Illustrative image. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Haley Stevens)
Italy’s military acknowledged on March 15 that it had lost a drone as a result of an attack on Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, marking the country’s first loss in the ongoing American-Israeli war on Iran.
“This morning, Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait was the target of a drone attack that hit a shelter housing a remotely piloted aircraft of the Italian Task Force Air (TFA), which was destroyed,” the chief of the Defense General Staff, General Luciano Portolano, said in a statement posted by the military on X.
Ali Al Salem is considered one of the key airlift and logistics gateways for the United States military in the Middle East, hosting the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing. The air base is located in central Kuwait, roughly 15 kilometers west of the city of Al Jahra and approximately 37 kilometers from the border with Iraq.
Three hundred Italian Air Force service members of the 51º Stormo di Istrana were trapped at the air base after the first Iranian attack on the facility on March 2.
The 51º Stormo di Istrana operates Eurofighter Typhoon jets, and according to recent rumors three such warplanes were destroyed in Ali Al Salem as a result of Iranian attacks last week. The rumors said, however, that the warplanes belonged to the Kuwait Air Force.
The drone Italy lost at Ali Al Salem was, according to The Aviationist, an American-made MQ-9 Reaper. The medium-altitude long-endurance drone, which costs upwards of $30 million, is primarily used to collect intelligence, but has the ability to conduct pinpoint strikes.
It’s worth noting that one recent satellite image from the air base showed damage at three hangars where the U.S. military stored MQ-9 drones.
A fourth hangar nearby was also hit, and in front of it a fighter jet, identified as a Typhoon jet, can be seen in the same image. The image showed what appears to be an oil or fuel spill near the jet, which indicates that it was at least damaged in the attack.
Click to see full-size image. (X)
Click to see full-size image. (X)
Since the start of the war, the U.S. military has lost 13 MQ-9s over Iran, and another over neighboring Iraq. All were shot down. Including the Italian one, the 15 MQ-9s cost at least $450 million.
Kuwait was among the worst hit by Iranian retaliatory attacks. Just a day earlier, the country’s civil aviation authority said that several drones struck Kuwait International Airport and hit its radar system.
The latest attack on Ali Al Salem shows that Iran is now hitting facilities housing or supporting the U.S. military with much more ease than before, especially using drones. This is likely the result of the success the Islamic Republic had in naturalizing air defenses there.
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