US Air Operations Center at Qatar Base Disabled in Iranian Attacks

The U.S. air operations center at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar was put out of service following Iranian attacks, according to a report by Air & Space Forces Magazine citing a senior U.S. official and sources familiar with the matter. The facility sustained a direct hit during the opening weeks of the conflict, the magazine reported. The center had overseen American air operations across the Middle East for more than two decades. U.S. military commanders anticipated the base would be targeted and relocated operations to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina at the outset of hostilities, the report said. Personnel were evacuated from the Qatar facility before the fighting began. The extent of damage to the center had not been previously disclosed. The proximity of the operations center to other base facilities and the scale of destruction have fueled debate over whether to rebuild on-site, according to the report. The center falls under the U.S. Central Command's Central Air Forces Command.