Iran on Sunday managed to take out an Italian MQ-9A Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) inside a fortified aircraft shelter at Kuwait's Ali Al Salem Air Base, a new report has said. The successful strike comes amidst Israel and the United States repeatedly claiming that the Islamic Republic's launch capabilities are being depleted with each passing day.
Italy's Chief of the Defence General Staff, General Luciano Portolano, reportedly confirmed the loss of the MQ-9A Predator, which is valued at approximately USD 35 million. The strike was viewed as a direct attack on coalition operational capabilities, as Iran seeks to shatter the surveillance capabilities of the US-led alliance in the Middle East, a report said. It was confirmed that no personnel were injured in the incident.
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The Iranian drone struck a shelter housing the unmanned aircraft of the Italian Air Operations Group (under the Air Force), General Portolano reportedly said. These assets were brought to the base to be part of a joint operation against the Islamic State when the war against the terror group was at its peak.
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According to available information, the shelter was specifically built to protect high-value platforms from missile and drone attacks. It requires above-average targeting accuracy to penetrate fortified infrastructure—something that Iran's "cheap" drones were never supposed to achieve. It is suspected that the anti-drone and air defence systems at Ali Al Salem Air Base were preoccupied with tracking and neutralising larger missiles or drones, allowing low-footprint or smaller variants to breach the perimeter undetected, Defence Security Asia said in a report.
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Since being attacked by the United States and Israel more than two weeks ago, Iran has been regularly hitting Israel, American bases, and its Gulf Arab neighbours' energy infrastructure with drones and missiles. As morning broke on Monday, a drone hit a fuel tank near Dubai International Airport—the world's busiest for international passenger traffic—causing a large fire. Later, the UAE's Defence Ministry said its forces were working to intercept another round of Iranian missiles and drones.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it had intercepted a wave of 35 Iranian drones sent towards its eastern region, which is home to major oil installations.