PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 10th, 2026: Iran’s Missiles Hit U.S. Fighter Jets

Mike Baker (0:11)

It's Thursday, the 10th of September, welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Okay, late afternoon, possibly early evening bulletin, it's been a busy, busy day. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, new reporting shows that Iran's attack on a base in Jordan Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning this week hit several American combat aircraft. We'll have the details.

Later in the show, we're keeping a close eye on the growing conflict in Yemen, where Houthi territorial gains along the Red Sea coast are bringing the fight dangerously close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and of course, is a key transportation route. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.

Iran's latest missile attack on Jordan did more damage than initially reported. Multiple American combat aircraft were hit at Muafiq Salty Air Base, including apparently eight F-15 Strike Eagles and one A-10 Warthog. According to CBS News, the F-15s suffered relatively light damage and were quickly returned to service. The A-10 was hit much harder, with sources saying the aircraft lost a wing. Now, in airplane terms, I understand that that's not good. No American personnel were killed in the attack, and all US forces in Jordan were accounted for.

But the damage complicates the initial assessment from American officials, who described Iran's response initially as ineffective. The barrage itself was substantial. Iran fired 20 ballistic missiles toward Jordan, according to the Jordanian military. Air defenses reportedly intercepted 18 of them, while the remaining two were said to have fallen in unpopulated areas. US forces also fired more than 30 Patriot interceptors during the attack, that's according to CBS News. And that does leave an obvious question. If 18 of the 20 Iranian missiles were intercepted and the other two landed away from populated areas, how did roughly nine American aircraft end up damaged? Well, that sounds just like a word problem on an SAT test, doesn't it? So far, officials have not publicly explained exactly what caused the damage. It could have come from missiles reaching the base, debris from interceptions or another part of the barrage. Up until the Pentagon provides more detail, well, we are simply speculating. What we do know is why Iran launched the attack. It came after another sharp escalation at sea. US forces struck five Iranian oil tankers after Tehran again attempted to hit an American warship with ballistic missiles. Those strikes brought the number of Iranian tankers destroyed or disabled by the US military since Saturday to eight. Iran answered by claiming attacks against multiple vessels around the Strait of Hormuz and launching the ballistic missile barrage toward the American used base in Jordan.

Commercial shipping has also been caught in the exchange, with merchant vessels damaged and sailors killed. And the economic consequences are now becoming harder to ignore. Brent crude has climbed above $100 a barrel as markets react to the combination of tanker attacks, disrupted shipping through Hormuz and the growing risk that fighting could spread further across Gulf energy infrastructure. But the new reporting from Jordan raises another problem for Washington, and that would be the cost of defending American forces. More than 30 Patriot missiles were reportedly fired to help stop a barrage of 20 Iranian ballistic missiles. Those interceptors are, of course, among the most valuable air defense weapons in the US inventory, and the Pentagon has already been dealing with concerns about how quickly stocks are being consumed during this conflict. So even if the defense has prevented a much worse outcome, Iran still managed to impose a cost. American aircraft were damaged, more than 30 Patriot interceptors were expended, and the Iranian regime has shown that it's willing to continue targeting US military bases, ships and personnel across the region.

And if the next barrage from the regime produces US casualties, this conflict will escalate very quickly.

All right, coming up next, the Houthis are expanding their control along Yemen's coastline, and their latest gains are bringing them closer to the gateway of the Red Sea. I'll be right back.

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