Defense officials are expressing growing concern about the vulnerability of US bases around the world and even inside the US, as cheap drone technology disrupts long-standing defense strategies. The concern is growing after a series of recent attacks and threats against ground targets, including the destruction of key bases in the Middle East by Iran, plots against megabases in Europe, including American bombers at a British airbase, and a Russian campaign that hit European military installations, according to two government officials. While the Pentagon is notorious for inflating threats to press for more funding, officials stressed that the anxiety is real, not made up. Despite the US military's huge budget, they say, the United States now finds itself pressed to strengthen its fortifications, protect its expensive equipment and bring back personnel from certain locations. "Now the whole world knows what SecDef should be," one official said. Foreign adversaries have noticed Iran's ability to defeat US air defenses with missiles and UAVs. The officials drew specific attention to Tehran's ability to hit or destroy bases that have been key to projecting U.S. power and creating war for decades in the Middle East. An Iranian missile and drone strike on February 28 destroyed naval facilities in Manama, Bahrain, the region's most critical logistics hub. The Integrated Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, was badly damaged by Iranian missiles early in the war, rendering it inoperable. Both have recently been attacked again, raising questions about whether either will ever rise again. The destruction of these bases fundamentally changed America's future power position in the region, according to the officials. One of them called it a "seismic shift".

Defense officials are expressing growing concern about the vulnerability of US bases around the world and even inside the US, as cheap drone technology disrupts long-standing defense strategies. The concern is growing after a series of recent attacks and threats against ground targets, including the destruction of key bases in the Middle East by Iran, plots against megabases in Europe, including American bombers at a British airbase, and a Russian campaign that hit European military installations, according to two government officials. While the Pentagon is notorious for inflating threats to press for more funding, officials stressed that the anxiety is real, not made up. Despite the US military's huge budget, they say, the United States now finds itself pressed to strengthen its fortifications, protect its expensive equipment and bring back personnel from certain locations. "Now the whole world knows what SecDef should be," one official said. Foreign adversaries have noticed Iran's ability to defeat US air defenses with missiles and UAVs. The officials drew specific attention to Tehran's ability to hit or destroy bases that have been key to projecting U.S. power and creating war for decades in the Middle East. An Iranian missile and drone strike on February 28 destroyed naval facilities in Manama, Bahrain, the region's most critical logistics hub. The Integrated Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, was badly damaged by Iranian missiles early in the war, rendering it inoperable. Both have recently been attacked again, raising questions about whether either will ever rise again. The destruction of these bases fundamentally changed America's future power position in the region, according to the officials. One of them called it a "seismic shift".