AI Data Centers Become Targets for Drone and Missile Attacks

Commercial data centers have emerged as a new frontier in modern warfare, with Iranian forces launching a series of drone and missile strikes against technological infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. The attacks, which have targeted facilities owned by major United States technology firms, have prompted calls for a fundamental shift in how these facilities are secured.

According to reporting from Nikkei Asia, the president of Microsoft has stated that data center security must change following these attacks, noting that the rise of artificial intelligence has turned these hubs into strategic military targets.

Drone Strikes in the UAE and Bahrain

The campaign began in late February and early March 2026, marking what is believed to be the first time a country’s armed forces have deliberately targeted private sector commercial data centers during a war. On February 28, 2026, a reported missile attack occurred in Manama, Bahrain.

Before dawn on March 1, 2026, Iranian Shahed 136 drones struck two Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the United Arab Emirates. The strikes triggered devastating fires and forced the shutdown of power supplies. Amazon reported that the impacts caused structural damage and that subsequent fire suppression efforts using water resulted in additional damage to the infrastructure.

A third commercial data center in Bahrain was also hit around this time, though reports vary on whether it was a deliberate target. Further aggression continued into April; the Financial Times reported that another Iranian drone struck an Amazon data center in Bahrain on April 1, 2026. On April 2, 2026, Iranian state media claimed that its forces attacked an Oracle data center in Dubai.

Strategic Motives and Targeted Entities

Iranian state television stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched the attacks to identify the role of these centers in supporting the enemy’s military and intelligence activities. The strikes are viewed as an effort to destroy symbols of the technological alliance between Gulf states and the United States.

While Amazon facilities were the primary initial targets, the scope of the threat has expanded. On March 11, 2026, the quasi-official Tasnim News Agency published a list of dozens of regional facilities deemed Enemy Technology Infrastructure suitable for targeting, including data centers owned by Google and Microsoft.

On March 31, 2026, Iranian state media issued a formal statement declaring that it would target a wide array of American companies. The listed entities include:

• Microsoft
• Google
• Apple
• Meta
• Oracle
• Intel
• HP
• IBM
• Cisco
• Dell
• Palantir
• Nvidia

The Role of AI in Modern Conflict

The shift toward targeting data centers is closely linked to the increasing military reliance on artificial intelligence. The United States military has utilized AI systems for decision support in attacks on Iran and Venezuela, making the physical infrastructure that powers these systems a high-priority target for adversaries.

Analysis from Axios indicates that these centers are particularly vulnerable because while they are protected against human intruders, they are not designed to withstand drones and missiles. Because they underpin critical financial systems and military cloud services, their destruction is viewed as a way to inflict both high economic costs and operational disruption.

Reciprocal Attacks and Regional Impact

Iran has also experienced the physical targeting of its own data infrastructure. On March 11, 2026, a data center in Tehran operated by the state-run Bank Sepah was struck by a missile. Reports from The Jerusalem Post attribute this attack to either U.S. Or Israeli forces.

The attacks in the Gulf have led to regional service outages, affecting cloud computing services for various customers across the Middle East. In response to the volatility, Amazon has advised its clients to secure their data away from the region.

These events represent a transition from previous forms of infrastructure warfare. While data centers have historically been targets of cyberattacks and espionage—such as the 2024 destruction of data in a Russian military-affiliated center by Ukrainian hackers—the current conflict is characterized by direct physical strikes on commercial buildings.