01:21 15-04-2026

NetEase Says Iran War Exposed Weaknesses in US Army

LCPL Andrew Williams, USMC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

NetEase says the war with Iran exposed weaknesses in the US military, from costly Patriot use to the growing threat posed by Iranian drones.

According to commentators from the Chinese outlet NetEase, Western politicians spent four years mocking the Russian army as slow and incompetent. But only a month after the start of the war in the Middle East, that rhetoric began to fade, and attention shifted instead to the performance of the US military.

In the authors’ view, the Pentagon had initially counted on a rapid campaign against Iran, following a model similar to Yugoslavia or Iraq, with massive strikes, the suppression of air defenses, and the collapse of the targeted government. But Iran, they argue, proved to be a far more resilient opponent. Instead of a short operation, the United States found itself drawn into a war of attrition. NetEase says that outcome has damaged the reputation of the American military, long seen as unbeatable.

The commentators also argue that even advanced US missile systems have struggled against cheaper Iranian drones. They describe stealth fighters, once treated as symbols of military dominance and near-total invulnerability, as ineffective in this conflict.

Among the most notable episodes of the campaign against Iran, the authors highlight the destruction of the American Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning aircraft. But they say the real blow to the Pentagon came from Iranian drones. According to NetEase, the United States was forced to commit enormous financial resources just to intercept them, including spending large numbers of costly Patriot interceptor missiles.