New photos obtained exclusively by CBS News reveal for the first time the widespread damage and destruction of buildings and vehicles at multiple U.S. positions across the Middle East, as a result of Iranian missile and drone attacks.
The images were sent to CBS News by active service members on condition of anonymity because of rigid media restrictions within the military.
“This is major damage to our bases that hasn’t been communicated to the American public,” one deployed service member told CBS News. “We’re standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.”
One photo, taken at Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia, shows a direct hit on the back half of a Boeing E-3 Sentry four-engine aircraft, its tail severed from the charred fuselage that also supported a rotating radar that is essential for collecting midair intelligence.
Other photos taken from the base show hollowed-out buildings and barracks whose shells ironically stand next to unaffected cement “T-wall” structures, which were once regarded as critical fortifications against grenade and mortar attacks but proved critically ineffective against an aerial assault.
Similarly grim pictures were captured at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, a major staging area for U.S. Army ground troops, armored vehicles and some aircraft; the post is located in a remote desert region far northwest of Kuwait City.
The Defense Department’s inspector general this week released a fresh report on the war in Iran that revealed “equipment losses” worth up to $3.7 billion — including nearly 60 aircraft. In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to Congress, the inspector general added that U.S. Central Command reported Iranian strikes at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.
“These are not ‘squirters’ getting through,” the service member added, referencing language used by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the deadly March 1 attack on Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait that killed six U.S. troops. “We’re not defending these bases. We’re just watching them get destroyed.”
