Iran
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From: Under a tree in the NT
Now you want the USA government to be bailed out by the UK & Europe? Does that include Greenland?
Joined: May 2007
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From: Nottinghamshire
I feel we may be here some time. I know you should plan for the next war, not the last - but it might have been worthwhile looking at the "lessons ignored" file first. In the meantime, not sure the "We'll prove we aren't Big Satan and Little Satan by bombing you" strategy is a winner.
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From: Wiltshire
Last edited by Senior Pilot; 15th March 2026 at 01:25. Reason: quote
Thread Starter
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
Second Fairford Bomber Mission? #FreeIran!
--- Operation EPIC FURY ---
Three US tankers have gotten airborne from RAF Mildenhall (EGUN) and are flying towards RAF Fairford (EGVA) now potentially to meet up with bombers for another mission to Iran under #OperationEpicFury
KC-135T "PETRO13" 59-1470 #AE04C3
KC-135T "PETRO14" 59-1464 #AE0659
KC-135T "PETRO15" 58-0095 #AE04FD
--- Operation EPIC FURY ---
Three US tankers have gotten airborne from RAF Mildenhall (EGUN) and are flying towards RAF Fairford (EGVA) now potentially to meet up with bombers for another mission to Iran under #OperationEpicFury
KC-135T "PETRO13" 59-1470 #AE04C3
KC-135T "PETRO14" 59-1464 #AE0659
KC-135T "PETRO15" 58-0095 #AE04FD
08:29 FLIP 61 flt x 3 USAF B-52H Inbound to RAF Fairford from CONUS via Iran.
Thread Starter
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
Video
Video
This is Israeli Air Force footage of drones and jets blowing up Basij checkpoints all around Tehran today, based on tips called in by Iranian citizens.
A revolution with air support against a regime with no air defence.
A revolution with air support against a regime with no air defence.
A Basij checkpoint has been obliterated.
At least ten checkpoints like this were attacked overnight. • Intelligence suggests Iranian civilians are helping identify checkpoints and regime hideouts. • The Basij are the regime’s street-level enforcers used to suppress the population.
At least ten checkpoints like this were attacked overnight. • Intelligence suggests Iranian civilians are helping identify checkpoints and regime hideouts. • The Basij are the regime’s street-level enforcers used to suppress the population.
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Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
Doesn't mean they got them of course - but this and the strikes on the Basij posts shows it's dangerous to show your face on the streets of Iran if you're part of the regime....
Video
Video
An explosion was reported in Tehran moments ago, following a reported airstrike near a pro-regime protest attended by multiple high-ranking Iranian officials.
General Ahmad-Reza Radan and Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, were both present at the march, according to Iranian state media.
General Ahmad-Reza Radan and Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, were both present at the march, according to Iranian state media.
Thread Starter
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
He wouldn't, would he?
Video extract of Fox TV report.
Video extract of Fox TV report.
UST IN: Iran moved its uranium into a mountain. The biggest conventional bomb on Earth cannot reach it.
Fox News reported on 11th March, citing US intelligence, that Iran has relocated its remaining enriched uranium stockpile to the facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, a tunnel complex buried 80 to 100 metres deep in granite bedrock one mile south of Natanz. CSIS satellite imagery from February confirms accelerated construction: multiple tunnel portals, concrete sarcophagus shields over entrances, security walls, heavy machinery, and spoil piles indicating rapid interior expansion since the 2025 strikes destroyed Iran’s above-ground enrichment infrastructure.
The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the weapon that hit Parchin, weighs 30,000 pounds. It penetrates up to 200 feet of earth or 60 feet of reinforced concrete. Granite is neither earth nor concrete. It is igneous rock with a compressive strength that exceeds both. One hundred metres of granite is 328 feet. The GBU-57’s maximum earth penetration is 200 feet. The uranium sits 128 feet beyond the reach of the most powerful conventional weapon the United States possesses.
Fourteen GBU-57s were dropped on Iranian nuclear sites during Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025. The strikes destroyed centrifuge halls. They did not destroy the programme. They taught Iran where the ceiling was, and Iran built beneath it. Every bomb that hit Fordow and Natanz was a lesson in depth. Pickaxe Mountain is the final exam: a facility designed specifically to survive the weapon designed specifically to destroy it.
The IAEA estimated 440.9 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium before the war. After the strikes, Grossi assessed approximately 200 kilograms may remain. That material, seven to eleven nuclear weapons’ worth at one week’s further enrichment, is now inside a granite mountain that no bomb can penetrate and no inspector can enter because Iran has denied IAEA access to every site struck since 28 February.
The war’s existential minimum was defined by Defence Secretary Hegseth: no nukes. The nuclear infrastructure must be destroyed with or without regime change. The GBU-57 was the instrument. Pickaxe Mountain is the limit. The instrument has met a material it cannot defeat. The existential minimum has hit a ceiling of stone.
