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THREATS TO CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN IRAN CONFLICT

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Iranian attacks on prized missile defense radars are a wake-up call

An AN/TPY-2 on Oct. 27, 2024 during the battery's deployment in support of Keen Sword 2025 in Japan. (U.S. Army photo and caption by Staff Sgt. Connor Davis.)

By JOSEPH TREVITHICK and TYLER ROGOWAY

As expected, Iran has repeatedly targeted prized missile defense radars across the Middle East in retaliation for the joint U.S.-Israeli air campaign that is ongoing.

Iran’s attacks on high-value radars that enable the region’s missile defense capabilities appear to have succeeded on multiple occasions. The irony that lower-end long-range kamikaze drones are perhaps the biggest threat to extremely advanced radars capable of providing telemetry for intercepting targets traveling at hypersonic speeds, sometimes in space, is glaring. The losses of the radars and/or damage to their facilities should finally serve as a stark wake-up call regarding the vulnerability of these critical but largely static assets.

Based on the information at hand, it appears that Iran has been able to destroy one U.S. AN/TPY-2 radar in Jordan and damage the massive American-made AN/FPS-132 phased array radar in Qatar, prompting immediate concerns about available radar coverage to help respond to further barrages. There are strong indications that a number of other similar systems have been destroyed or damaged, as well.

Read more at The War Zone

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