How Ukraine Has Become An Inspiration For Iran's Battles Against US

Iran has increasingly challenged US air defences in the Middle East by combining drones and missile strikes and adapting its tactics during the ongoing conflict.

The danger became clear during five days of attacks on three US bases in Jordan last month. On July 17, an Iranian missile pierced the defences and hit prefabricated housing units, killing three US soldiers and injuring more than 100 others.

Pentagon officials later said additional troops were wounded and several aircraft were damaged.

“We shot down almost all the missiles,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, as quoted in a New York Times report, after the fatal strike. “One leaked through,” he added.

The report note that the recent attacks point to two growing problems for the United

States: Iran is learning how to exploit American defensive systems, while US stocks of Patriot interceptors are rapidly falling.

According to two people briefed on US stockpile levels, the Pentagon has used more than 1,500 Patriot interceptors during the war and has fewer than 1,700 left. The US produced about 600 such missiles throughout 2025.

On one day during the Jordan attacks, American forces fired around 50 interceptors, each costing roughly US Dollar 4 million. In comparison, Iran’s Sahed drones cost US Dollar 20,000 each.

Iran Adapts Tactics

Iran has drawn lessons from the war in Ukraine, where Russia has combined ballistic and cruise missiles with drones to overwhelm air-defence systems.

“The Iranians are making it more difficult on air defenses when you have a range of both missiles and drones coming in,” said, as quoted in the report, Seth G. Jones of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“They have effectively leveraged the Russian tactic,” he said, “to make it more difficult to protect across locations in the Gulf.”

The development comes despite earlier US claims that Iran’s missile capabilities had been badly damaged. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in April that the programme was “functionally destroyed” and that its missiles and launchers were “depleted and decimated and almost completely ineffective.”

Iran, however, restored several underground facilities and resumed attacks. It has also expanded the battlefield through allies including the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq, forcing the US and its partners to defend against threats from multiple directions.

What Does The Jordan Strike Highlight

The July 17 attack targeted Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. This base has become an important US hub after troops and aircraft were moved from locations in the Gulf considered more vulnerable to Iranian attacks.

US commanders subsequently strengthened air defences in Jordan and elsewhere. American specialists studying drone and missile warfare in Ukraine have also been working with Central Command to adapt to Iran’s tactics.

Iran had demonstrated its ability to exploit weaknesses earlier in the war. In April, it shot down a US F-15E fighter jet after using drones to provide targeting information on the aircraft’s GPS location, speed and direction.

The depletion of US interceptors has also become a strategic concern. President Donald Trump was briefed about dwindling weapons supplies in late July, while the Pentagon has denied that the US faces a shortage.

As Iran continues adapting its methods, the conflict has underscored the difficulty of protecting a large military footprint against a smaller adversary using asymmetric tactics.

“Where are they?” asked Vali Nasr of Johns Hopkins University. “It’s not like they’re sitting in a place where you can bomb them. You don’t find them.”