Iranian missile advances challenge US air defences in Middle East, report says

WASHINGTON: Iran’s increasingly sophisticated missile capability is creating difficulties for the US military in the Middle East, as Tehran’s attacks on Gulf countries and American forces expose gaps in regional air defence systems.

When Iranian missiles strike their intended targets, it indicates that US and allied defences either failed to intercept them or did not detect them early enough. Those concerns were underscored by an Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan that killed two US soldiers and left one missing.

Commenting on that strike, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said one missile had evaded interception despite wider defensive success. Rubio said nearly all incoming missiles were brought down, but one got through.

"One leaked through."

Rubio added:

"A missile got through. We shot down almost all the missiles. One leaked through … it's heartbreaking"

The Jordan attack was not a one-off episode. The same base was hit twice in the preceding 48 hours, with direct strikes injuring dozens of US personnel. Iranian precision-guided missiles repeatedly got past Jordanian and US missile shields, even as other Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted in later attacks.

Asked how the missiles were able to reach the base, US Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins declined to discuss the ongoing review. He said US and partner militaries had "defeated dozens of missiles and drones launched by Iran toward neighboring Gulf countries on July 17, but unfortunately a few got through and made impact"

President Donald Trump also pointed to failures by personnel other than US forces at the base, though he did not specify whom he meant. Referring to the Jordan strike, Trump said:

"They (Iran) did slip something through in Jordan, and we had other operators"

He continued:

"We have the best equipment in the world, you know, we've stopped almost everything. But, when you let other people do your job with the United States, we let other people do the job, and sometimes it doesn't work out so well"

The Pentagon later confirmed that nearly 100 US service members have been wounded in Iranian attacks across the Middle East this month, not including the latest deadly strike in Jordan.

Missile tactics and technology

Retired Jordanian Lt. Gen. Qasid Mahmoud told CBS News that the growing effectiveness of Iranian strikes reflects advances in missile technology. He said Iran combines missiles with drones to complicate air defence responses and overwhelm radar and interception systems.

Mahmoud said Iranian forces first use simpler missiles to distract radar coverage before firing higher-quality missiles that can alter course late in flight. He said those missiles shift their final target in the last 30 or 40 kilometers (18-25 miles), a tactic he said makes them much harder to stop before impact.