Chinese scientists have made a big claim regarding the war between Iran and America in West Asia. Chinese scientists, based on analysis through satellite imagery, said that the damage caused on the ground in the attacks on American military bases is different from the official claims of both the US and Iran.
Chinese scientists say that American military bases suffered much more damage than the minimal damage reported by Washington. However, the damage in Iran has also been exaggerated. This study has been done by scientists of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which was published in the peer-reviewed journal ‘The Innovation’ on July 7.
The research team used 10 meter resolution images obtained from the European Union’s Sentinel-2 satellite. Through these photographs, the situation before and after the attacks on American military bases in the Middle East between February 28 and April 9 was analyzed.
Scientists identified damage in an area of 2,17,900 square meters.
Scientists reportedly identified damage over an area of about 2,17,900 square meters with the help of advanced remote sensing and image processing techniques. According to the report, Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base was most affected, where 20 strike points were recorded. Apart from this, Al Dhafra Air Base of United Arab Emirates was also attacked, where the hangars housing MQ-9 Reaper drones and U-2 spy planes were claimed to be destroyed. At the same time, the headquarters complex of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain was also said to have suffered structural damage.
So much square meter area of American military bases was affected
According to the report, the attacks took place in two major phases. In Iran’s initial attacks, about 58,600 square meter area was affected in a single day. This was followed by low intensity attacks for about two weeks. Then the second big wave came around March 15, in which about 50,000 square meters additional area was affected. Scientists say that this indicates that the American air defense system could not regain its capability so quickly.
According to a social media post by the Chinese Society for Surveying and Mapping, damage to major targets exceeded the US’s minimal damage claim, while total damage did not reach the level of losses reported by Iran. The scale of the attacks varied greatly, ranging from local damage to large-scale destruction. Additionally, the attacks were carried out over a distance of approximately 78-644 KM, with large areas of attack occurring at both short and long ranges. Analysis of the attacks revealed a two-wave collapse in regional air-defense resilience.
Why did Chinese scientists say the actual loss could be greater than their reports?
Scientists also admitted that the study has some limitations. Due to satellite images with 10 meter resolution, very small scale damage could not be detected. Therefore, the actual loss may be more than the figures mentioned in the report.
The research team also claimed that on April 4, the US imposed shutter controls on some commercial satellite companies, restricting the distribution of high-resolution images of the war zone. According to scientists, this led to a lack of information in the war zone, which made it difficult to assess the exact loss.
Scientists also claimed that the US needs time to replenish its air-defense missiles and repair damaged radars. For the first time, the weakness of American military bases has been exposed on such a large scale.
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