[War Thunder]

That's some solid precision right there. No one expects missiles to be so precise to hit specific structures with pin point accuracy.

A message was definitely delivered by Iran if nothing else.

 

[Pyara9]

Usa go bitch slapped by Iran! Much respect to the Iranians! It's called balls of steel.

The speach Trump gave is as close as your going to get as an apology from a superpower.

Even if there were casualties U.S would never admit them unless it planned on Attacking Iran.

 

[khansaheeb]

US allies most likely got cold field as they would have to bare the brunt of the destruction. Imagine Saudi oil refineries being hit with such precision and Dubai , wtf scary thinking about it. Iranians have shown it would be MAD if they are attacked so the US has gone for the grind them down with the sanctions option and then attack them.

 

[alee92nawaz]

A satellite photo from the commercial company Planet shows damage to at least five structures at the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq.

Planet/MIIS
Updated at 2:45 p.m. ET

Satellite photos taken Wednesday show that an Iranian missile strike has caused extensive damage at the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq, which hosts U.S. and coalition troops.

The photos, taken by the commercial company Planet and shared with NPR via the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, show hangars and buildings hit hard by a barrage of Iranian missiles that were fired early Wednesday morning local time.

At least five structures were damaged in the attack on the base in Anbar province, which apparently was precise enough to hit individual buildings. "Some of the locations struck look like the missiles hit dead center," says David Schmerler, an analyst with the Middlebury Institute.

Iran's attack targeted at least two military bases in Iraq. The extent of the damage to the second base, in Irbil, was unclear.

Shortly afterward, President Trump said in an optimistic tweet: "All is well!

Satellite images show damage to hangars and buildings in what appears to be a series of precision missile strikes launched by Iran.

Planet Labs Inc./Middlebury Institute
There are no reports of casualties as a result of the strike on Ain al-Assad, which follows last week's U.S. drone strike in Iraq that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

Schmerler says it is unclear whether targets on the base were chosen to avoid loss of life. "The buildings we're tallying now seem to be used for storing aircraft," he says. "There are other structures at the air base that would be exclusively for people so maybe they intended to strike sites with equipment over people."

Photos circulating online that were reportedly taken on the ground some 20 miles from the air base show the wreckage of two missiles. "These appear to be the remnants of a Qiam missile body/airframe," tweeted Michael Elleman, who directs nonproliferation and nuclear policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The Qiam-1 missile is a single stage, liquid-fueled, short-range ballistic missile developed by Iran with a range of up to 500 miles, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies' Missile Defense Project. It is capable of carrying a 1,650-pound warhead and has a precision guidance system that can be redirected during flight.

Videos posted on Iranian state media also showed what appeared to be solid-fueled missiles being launched, according to Fabian Hinz, an Iranian missile expert at the Middlebury Institute. Such missiles can be launched at short notice, are precision guided and can include decoys to foil missile defenses. They are "very advanced," Hinz says.

All the missiles used are far larger than the rockets used in previous attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq. Those weapons carry warheads of a few pounds in size, while these ballistic missiles have warheads that are many hundreds of pounds. "It's a really, really substantial difference," Hinz says.

A U.S. official confirmed to NPR that 10 missiles struck Ain al-Assad, one hit the base in Irbil, and four missiles apparently fell short.

Analysts at Middlebury identified several impact points at Ain al-Assad, including one missile that landed on a runway — a likely miss.

"Overall I think it's a relatively modest response," says Tom Karako, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Karako says he believes the strike deliberately avoided areas that house personnel. Given the apparent precision of the missiles used: "If they wanted a bunch of causalities they could have done something different," he says.

"U.S. early warning systems detected the incoming ballistic missiles well in advance, providing U.S. and Coalition forces adequate time to take appropriate force protection measures," added a U.S. defense department official.

Despite the possibly symbolic thrust of Iran's attack — Iraq's foreign minister says it targeted the base where the Reaper drone used to kill Soleimani was launched — Iran's military has also demonstrated its ability to openly strike U.S. forces in Iraq at the same military installation that Trump visited last year.

"For the time being, the Americans have been given a slap, revenge is a different issue," Iran's Fars News Agency quotes Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as saying Wednesday. "Military moves like this are not enough. The Americans' corruption-stirring presence should come to an end."

