US Air Force Commander Wilsbach announced that he lost 42 aircraft in the conflict with Iran

Compiled by: Oğuzcan Atış / Milliyet.com.tr – Tension and uncertainty arising from the conflicts between the USA and Iran continue throughout the Middle East. While this situation became even more complicated with the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen seizing the Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to a report by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS), the US military lost at least 42 aircraft in the conflicts with Iran. According to the Congressional Research Service, 4 F-15Es were destroyed, 1 F-35A was damaged by enemy fire, 1 A-10 close air support aircraft was destroyed, and 7 KC-135s were damaged or destroyed in conflicts with Iran. Losses in the inventory also include 1 E-3 AWACS, 1 HH-60W, 4 AH-6, 1 AH-64, 1 MH-60, 1 MQ-4C and approximately 30 MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicles. New photographs obtained by the US-based news channel CBS News showed for the first time the heavy damage and destruction suffered at US bases in the Middle East due to Iran's missile and drone attacks.

Photos obtained by CBS News show widespread damage at multiple US military bases in the Middle East following Iranian missile and drone strikes. The photo shows an E-3 AWACS aircraft shot down in Saudi Arabia

In his opening speech at a symposium organized by the US Air Force at the beginning of the week, US Air Force Commander General Kenneth S. Wilsbach gave information about the conflicts between the US and Iran, which started on February 28 and whose future is currently uncertain. "Since being assigned to this position, I have had the privilege of spending more time with airmen. I have walked the flight lines, visited maintenance hangars, and been inside the operations centers where our soldiers manage these missions. I want to tell you about a few brave airmen I met on my last trip to the Middle East. They told me about their experiences on the flight line during an attack," Wilsbach said. He started his speech by saying, and gave examples of what happened in some US bases in the Middle East during the conflicts.

'THEY WERE TRAPPED IN THE HANGAR THAT WAS SHOT'

General Wilsbach said that there were airmen trapped at an air base where hangars were hit in the attacks carried out by Iran. Wilsbach, who did not give information about which base the incident took place, said, "Our airmen ran towards the shelters when the missile alarm was given. Shortly after the alarm, an Iranian missile hit one of the hangars at the air base and the plane in the hangar started to burn due to the explosion caused by the missile. Although the hangar was not destroyed by the explosion, its door was seriously damaged and jammed. While the fire inside continued, our airmen were trapped in this hangar." he said.

Asking the audience to visualize this moment, Wilsbach stated that other personnel outside the hangar mobilized for the trapped soldiers and said, "A high-ranking personnel responsible for the security of the air base forced the door with a crowbar to save those inside. When the pilots trapped inside were reached, the ejection seat of the burning plane also caught fire. Glass and metal pieces of the canopy began to scatter into the air. At the end of all the rescue efforts carried out in this environment, the stuck door was opened and the personnel inside were quickly taken to a safe place." he said.

"Everywhere I went, I saw soldiers determined to complete the mission and protect their fellow airmen. More than 30,000 airmen deployed at various bases to support operations against Iran. They served alongside our other soldiers from the land and sea forces and coalition partners." -General Kenneth S. Wilsbach

'THEY LIFTED A PLANE UNDER FIRE'

Stating that more than 13 thousand targets were hit during the operations against Iran and five hundred aircraft carried out approximately 10 thousand sorties, Wilsbach said that these data mean that more than 250 flights were made per day. He stated that 48 airports were repaired during the conflicts due to Iran's targeting of air bases, and that Air Force personnel destroyed 420 explosives and went on alert at least 1,200 times at these bases.

F-15

"Behind these numbers I gave were thousands of airmen who were actively trying to stop enemy targets." US Air Force Commander General Kenneth S. Wilsbach, while sharing with the audience what senior maintenance technician Garrett experienced during the conflicts, said, "One of these soldiers was F-15 senior maintenance technician Garrett, originally from East Texas. He joined the Air Force to travel and see the world. Of course, we allowed him to achieve this goal, but I am not sure that the Middle East was exactly the place he had in mind. On the second day of the war, while Garrett was preparing 4 planes for takeoff, an alarm was given at the base where he was assigned. Everyone around him started to go to shelters. "He knew what that alert meant, but the preparations for takeoff were not completed. A young airman was working with him and Garrett sent him to the shelter. The rest of his team had thrown themselves to the safe points, but he remained at the planes and made flight preparations alone. After completing the preparations, he ran to the nearest shelter. Our army needed those planes in the air, not on the ground." he said.

Two of our air defense personnel, named Shanae and Nolan, worked for long hours against drone attacks on the base where they worked. Shanae joined the Air Force to provide for her family. In the early days of the conflict, he found himself protecting another family, the hundreds of airmen who relied on him. Hundreds of lives depended on them to identify threats and take countermeasures. Every second mattered. The risks were life or death. Together, Shanae and Nolan destroyed more than 10 surface-to-air missiles that night, neutralizing them before they could reach the airmen they were protecting. There were moments when they were afraid, and most people were too, but courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is overcoming fear. -General Kenneth S. Wilsbach

'THE SCREEN THEY WERE LOOKING AT WAS FULL OF SYMBOLS'

Stating that air combat managers saw many symbols on their screens throughout the war, Wilsbach said, "One of them was a soldier named Peaches, and he directed 134 different elements while on duty. His team directed planes and other air platforms belonging to the US army and allies at the moments when thousands of Iranian drones and hundreds of missiles were in the air. It may be difficult to understand thousands of drones and missiles. I can summarize it as follows: Everywhere on the screens they looked at was full of various symbols and became complicated. Every symbol belonged to the USA or "At this very moment, an F-15 was shot down in Iran and our two pilots were trapped there. After this incident, Peaches and her team managed 176 different aircraft from warplanes, tankers and special forces from a single center." he said.

Wilsbach said, 'Despite all prevention efforts, it was a huge complexity for dozens of aircraft, tankers, intelligence and special forces at different speeds, altitudes and weapon capacities to work in perfect harmony at the same time.' He stated that for an outside observer, deploying such a large combat force to the field to save only two people might seem excessive, and explained the main reason for this as 'not leaving anyone behind'.