What remains is a decision the United States has never made in the nuclear age. The material cannot be destroyed from the air. It can only be reached through the door. Special forces insertion into a tunnel complex defended by IRGC units operating under the Mosaic Doctrine, with sealed orders, inside a country whose 31 autonomous commands have been firing continuously for fourteen days.
The Pentagon is weighing this option. Fox’s Jesse Watters reported it as a “near-impenetrable site requiring potential special forces insertion.” The language is careful. The implication is not.
A ground operation to seize enriched uranium from a granite bunker inside hostile territory would be the most consequential special forces mission since Abbottabad. Except Abbottabad was one compound, one target, one night. Pickaxe Mountain is a tunnel system buried under 100 metres of rock, defended by a military that cannot surrender because its commander is a wounded man issuing orders from a hospital bed through a television anchor, and its doctrine was designed to fight without him.
The bomb cannot reach it. The inspectors cannot enter it. The Supreme Leader will not open it.... And the mountain does not negotiate.
Fox News reported on 11th March, citing US intelligence, that Iran has relocated its remaining enriched uranium stockpile to the facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, a tunnel complex buried 80 to 100 metres deep in granite bedrock one mile south of Natanz. CSIS satellite imagery from February confirms accelerated construction: multiple tunnel portals, concrete sarcophagus shields over entrances, security walls, heavy machinery, and spoil piles indicating rapid interior expansion since the 2025 strikes destroyed Iran’s above-ground enrichment infrastructure.
The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the weapon that hit Parchin, weighs 30,000 pounds. It penetrates up to 200 feet of earth or 60 feet of reinforced concrete. Granite is neither earth nor concrete. It is igneous rock with a compressive strength that exceeds both. One hundred metres of granite is 328 feet. The GBU-57’s maximum earth penetration is 200 feet. The uranium sits 128 feet beyond the reach of the most powerful conventional weapon the United States possesses.
Fourteen GBU-57s were dropped on Iranian nuclear sites during Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025. The strikes destroyed centrifuge halls. They did not destroy the programme. They taught Iran where the ceiling was, and Iran built beneath it. Every bomb that hit Fordow and Natanz was a lesson in depth. Pickaxe Mountain is the final exam: a facility designed specifically to survive the weapon designed specifically to destroy it.
The IAEA estimated 440.9 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium before the war. After the strikes, Grossi assessed approximately 200 kilograms may remain. That material, seven to eleven nuclear weapons’ worth at one week’s further enrichment, is now inside a granite mountain that no bomb can penetrate and no inspector can enter because Iran has denied IAEA access to every site struck since 28 February.
The war’s existential minimum was defined by Defence Secretary Hegseth: no nukes. The nuclear infrastructure must be destroyed with or without regime change. The GBU-57 was the instrument. Pickaxe Mountain is the limit. The instrument has met a material it cannot defeat. The existential minimum has hit a ceiling of stone.
What remains is a decision the United States has never made in the nuclear age. The material cannot be destroyed from the air. It can only be reached through the door. Special forces insertion into a tunnel complex defended by IRGC units operating under the Mosaic Doctrine, with sealed orders, inside a country whose 31 autonomous commands have been firing continuously for fourteen days.
The Pentagon is weighing this option. Fox’s Jesse Watters reported it as a “near-impenetrable site requiring potential special forces insertion.” The language is careful. The implication is not.
A ground operation to seize enriched uranium from a granite bunker inside hostile territory would be the most consequential special forces mission since Abbottabad. Except Abbottabad was one compound, one target, one night. Pickaxe Mountain is a tunnel system buried under 100 metres of rock, defended by a military that cannot surrender because its commander is a wounded man issuing orders from a hospital bed through a television anchor, and its doctrine was designed to fight without him.
The bomb cannot reach it. The inspectors cannot enter it. The Supreme Leader will not open it.... And the mountain does not negotiate.
Thread Starter
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
A-10s getting to join in again....
Video
Video
Reports of U.S. strikes on Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) positions in Iraq tonight. Footage shows USAF A-10s reportedly targeting PMF positions in northcentral Iraq.
Thread Starter
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the death of Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion from Varces-Allières-et-Risset, serving with the 7th Battalion of the French Army’s elite Chasseurs Alpins, following an Iranian drone attack earlier tonight against a joint base near Erbil, Northern Iraq, which injured at least six servicemembers with the French Armed Forces.
Joined: May 2008
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From: East Sussex
Part of ORAC's post:
The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the weapon that hit Parchin, weighs 30,000 pounds. It penetrates up to 200 feet of earth or 60 feet of reinforced concrete. Granite is neither earth nor concrete. It is igneous rock with a compressive strength that exceeds both. One hundred metres of granite is 328 feet. The GBU-57’s maximum earth penetration is 200 feet. The uranium sits 128 feet beyond the reach of the most powerful conventional weapon the United States possesses.
