Although America’s adversaries would like to believe that their prowess compares to the might of the U.S. military, they are usually sorely mistaken.
Case in point: Two Iranian “suicide drones” that targeted the United States’ Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq were quickly shot down on Monday, Reuters reported.
A clip from the BBC showed the dramatic moment the drones were obliterated by a Centurion counter-rocket, artillery, mortar defense system.
Incredible footage. There were many questions regarding C-RAM’s capabilities in countering & shooting down drones. Here we can see it clearly pic.twitter.com/GdZQBYs7Ur
— Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) January 4, 2022
The C-RAM system is able to detect targets and contains an M61A1 20mm Gatling-style gun capable of firing 4,500 rounds per minute, Interesting Engineering reported.
The failed attempt from Iran to attack the base was the second within 24 hours, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Iran wanted to cause a stir as a retaliatory measure against the United States on the two-year anniversary of the assassination of a top Iranian general, Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, on Jan. 3, 2020, at the Baghdad International Airport.
The motives were abundantly clear to the point that the drones from the first attack had “Leader’s revenge” and “Soleimani’s revenge” written on them, according to the BBC.
Correction & more pix
Two “Suicide Drones” aimed at Baghdad airport, housing US-led coalition, were shot down by US def system, C-RAM at around 0430 this morning.
On the wings it’s written: “Leader’s revenge” & “Soleimani’s revenge” pic.twitter.com/mdUAOuG4mc
— Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) January 3, 2022
The killing of Soleimani was ordered by then-President Donald Trump, who said in an address the next day that “the United States military successfully executed a flawless precision strike that killed the No. 1 terrorist anywhere in the world.”
“Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him,” Trump said.
He noted that Soleimani’s Quds Force had “targeted, injured and murdered hundreds of American civilians and servicemen” and said, “We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.”
Notably, the Pentagon did not blame Iran publicly for the botched attacks on Monday but speculated that they likely came from a militia supported by the Islamic republic.
“These kinds of attacks are very much in keeping with the kinds of attacks we’ve seen from Iran-backed militias in Iraq and in Syria, and so obviously our working level assumption is that such groups were responsible for these, but I don’t want to speculate beyond that,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told Voice of America.
“Clearly, our men and women remain in harm’s way, and we have to take that threat very seriously. We always have the right of self-defense,” he added.
It goes without saying that these latest military measures show that Iran continues to pose a threat to the United States and its allies in the region.
Thankfully, the U.S. seems to have superior technology that is able to counteract Iran’s temper tantrums.
C-RAM tracks and neutralizes its targets in the blink of an eye. 🧐#engineering pic.twitter.com/HXDFPy6ZWl
— Interesting Engineering (@IntEngineering) December 9, 2021
Even though the Biden administration did not order the killing of Solemani, it now has the task of dealing with a regime that is capable of wreaking havoc in the Middle East.