Satellite imagery from Planet Labs shows Iran repairing and expanding its underground Eagle-44 (Oghab 44) airbase in Hormozgan province, even after at least four rounds of US-Israeli strikes in 2026. The images show cleared runway obstacles, completed concrete taxiway sections, repaired craters and new taxiway construction underway, though some surface buildings still look damaged. All four tunnel entrances appear intact, which raises the obvious question of how much damage the strikes really did. Whether the base is operational right now remains unknown.

Iran unveiled the base in 2023 as a mountain-carved complex with long underground hangars and taxiway tunnels meant to shelter F-4 Phantom jets, drones and missiles. It sits about 100 miles from the Strait of Hormuz and has a 2.7-mile surface runway. The New York Times reported earlier this year that satellite imagery showed damage at the site, but the origin of that strike was never publicly confirmed. Satellite photos can show what is happening on the surface, but not what is inside the tunnels, so the imagery alone cannot say whether aircraft and missiles can be launched from there again. That uncertainty is exactly why analysts are watching the construction so closely.