Satellite imagery and analysis reported by CNN indicate that recent Iranian missile and drone strikes damaged radar systems associated with US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries across the Arabian Peninsula. The affected locations include Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the reporting.
Images showed a radar array supporting a THAAD battery at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base — more than 500 miles from Iran and known to host US operations — heavily damaged or destroyed. Analysts noted debris, burn marks, two nearby craters and five large trailer-mounted elements of the unit, all suffering severe damage. The radar appears to be an AN/TPY-2 transportable system made by Raytheon, the primary sensor for THAAD and identified in the US Missile Defense Agency’s 2025 budget as costing close to half a billion dollars.
CNN also highlighted possible strikes near Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base, where satellite imagery captured smoke rising from a radar site that can shelter THAAD equipment. It remained unclear from the imagery whether a radar was present at the time or whether the installation was under US or Saudi control. In the UAE, imagery suggested damage to buildings and vehicle shelters at military sites near Ruwais and Sader, locations previously reported to host THAAD batteries and associated radars. Reporting also indicated potential damage to an early-warning radar in Qatar.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched multiple waves of missiles and drones toward Tel Aviv during the operation. Iranian state media IRNA claimed the projectiles likely penetrated regional defenses, including layers linked to Israel, and struck areas such as the Israeli Defense Ministry zone and Ben Gurion Airport. The Times of Israel reported that Iran fired eight volleys of ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv, prompting millions of people to shelter in bunkers.
Defense analysts warned that hitting radars does not completely disable a THAAD battery but can markedly reduce its effectiveness. N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services, told CNN that the AN/TPY-2 radar functions as the heart of a THAAD battery, enabling intercept launches and feeding a broader, networked air-defense picture, and that losing a single radar would be an operationally significant event.
Lockheed Martin describes THAAD as a combat-proven system designed to intercept short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, capable of engaging threats both inside and outside the atmosphere. The reported strikes and visible damage to radar assets across the Gulf appear aimed at degrading the US- and Israel-linked missile detection and communications network that spans the region.
This account is based on syndicated news reporting and satellite-image analysis as cited in CNN and regional outlets.
