Iran Attack on US Base in Jordan Kills 3, Wounds Over 100; Patriot Stockpile Below 1,700

On July 17, Iran launched a five-day drone and missile attack on three US bases in Jordan, using advanced missiles with sudden trajectory-change capabilities to repeatedly challenge base air defenses. On the fifth day, a missile struck a prefabricated housing unit at one base, killing three American soldiers and wounding more than 100. Pentagon officials later acknowledged that dozens more soldiers were injured and several aircraft damaged in the series of attacks that week. Secretary of State Rubio responded that the US shot down nearly all the missiles, but one got through.

The Pentagon has used more than 1,500 Patriot interceptors in this war, with remaining stocks below 1,700. The US produced about 600 interceptors in all of 2025. During the week last month that resulted in US fatalities, on a single day alone the US fired roughly 50 Patriot interceptors in the Middle East, each costing about $4 million. Defense Secretary Hegseth said on April 8 that Iran’s missile program had been “substantially destroyed,” and that its launchers and missiles “have been depleted, heavily damaged, and have almost completely lost combat capability.

Most of Iran’s missiles and launchers had been stored in underground facilities, which US and Israeli forces heavily bombed in the first five weeks of the war. Iran later cleared some blocked facilities and resumed fire, nearly paralyzing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also drew on lessons from the Ukraine battlefield, using combinations of ballistic and cruise missiles to distract air defenses, then striking quickly with drones. Last month, Yemen’s Houthi forces entered the conflict, allowing Iran to expand the attack range through its ally.

The July 17 attack targeted Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which in recent years has been used by the US as a key hub, hosting dozens of aircraft and thousands of troops. Around the start of the war, some US forces previously stationed in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE were moved to bases including those in Jordan. After the attack, US commanders reinforced air defenses in Jordan and elsewhere in the region. Two of the three soldiers killed belonged to an air defense unit based in Germany.

In April 2026, Iran used a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile to shoot down a US F-15E fighter jet. The pilot and weapons system officer ejected; the pilot was rescued, and the weapons system officer was recovered by US special operations forces after being missing for nearly two days. The aircrew said the aircraft’s defensive countermeasure system provided only half a second of warning. The jet was valued at $60 million. After the incident, Trump announced a “pause” in combat. International inspectors believe Iran is storing components of its nuclear program in a fortified complex 100 meters underground in the central part of the country, which the US calls “Pickaxe Mountain.