Qatar shielded a US base from Iranian missiles. Here's what's in their air defense arsenal.
The retaliatory attacks came after the US bombing of Iran's nuclear sites on Saturday.
Qatar's Patriot air defenses, along with US-operated ones, defeated the Iranian attack.
Qatar confirmed its air defenses shot down Iranian missiles targeting the US' largest base in the Middle East, a spectacular and high stakes light show seen in the darkened skies above the US ally.
Qatar boasts a number of capabilities, including the superlative US-made Patriot system. Qatari and US-operated Patriot batteries destroyed incoming ballistic missiles fired by Iran on Monday, US Central Command said in a statement, noting there were no casualties to American or Qatari personnel.
Iran launched a missile strike against the US's Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The retaliatory attack came two days after the American military bombed Iran's three nuclear facilities.
The Foreign Ministry of Qatar said in a statement that the country's air defenses "successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles," condemning the strikes and noting that further details would be released by the Ministry of Defense.
A US defense official also confirmed to Business Insider that Iran attacked with ballistic missiles. Iranian state media said Tehran launched the same number of missiles as the number of bunker-busting bombs the US used against its nuclear facilities in a strike on Saturday, and called the strikes "a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America's aggression."
Qatar, a US ally, hosts a number of American-made M1M-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, which are manufactured by Raytheon, a segment of RTX, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing. Patriots and their interceptors and radars are designed to destroy aircraft at ranges beyond 70 miles, with a shorter range for fast-moving ballistic missiles. Qatar first bought 10 Patriots in 2014, at the time becoming the 13th country to operate the system.
Open-source accounts online shared footage of air defenses firing against targets on Monday, the flames of their rocket motors seen as moving lights in the sky. Some commented that Patriots were likely used to shoot down the missiles.
Qatar also hosts National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems and missiles, which are designed for targets up to 20 miles away. NASAMS are designed by the Norwegian defense company Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace and also manufactured by Raytheon. In 2018, Qatar bought more missiles for its NASAMS, as well as support and logistics equipment and services. NASAMS can protect from missiles as well as uncrewed aerial vehicles and drones.
Other surface-to-air missile defense systems operated by Qatar include Rapier, a British short-range capability, and the Roland, a joint French- and German-made short-range missile.
Qatar is also acquiring Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, systems, which were part of a larger $42 billion deal with the US. THAAD, made by Lockheed, is designed to intercept ballistic missiles at ranges beyond 100 miles. THAAD targets the missiles during their terminal phase of flight.
Prior to Monday's attack, US President Donald Trump had warned Iran against retaliation towards the US, saying it would be met with more force than the initial strikes. After Monday's attack, Trump called this a "very weak response, which we expected and have effectively countered," on his Truth Social site. "I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice."
US forces in the area have been on high alert over the weekend, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday, adding they "are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice."
Al Udeid is the US' largest military base in the region and is routinely used by all kinds of aircraft including B-52 strategic bombers, C-17 Globemaster transports, and B-1 supersonic bombers. Satellite imagery from last week showed the aircraft missing from the base after around 40 were spotted there earlier this month.
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