Iran has sustained extensive damage to its secret nerve centre, a large underground air force base called 'Eagle 44', satellite images show. The base, the location of which was kept hidden for long, hosts Iran’s fighter jets armed with long-range cruise missiles.
Though it is unclear when the attack happened, a report by the New York Times says it could be around the end of March.
Satellite images obtained by The New York Times show craters near the tunnel entrance and damage to the road leading to the runway. The tunnel is hidden under a mountain ridge in southern Hormozgan Province, about 100 miles north of the Strait of Hormuz. The construction of the site began in 2013 and was unknown to the general public until 2023 when Iran revealed its existance.
The images also show several earth mounds and obstacles on the runway, which the report says were put up by Iranian forces to avoid the landing of enemy planes. Satellite images reviewed at the end of March showed new damage at the taxiways, but some of the tunnel entrances were struck earlier in the conflict, the report added.
Experts believe the distinct blast marks and debris fields concentrated around the entrances to the subterranean aircraft shelters show these precision strikes were aimed at ensuring the jets are unable to take off.
While the US officials did not hint at what weapons were used, the size and depth of the impact zones indicate it could have been the bunker-busting ordnance designed to penetrate hardened structures.
In 2023, Iran revealed photos showing Iranian personnel and U.S.-built F-4E Phantom II fighters acquired before the 1979 revolution inside the facility. At that time, Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Bagheri openly threatened Israel, stating that “any attack on Iran from our enemies, including Israel, will see a response from our many air force bases, including Eagle 44.”
Defence analysts believed that the underground Iranian airbase named “Eagle 44” was built to accommodate Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets that Iran is expected to receive from Russia.