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump sought to portray the missile attacks as the end of Iran's military response to the killing of Soleimani. "All of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases," he said. "Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world."

But one expert on Iran says the missile attacks may prove to be only a prelude to further reprisals.

"My mother used to say a gentleman carried two handkerchiefs: 1 for show (in the breast pocket of his jacket) and 1 for blow, ie, use. I expect what we have seen is the Iranian retaliation for show," tweeted Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass. "What is likely to come at some point are the deniable attacks meant to cause harm."

NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman contributed to this report.


https://www.npr.org/2020/01/08/7945...-reveal-extent-of-damage-at-al-assad-air-base

There were more impact sites in a video by ABC or some similar news channel

 

[Maarkhoor]

A satellite photo from the commercial company Planet shows damage to at least five structures at the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq.

Planet/MIIS
Updated at 2:45 p.m. ET

Satellite photos taken Wednesday show that an Iranian missile strike has caused extensive damage at the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq, which hosts U.S. and coalition troops.

The photos, taken by the commercial company Planet and shared with NPR via the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, show hangars and buildings hit hard by a barrage of Iranian missiles that were fired early Wednesday morning local time.

At least five structures were damaged in the attack on the base in Anbar province, which apparently was precise enough to hit individual buildings. "Some of the locations struck look like the missiles hit dead center," says David Schmerler, an analyst with the Middlebury Institute.

Iran's attack targeted at least two military bases in Iraq. The extent of the damage to the second base, in Irbil, was unclear.

Shortly afterward, President Trump said in an optimistic tweet: "All is well!

Satellite images show damage to hangars and buildings in what appears to be a series of precision missile strikes launched by Iran.

Planet Labs Inc./Middlebury Institute
There are no reports of casualties as a result of the strike on Ain al-Assad, which follows last week's U.S. drone strike in Iraq that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

Schmerler says it is unclear whether targets on the base were chosen to avoid loss of life. "The buildings we're tallying now seem to be used for storing aircraft," he says. "There are other structures at the air base that would be exclusively for people so maybe they intended to strike sites with equipment over people."

Photos circulating online that were reportedly taken on the ground some 20 miles from the air base show the wreckage of two missiles. "These appear to be the remnants of a Qiam missile body/airframe," tweeted Michael Elleman, who directs nonproliferation and nuclear policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The Qiam-1 missile is a single stage, liquid-fueled, short-range ballistic missile developed by Iran with a range of up to 500 miles, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies' Missile Defense Project. It is capable of carrying a 1,650-pound warhead and has a precision guidance system that can be redirected during flight.

Videos posted on Iranian state media also showed what appeared to be solid-fueled missiles being launched, according to Fabian Hinz, an Iranian missile expert at the Middlebury Institute. Such missiles can be launched at short notice, are precision guided and can include decoys to foil missile defenses. They are "very advanced," Hinz says.

All the missiles used are far larger than the rockets used in previous attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq. Those weapons carry warheads of a few pounds in size, while these ballistic missiles have warheads that are many hundreds of pounds. "It's a really, really substantial difference," Hinz says.

A U.S. official confirmed to NPR that 10 missiles struck Ain al-Assad, one hit the base in Irbil, and four missiles apparently fell short.

Analysts at Middlebury identified several impact points at Ain al-Assad, including one missile that landed on a runway — a likely miss.

"Overall I think it's a relatively modest response," says Tom Karako, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Karako says he believes the strike deliberately avoided areas that house personnel. Given the apparent precision of the missiles used: "If they wanted a bunch of causalities they could have done something different," he says.

"U.S. early warning systems detected the incoming ballistic missiles well in advance, providing U.S. and Coalition forces adequate time to take appropriate force protection measures," added a U.S. defense department official.

Despite the possibly symbolic thrust of Iran's attack — Iraq's foreign minister says it targeted the base where the Reaper drone used to kill Soleimani was launched — Iran's military has also demonstrated its ability to openly strike U.S. forces in Iraq at the same military installation that Trump visited last year.

"For the time being, the Americans have been given a slap, revenge is a different issue," Iran's Fars News Agency quotes Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as saying Wednesday. "Military moves like this are not enough. The Americans' corruption-stirring presence should come to an end."

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump sought to portray the missile attacks as the end of Iran's military response to the killing of Soleimani. "All of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases," he said. "Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world."

