The Syrian military force has just announced the damage from the US airstrike on February 25 and the USAF F-15E fighters used in this airstrike.
The attack left at least 17 pro-Iranian fighters dead and many others injured. The site of the attack in Syria and near the border with Iraq is controlled by Kataib Hezbollah.
The US Department of Defense confirmed the air campaign was retaliation for a series of rocket attacks on US diplomatic and military facilities in Iraq, killing at least two people.
“President Biden will act to protect US and coalition troops. We will act deliberately to reduce the overall escalation of the situation in eastern Syria and Iraq.”Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in the statement: “US forces launch President Biden-authorized airstrikes against facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran-backed militias. “.
The decision to attack a target in Syria instead of Iraq eased the pressure on Baghdad during the investigation of a rocket attack on the Erbil base on Feb. 16, leaving some US soldiers wounded.
At the scene of the airstrike, Syrian investigators found fragments of weapons used by US F-15E fighters. “From what we can see, these are almost certainly AGM-154 missiles,” said Saudi Arabia’s Al Hadath TV channel, citing sources from Syria.
If confirmed, this is said to be one of the most advanced weapons ever used by the US Air Force in the Syrian battlefield. Because AGM-154 JSOW is a high-precision guided weapon to attack targets beyond the range of enemy air defense, equipped for the US Air Force and Navy.
Despite the design of a cruise missile, the AGM-154 is classified as a throw bomb – an engine-less explosive weapon that changes aerodynamic surface characteristics to change flight path. Ballistic.
Therefore, if launched at high altitude, the AGM-154 can reach a range of up to 130km, while low-level launch can reach a range of only 22km. It can be launched on F / A-18, F-16, F-15, F-35 fighters and B-1B, B-2, B-52H strategic bombers.
This weapon has a length of 4.1m, body diameter 330mm, wingspan 2.69m, weight 483-681kg, can carry many different types of warheads including:
The warhead contains 145 BLU-97 / B submunitions, BLU-111 / B monolithic warhead, multi-stage BROACH warhead suitable for penetrating solid targets such as tanks, armor, fortifications, ammunition contains 6 submunitions BLU-108 / B, each bullet considered contains 4 small bullets fitted with infrared sensors freely target.
When dropped, this ammunition will detect the target itself, and explode in the air to penetrate the steel armor of the tank and armor. However, this warhead has not been ordered. The navigation system of the AGM-154 mainly uses inertial positioning systems and GPS satellites, the latest innovative variant integrated with end-phase infrared detector.
However, it is not clear what type of warhead was used by the US Air Force for the airstrike on Syria on February 25.