Bbc News Uk: Bahrain strikes expose gaps in US air defences and an online access prompt
Videos appear to show missiles and drones striking the vicinity of the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, an attack that highlights gaps in regional air defences and will worry Washington and its allies. news uk coverage of the incident centers on the footage and on how existing deployments may still leave some targets vulnerable.
News Uk: Video evidence and the Fifth Fleet target
Videos appear to show missiles and drones striking the vicinity of the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. Iran has targeted the US Navy base in Bahrain, and as yet there are no reports of casualties. The US military will likely have had some warning of the attack and taken precautions to evacuate personnel, and Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy Commander, says Bahrain was likely seen by Iran as a high profile target that has, in the past, had relatively little in the way of air defences.
Shahed drone breach and comparisons with Ukraine
The footage includes what now appears to be a relatively slow-moving Iranian Shahed drone breaching its defences. In Ukraine, such drones can often be shot down with a simple high calibre machine-gun, a contrast that underscores the particular vulnerabilities captured on video of the Bahrain attack.
Recent US deployments: THAAD, Patriot and limits
Over the past few weeks the US is reported to have flown out additional air defence systems to the region, including sophisticated THAAD and Patriot systems, which can shoot down ballistic missiles. These systems are expensive and limited in numbers. For context, Ukraine has fewer than 10 Patriot batteries and still struggles to defend the capital, Kyiv, and it is still unlikely the US has sufficient numbers to protect all its military bases and interests it has in the Middle East.
Naval and air assets sent to the region and their track record
The US Navy has deployed around a dozen Arleigh Burke-class Destroyers to the Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean. These air defence destroyers can also shoot down drones and ballistic missiles and have already proven effective in the Red Sea against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Between 2024 and 2026, the US intercepted nearly 400 Houthi drones and missiles. US fighter jets, which have been sent to the region, are also capable of intercepting drones and missiles, and the US now has more than 100 jets in the region.
Remaining Iranian capabilities and the risk of successful strikes
Even with destroyers, THAAD, Patriot batteries and fighter jets in place, these significant capabilities are unlikely to be enough to prevent Iran from successfully striking some targets. Before the latest US and Israeli strikes, Iran probably had an arsenal of around 2, 000 short-range ballistic missiles, and it has many more one-way attack drones.
Separate online notice: " - Are you a robot?" and access instructions
A separate notice titled " - Are you a robot?" instructs users: "To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot. " The message tells users to make sure their browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that they are not blocking them from loading. It also advises that for more information users can review the Terms of Service and Cookie Policy. For inquiries related to the message users are told to contact the support team and provide the reference ID included in the notice, and the message offers the prompt to get the most important global markets news at your fingertips with a. com subscription.
