US Patriots Fired at Full Force—But Iran Still Damaged Eight F-15s and an A-10

A massive Patriot response failed to completely shield US aircraft at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, where an Iranian ballistic missile barrage damaged roughly eight F-15 fighters and left an A-10 Thunderbolt II missing a wing, according to CBS News reporting cited by Defense Express on September 10.

Iran launched around 20 ballistic missiles at the US-used airbase overnight on September 8-9. Jordan later said its air defenses intercepted 18 of the incoming missiles, while the remaining two fell in unpopulated areas.

Defense Express, however, pointed to another striking aspect of the engagement: the sheer number of Patriot interceptors fired.

Based on available videos, the outlet estimated that US-operated Patriot batteries launched at least 60 PAC-3 interceptors, either MSE or CRI variants, within minutes. Some estimates circulating online have put the number closer to 100, though Defense Express considers that figure likely exaggerated.

Even the more conservative estimate would amount to roughly three Patriot interceptors fired for every Iranian ballistic missile.

Defense Express described the batteries as effectively operating in “machine-gun” mode during the barrage, underscoring how quickly stocks of expensive and limited PAC-3 missiles can be consumed during a concentrated ballistic attack.

Yet the airbase was not left untouched. CBS News reported, citing people with direct knowledge of the damage, that approximately eight F-15 fighter jets sustained light damage. The aircraft were repaired and returned to service relatively quickly.

An A-10 Thunderbolt II suffered much more severe damage and was left missing a wing. For the aging A-10 fleet, such damage could prove particularly consequential, Defense Express notes.

Production ended decades ago, and the US Air Force has been moving toward retiring the aircraft rather than investing heavily in rebuilding severely damaged examples.

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US Patriot Batteries Go Into “Machine-Gun Mode” Against Iranian Ballistic Missile Attack, Video

Sep 09, 2026 14:01

No photographs of the affected aircraft or detailed satellite imagery of the damaged section of the airbase have yet been publicly released.

That leaves an important question unanswered: what exactly reached the aircraft parking area?

Defense Express noted that the relatively minor damage to the F-15s would be unusual for a direct ballistic missile impact. One possibility is that fragments from an intercepted missile struck the aircraft.

Another is that the damage came from submunitions carried by an Iranian cluster-warhead ballistic missile. Defense Express said cluster effects appeared visible in footage of the attack.

The episode is particularly notable because these were not inexperienced foreign Patriot crews.

Jordan does not publicly operate Patriot batteries of its own, while the United States deploys the systems in the country to protect American forces and critical facilities.

US air defense personnel have also spent months responding to Iranian ballistic missile attacks, making it harder to attribute the high interceptor expenditure simply to inexperience, according to Defense Express.

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World

US May Have Burned Through 17% of Its PAC-3 Stockpile in a Single Night

Sep 01, 2026 10:41

The engagement therefore highlights a difficult reality of ballistic missile defense: even a highly successful interception rate can require dozens of scarce interceptors—and still leave enough leakage, debris, or submunitions to damage valuable aircraft on the ground.

Earlier, reports emerged that Ukraine faced a severe shortage of air defense interceptors, leaving advanced Patriot launcher units idling in rural fields.

A system spotted near Kyiv has 16 tubes showing signs of past use, but its unit chief engineer, Dmytro, noted the launcher had not fired in six weeks.

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