Largest Patriot Missile Salvo In U.S. Military History Launched Defending Al Udeid Air Base Against Iranian Attack
The Pentagon's top officer offered new details about how air defense crews at Al Udeid Air Base knocked down incoming Iranian missiles.
Howard Altman
Updated Jun 26, 2025 3:24 PM EDT
The defense of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar against Iranian ballistic missiles included the largest volley of Patriot air defense interceptors in U.S. military history, the Pentagon's top general told reporters.
Darrell Ames/DOD
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As Iranian ballistic missiles were flying toward a nearly empty Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday, a small crew of air defenders stayed behind to protect the largest American military installation in the Middle East. Thursday morning, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, offered new details about that effort, which he said resulted in the largest single-event launch of Patriot interceptors in U.S. military history. You can read more about that attack in our initial reporting here.
Monday morning, three days after the Operation Midnight Hammer attack by U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropping 14 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bombs on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities, “we began to receive indications and warnings that Iran intended to attack U.S. bases in the region that morning,” Caine told reporters, including from The War Zone.
As a result, in consultation with U.S. CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered Al Udeid and other bases around the region to “assume a minimum force posture,” said Caine. As we previously noted, satellite images showed that most aircraft had left Al Udeid days before, and Navy ships departed from their base in Bahrain in anticipation of an Iranian response to any U.S. actions. You can see satellite imagery indicating the departure of aircraft from Al Udeid below.
https://www.twz.com/land/largest-patriot-salvo-in-u-s-military-history-launched-defending-al-udeid-air-base-against-iranian-missiles
