The images, analyzed by The Associated Press and provided by Planet Labs PBC, showed that a geodesic dome — known as a Radome — housing key secure communications equipment used by American forces was present on the base just hours before the Iranian attack but was no longer visible in subsequent images.
“Photos from Planet Labs depicted the geodesic dome still intact on the morning of June 23—the day of the Iranian retaliation,” the findings said. “The following images from June 25 onward showed the dome missing, with visible burn marks and some damage to an adjacent building.”
As of yet, no immediate official response to the extent of damage has been provided by US or Qatari authorities, and the incident has not been publicly acknowledged by either government.
The US Air Force's 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which operates out of Al Udeid Air Base, announced the installation of the $15 million piece of equipment in 2016.
Radome, a weatherproof enclosure, housed a roughly satellite dish-shaped modernization enterprise terminal (MET), which was a cutting-edge communications hub within the US airbase.
The MET "provides secure communication capabilities including voice, video and data services, linking service members in the US Central Command area of responsibility with military leaders around the world," the Air Force wrote.
The MET in Qatar was the first outside the United States and features anti-jamming technology, it added.
The damage to the dome followed American aggression on the three Iranian nuclear sites of Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan on June 22, which was retaliated against the day after by Iran’s strikes on the US airbase.
Trump dismissed the Iranian response on June 23 as "very weak" in a post on Truth Social.
The United States stopped short of any reprisal following the Iranian attack on the US airbase, with Trump swiftly promulgating a unilateral ceasefire on behalf of Washington and Tel Aviv, which still remains in place.
'Shut it down'
In an opinion piece, top US political website The Hill called for the closure of the Al Udeid Air Force, calling it a liability.
"Iran’s missile strike on the Al Udeid US Air Force base in Qatar reveals an inconvenient fact: The US base there is a military liability. Worse, it is also a political liability, granting Qatar, with its anti-American agenda, too much leverage over US policy," it wrote.
It cited former Commander of US Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie, detailing in a report that the base “will be rendered unusable by sustained Iranian attack.”
Israel, backed by the US, launched an unprovoked war on Iranian soil on June 13, targeting various military and civilian infrastructure, which claimed hundreds of lives.
Last month's US aggression on Iranian nuclear facilities, as acknowledged by various international bodies, amounted to a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.