But dropping ANOTHER GBU-57 into the crater of the first, which has already removed 200ft of cover, could provide the means to reach that depth, especially as the shock waves from each might have caused collapses throughout the structures - if they exist....
The World has watched Iran over the last 40+ years develop a "religious" ideology casting the US as "The Great Satan"and, by extension Europe, as their enemy.
We were too Woke and afraid of "upsetting Islamic Nations" to suggest that the Iranian view was warped and bore little relation to the actual words of the Prophet or the way Islam should be regarded.
The Gulf States watched and did little to counter that the Iranian "Islamic" model was a threat to moderate Islam or to the teachings of Islam.
Treating women as chattels to produce as many offspring; to make them believe the Prophet neeeded them to cover their hair, wear shapeles bags and be cowed by any man does no credit to Islam.
Perhaps Iranian women might be the ones to defy the Ayatollahs and force regime change, once the militias have been reduced.
The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the weapon that hit Parchin, weighs 30,000 pounds. It penetrates up to 200 feet of earth or 60 feet of reinforced concrete. Granite is neither earth nor concrete. It is igneous rock with a compressive strength that exceeds both. One hundred metres of granite is 328 feet. The GBU-57’s maximum earth penetration is 200 feet. The uranium sits 128 feet beyond the reach of the most powerful conventional weapon the United States possesses.
But dropping ANOTHER GBU-57 into the crater of the first, which has already removed 200ft of cover, could provide the means to reach that depth, especially as the shock waves from each might have caused collapses throughout the structures - if they exist....
The World has watched Iran over the last 40+ years develop a "religious" ideology casting the US as "The Great Satan"and, by extension Europe, as their enemy.
We were too Woke and afraid of "upsetting Islamic Nations" to suggest that the Iranian view was warped and bore little relation to the actual words of the Prophet or the way Islam should be regarded.
The Gulf States watched and did little to counter that the Iranian "Islamic" model was a threat to moderate Islam or to the teachings of Islam.
Treating women as chattels to produce as many offspring; to make them believe the Prophet neeeded them to cover their hair, wear shapeles bags and be cowed by any man does no credit to Islam.
Perhaps Iranian women might be the ones to defy the Ayatollahs and force regime change, once the militias have been reduced.
Thread Starter
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
Turkey reporting a third Iranian MRBM engaged by "NATO assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean. I would presume either another THAAD or Arliegh-Burke AEGIS BMD intercept.
Have to wonder where the THAAD being redeployed from Korea willmbe based.
From the last intercept about 4 days ago: https://unn.ua/en/news/nato-intercep...towards-turkey
".....Debris from the munition landed in Gaziantep province in southern Turkey, "approximately 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the Incirlik Air Base — where hundreds of US military personnel are stationed and where US nuclear weapons are widely believed to be stored — and about 200 kilometers from an advanced NATO radar system in Kurecik used to support Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile systems"."
Have to wonder where the THAAD being redeployed from Korea willmbe based.
From the last intercept about 4 days ago: https://unn.ua/en/news/nato-intercep...towards-turkey
".....Debris from the munition landed in Gaziantep province in southern Turkey, "approximately 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the Incirlik Air Base — where hundreds of US military personnel are stationed and where US nuclear weapons are widely believed to be stored — and about 200 kilometers from an advanced NATO radar system in Kurecik used to support Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile systems"."
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From: Over the rainbow
The Iranian long war has started. Attrit the Allies drip by drip. Drag them into a long, drawn out war where you lose politically.
It's not about the military might, it's about turning the tide of public opinion against you until you go home.
7 US soldiers. 1 French soldier. 6 US aircrew. RIP.
It's not about the military might, it's about turning the tide of public opinion against you until you go home.
7 US soldiers. 1 French soldier. 6 US aircrew. RIP.
Last edited by DogTailRed2; 13th March 2026 at 14:29.
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From: 350/3 Compton
Salute!
Thnx ORAC, Lonewolf, et al for recognizing the fog of war RE: the short round that struck a school. Sadly, sierra happens, and we can only try to find out why and then do our best to prevents it from happening again.
The ROE and the extràordinary efforts by the planners and actual delivery folks on one side to minimize collateral casualties and damage in this conflict is beyond pale. Yet sierra happens, and there is no reason to disregard actaing upon poor intell or even intentional "poor" intell by nefarious parties. Happened to me a few dozen klicks nw of Plieku in 1968 when my wingie and I dropped on a small ville supposedly harboring an enemy big guy. Turned out it was a political enemy of the provence chief! Talk about feeling low! It is the second worst thing to find out other than you snuffed a bunch of your friends.
Despite the unnerving accuracy of the stuff nowadays that I would love to have had back then and on my second chapter, things have not evolved to achieve what most of the innocent critics think is possible.
