Satellite Photos Contradict Trump, Show Extensive Damage at US Air Base

By Staff, Agencies

New satellite imagery has revealed significant damage to Al Udeid US airbase in Qatar after Iran’s retaliatory strikes last month, debunking claims by US President Donald Trump that the largest American military base in the West Asia region had been left unharmed. 

The images, analyzed by The Associated Press and provided by Planet Labs PBC, showed that a geodesic dome — known as a Radome — housing key secure communications equipment used by American forces was present on the base just hours before the Iranian attack but was no longer visible in subsequent images.

As of yet, no immediate official response to the extent of damage has been provided by US or Qatari authorities, and the incident has not been publicly acknowledged by either government.

The US Air Force's 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which operates out of Al Udeid Air Base, announced the installation of the $15 million piece of equipment in 2016.

Radome, a weatherproof enclosure, housed a roughly satellite dish-shaped modernization enterprise terminal (MET), which was a cutting-edge communications hub within the US airbase.

The MET "provides secure communication capabilities including voice, video and data services, linking service members in the US Central Command area of responsibility with military leaders around the world," the Air Force wrote.

The MET in Qatar was the first outside the United States and features anti-jamming technology, it added.

The damage to the dome followed American aggression on the three Iranian nuclear sites of Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan on June 22, which was retaliated against the day after by Iran’s strikes on the US airbase.

Trump dismissed the Iranian response on June 23 as "very weak" in a post on Truth Social.