The destruction of a US Air Force E-3 Sentry aircraft in an Iranian strike on a Saudi Arabia air base could damage US abilities to spot incoming Iranian threats at distance, analysts say, CNN reports.

The AWACS enables airborne monitoring of up to 31,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles) of battlespace from the ground to the stratosphere, and it has been a vital component of US fighting forces for decades. The fleet of 17 E-3s, and America’s experience using them over the years, is seen by analysts as a major advantage enjoyed by Washington.

Dramatic images of the wrecked aircraft, geolocated by CNN, show its tail broken off and its distinct rotating radar dome—a critical part of the airborne warning and control system, or AWACS—on the ground at the Prince Sultan Air Base.

The loss of the AWACS is “a serious blow to (US) surveillance capabilities,” said CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, a former US Air Force colonel who has flown on the aircraft.