Gums reminds all who have not experienced the opportunity to mistakenly drop a short round. Maybe Mogs can comment from his adventure in the 80's.
out,
Thnx ORAC, Lonewolf, et al for recognizing the fog of war RE: the short round that struck a school. Sadly, sierra happens, and we can only try to find out why and then do our best to prevents it from happening again.
The ROE and the extràordinary efforts by the planners and actual delivery folks on one side to minimize collateral casualties and damage in this conflict is beyond pale. Yet sierra happens, and there is no reason to disregard actaing upon poor intell or even intentional "poor" intell by nefarious parties. Happened to me a few dozen klicks nw of Plieku in 1968 when my wingie and I dropped on a small ville supposedly harboring an enemy big guy. Turned out it was a political enemy of the provence chief! Talk about feeling low! It is the second worst thing to find out other than you snuffed a bunch of your friends.
Despite the unnerving accuracy of the stuff nowadays that I would love to have had back then and on my second chapter, things have not evolved to achieve what most of the innocent critics think is possible.
Gums reminds all who have not experienced the opportunity to mistakenly drop a short round. Maybe Mogs can comment from his adventure in the 80's.
out,
Another Islander was injured when a pair of GR3s bombed his grass strip to deny its use by Pucaras. He said that if only we had asked, he would have ploughed it up for us!
Mog
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From: UK/Philippines/Italy
Earlier in this thread I mentioned the East / West pipeline through the Empty Quarter to KSA Red Sea ports, notably Yanbu. There are reports now in the maritime trade press of a large number of Chinese VLCCs heading for the Red Sea and, if I remember correctly, some of the Yanbu facilities are at least partly Chinese owned.
Add to the equation reports/rumours of Chinese war canoes in the Indian Ocean and the threat of Houthi attack and things in the Red Sea may well become interesting.
Also 2 million bbl up for auction fob at Yanbu. Price might be a tad high. For some background.
https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1156583...ne-contingency
Continuing the maritime theme, it looks as the CVN-77 has finished its workup and, along with CSG-10 is entering - or has already entered - the Mediterranean.
Add to the equation reports/rumours of Chinese war canoes in the Indian Ocean and the threat of Houthi attack and things in the Red Sea may well become interesting.
Also 2 million bbl up for auction fob at Yanbu. Price might be a tad high. For some background.
https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1156583...ne-contingency
Continuing the maritime theme, it looks as the CVN-77 has finished its workup and, along with CSG-10 is entering - or has already entered - the Mediterranean.
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From: Baston
Earlier in this thread I mentioned the East / West pipeline through the Empty Quarter to KSA Red Sea ports, notably Yanbu. There are reports now in the maritime trade press of a large number of Chinese VLCCs heading for the Red Sea and, if I remember correctly, some of the Yanbu facilities are at least partly Chinese owned.
Add to the equation reports/rumours of Chinese war canoes in the Indian Ocean and the threat of Houthi attack and things in the Red Sea may well become interesting.
Also 2 million bbl up for auction fob at Yanbu. Price might be a tad high. For some background.
https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1156583...ne-contingency
Continuing the maritime theme, it looks as the CVN-77 has finished its workup and, along with CSG-10 is entering - or has already entered - the Mediterranean.
Add to the equation reports/rumours of Chinese war canoes in the Indian Ocean and the threat of Houthi attack and things in the Red Sea may well become interesting.
Also 2 million bbl up for auction fob at Yanbu. Price might be a tad high. For some background.
https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1156583...ne-contingency
Continuing the maritime theme, it looks as the CVN-77 has finished its workup and, along with CSG-10 is entering - or has already entered - the Mediterranean.
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From: Texas
Heard from a friend who spent a career in the USAF that KC-135 don't have a way to bail out. That left me stunned. A decade or so ago I think a KC-135 was lost over Afghanistan, and we discussed it here at PPRuNe. (Yeah, 2013, Dutch Roll, tail separated, OCF...)
Anybody know about the bail out options for the KC-135? It seems odd to me that it would be left out.
(Chock Puller: thank you for the post and picture).
The USAF projected that E and R models have lifetime flying hour limits of 36,000 and 39,000 hours, respectively. Accordingly, only a few KC-135s would reach these limits by 2040, when some aircraft would be about 80 years old. A 2005 USAF study estimated that KC-135Es upgraded to the R standard could remain in use until 2030.
Last edited by Lonewolf_50; 13th March 2026 at 12:46.
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From: se england
Another B1B passed overhead of Frome Somerset a few minutes ago ex Fairford very noticeable noise wise , havent seen or heard any B52s on their way from there as yet . They are not uncommon visitors during my time in Somerset but until now had never seen or more likely heard the B1s . Would they use a single aircraft for a special strike? earlier in the week it was unit of three.
