Five US Military Aircraft Damaged in Attack on Saudi Arabian Base

The United States suffered losses after five military aircraft stationed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia sustained damage in an Iranian attack.

The Wall Street Journal reported the incident on Saturday (14 March 2026), citing two anonymous US officials, as reported by Anadolu and Reuters via detikNews. The Pentagon had not responded to the WSJ report at the time of publication.

In its report, the WSJ revealed that the five damaged military aircraft were KC-135 air refuelling tankers belonging to the US Air Force.

According to WSJ, the five refuelling aircraft came under attack and sustained damage whilst on the ground at Prince Sultan Air Base, located in the al-Kharj area of Saudi Arabia. The air base is home to dozens of US fighter jets.

Two anonymous Washington sources stated that the aircraft were not completely destroyed and are currently undergoing repairs. There were no casualties in the incident.

The incident in Saudi Arabia occurred several days after another US military aircraft, also a KC-135 refuelling tanker, crashed in Iraqi territory. At least six US military personnel were killed in that incident.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, confirmed that the KC-135 crash was not caused by enemy fire or friendly fire. The cause of the US military aircraft crash remains under thorough investigation by the US military.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence reported in a recent statement that its air defence system had intercepted and destroyed at least eight drones detected in its airspace since Saturday morning (14 March) local time.

Iran launched waves of missile and drone attacks against Gulf nations hosting US military assets, including Saudi Arabia, in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes that have been ongoing since 28 February.