Iran Adjusts Tactics, Making U.S. Air Defense Systems Hard to Counter

Reference News Network reported on August 15 According to the website of the New York Times on August 12, last month, during five days of intense clashes, Iran launched a series of drone and missile attacks against U.S. forces stationed at three bases in Jordan, attempting to breach the United States' formidable air defense systems.

Iran continuously attacked the defense systems of these bases with advanced missiles capable of suddenly changing their flight trajectory, forcing U.S. forces to deplete their already strained stockpile of Patriot interceptors.

On the fifth day, Iran broke through the defensive line. On July 17, a missile struck a residential unit at one of the bases, resulting in the deaths of three American soldiers and injuring over 100 others. Pentagon officials later acknowledged that dozens of soldiers were injured in a series of attacks on Jordan that week, and several aircraft were damaged.

When asked about the deadly attack, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said, “We shot down almost all the missiles. One got through.”

Iran's Constraints on U.S. Forces

These attacks revealed the deadly consequences of two important trends intertwining. First, as the war continues, Iran has become a more sophisticated adversary. It has gradually learned how to evade U.S. air defense systems while continuously expanding its operational range, bringing much of the Middle East into the battlefield and mobilizing allies such as the Houthi forces in Yemen and Iraqi militias to participate.

Second, the Pentagon's supply of interceptors is rapidly depleting, making these weapons increasingly precious in this intermittent conflict.

These two trends confirm a fact that has gradually emerged since the outbreak of war several months ago: a global superpower with formidable military strength can still be constrained by a weaker adversary willing to engage in asymmetric warfare and seize every opportunity.

According to two informed sources, the Pentagon has used over 1,500 Patriot interceptors in this war, with fewer than 1,700 remaining. The U.S. produced about 600 interceptors throughout the year 2025.

As Iranian forces rapidly deplete the U.S. interceptor stockpile, they are also studying the lessons from another war. In Ukraine, Russia has used a combination of ballistic and cruise missiles to distract Ukraine's air defense systems, followed by rapid drone strikes.

“When Iran's missiles and drones attack simultaneously, the U.S. air defense systems find it even harder to cope,” said Seth Jones, director of the Defense and Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

According to two U.S. officials, during the week that resulted in American casualties last month, on just one day, U.S. forces launched about 50 Patriot interceptors in the Middle East, each costing approximately $4 million.

Pentagon's Misjudgment of the Situation

Since the major fighting ended in early April, the Pentagon has faced a significant threat but has been trying to downplay it.

Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth stated at a press conference on April 8 that Iran's missile program had been “substantially destroyed,” and its launch systems and missiles “have been depleted, severely damaged, and have almost completely lost combat capability.”

Most of Iran's missiles and launch systems had previously been stored in vast underground facilities, which U.S. and Israeli forces bombarded heavily during the first five weeks of the war. However, Iran subsequently unearthed the buried equipment and resumed fire, nearly paralyzing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and threatening U.S. forces stationed in the region.

Vali Nasr, a professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, stated that President Trump and his national security advisors initially believed the war would end quickly and would not jeopardize the Pentagon's stockpile of Patriot interceptors.

However, Nasr and other experts on Iran indicated that Tehran has been waiting for this moment since the conflict began over five months ago. During the 12-day war in June 2025, Iranian leaders witnessed the rapid depletion of ballistic missile interceptors as Israeli and U.S. forces attempted to intercept large-scale drone and missile attacks launched by Iran.

This new reality is having profound geopolitical implications. U.S. officials said that in late July, Trump had inquired with Hegseth about the issue of the diminishing U.S. weapons stockpile. The Pentagon has consistently claimed in public that there is no ammunition shortage.

Two U.S. officials stated that the military needs time to adapt to Iran's new tactics. Even during the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, these tactics continue to evolve.

Experts noted that the involvement of the Houthi forces in Yemen, allied with Iran last month, indicates Iran's intention to force the U.S. and its allies to respond to aerial attacks from all directions.