But one expert on Iran says the missile attacks may prove to be only a prelude to further reprisals.

"My mother used to say a gentleman carried two handkerchiefs: 1 for show (in the breast pocket of his jacket) and 1 for blow, ie, use. I expect what we have seen is the Iranian retaliation for show," tweeted Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass. "What is likely to come at some point are the deniable attacks meant to cause harm."

NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman contributed to this report.


https://www.npr.org/2020/01/08/7945...-reveal-extent-of-damage-at-al-assad-air-base

Even U.S made B.M have CEP how can crudely manufactured inertial guiding missiles have so accurate? Just a sheer luck or bakwas....they just aimed at airbase and fired 16 missiles..out of 16 4 to 5 missiles does't exploded.

 

[Han Patriot]

There were more impact sites in a video by ABC or some similar news channel

Seems quite precise, it's dead center on the building, no one got killed but what's the equipment deatroyed. US is not telling us at all...

Iran can't beat US, but they will ensure Israel gets fcked. That's the mesaage. Trump's tweet is like a faggot, basically saying, okay you slapped us, call it even now.

 

[War Thunder]

Even U.S made B.M have CEP how can crudely manufactured inertial guiding missiles have so accurate? Just a sheer luck or bakwas....they just aimed at airbase and fired 16 missiles..out of 16 4 to 5 missiles does't exploded.

We are not living in the 80's.
And you can clearly see the buildings were picked and hit precisely in the center.
Do you know what happens when you fire random missiles without accuracy? You get shit blown up all over the place and not specific structures.
There is no such thing as luck in missile strikes. Either you hit the target or miss it. And you can't be lucky with so many missiles hitting the targets with accuracy.
As for many missiles landing elsewhere and failing. Doesn't matter as long as even 5 out of 10 landed where they were meant, that's enough odds to give nightmares to any enemy.

 

[Maarkhoor]

Seems quite precise, it's dead center on the building, no one got killed but what's the equipment deatroyed. US is not telling us at all...

Iran can't beat US, but they will ensure Israel gets fcked. That's the mesaage. Trump's tweet is like a faggot, basically saying, okay you slapped us, call it even now.

There is high value target only structure and non-Use helos there and that is why base/s not protected with patriot missiles.

 

[skyshadow]

for those who do not know why there are holes in middle of runways it's too crippled base so that no fighter jet or transporter aircrafts could tack off or land effectively crippling the base from launching fighter jets for time being so that other missile can be fired to complete there job

 

[Han Patriot]

for those who do not know why there are holes in middle of runways it's too crippled base so that no fighter jet or transporter aircrafts could tack off or land effectively crippling the base from launching fighter jets for time being so that other missile can be fired to complete there job

It's precise, the cep is 3-5 meters at most, it hit near center of the tarmac....didnt know Iran had this ability... They studied what happened to the Iraqis, they know they will lose but before losing they are gonna blow up Israel.

 

[skyshadow]

IRGC going to give more evidence of the attack they could show casualties this time as they are saying that West is trying to show our attack was nothing, so let see what they have to say.

It's precise, the cep is 3-5 meters at most, it hit near center of the tarmac....didnt know Iran had this ability... They studied what happened to the Iraqis, they know they will lose but before losing they are gonna blow up Israel.

yes they used Fateh ballistic missile family for hangers and they used Qiam ballistic missiles to make big holes in runways both are said to have under 10 meter CEP


Fateh-313 ballistic missile

Qiam ballistic missile

 

[alee92nawaz]

Seems quite precise, it's dead center on the building, no one got killed but what's the equipment deatroyed. US is not telling us at all...

Iran can't beat US, but they will ensure Israel gets fcked. That's the mesaage. Trump's tweet is like a faggot, basically saying, okay you slapped us, call it even now.

I don't know why trump is so protective of Israel. Going way and beyond

 

[Pakistan Space Agency]

Out of 22 ballistic missiles, how many actually hit the airbases?

What exactly did Iran target?

The airbases are so large with so many buildings, except 4-5 buildings all look intact and standing. There's hardly any damage, shrapnel scattered around. What kind of "ballistic missiles" were these?

I dont know why some people are going overboard in regards to the accuracy of the strikes because the air bases are so large to begin with, the missiles are bound to hit something (except those missiles that fell short or landed elsewhere).