Iran

[fliegerrick59]

Originally Posted by NutLoose

Last quote I saw was north of 60 billion and that will not include replacing munitions I would doubt, with requests for nearly 200 billion more

possibly why Trump wants 1.5tN dollars for defence.

[ORAC]

Kuwait reports multiple Iranian drone strikes targeting critical infrastructure.

• Fire broke out at the Shuwaikh oil sector complex (home to the Oil Ministry & KPC HQ)

• Government ministries building hit, causing major damage

• Two power & desalination plants struck, knocking units out of service

Video

​​​​​​​https://x.com/MOSSADil/status/2040599575027748995?s=20

​​​​​​​More footage from the Iranian strikes on power and gas facilities in Kuwait.

​​​​​​​

[langleybaston]

A bit late but I have just read the marvellous news of the successful rescue.

This is an amazing feat of arms. Surely no other nation in the world could have achieved it?
My congratulations USA.

[ORAC]

Israel has, reportedly, almost run out of Arrow IRBM interceptor missiles and most are now getting through.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...d-6b7ccebd0000

https://x.com/ynetnews/status/2040650881993982358?s=20

​​​​​​​'Total loss': Drone factory in Petah Tikva hit by Iranian missile

Aero Sol CEO Israel Vaserlauf says damage will not allow the factory to resume operations; The damage occurred just two days after Aero Sol was sold to Valorex for about 35 million shekels, but Vaserlauf remains optimistic about the future.

An Iranian missile carrying a large warhead struck near the fence of the Aero Sol Aviation Solutions factory in Petah Tikva, destroying the facility. The company supplies pilot helmets, bomb components and drones to Israel’s defense industries and the IDF.

The impact on Thursday left a large crater, and the blast caused extensive damage to production machinery and offices.

[ORAC]

Tyler Rogoway - Creator/Editor-In-Chief of http://TWZ.com.

https://x.com/Aviation_Intel/status/...902477436?s=20

​​​​​​​Just got this from Planet Labs:

Dear Tyler Rogoway,

Due to the conflict in the Middle East, the U.S. government has requested all satellite imagery providers voluntarily implement an indefinite withhold of imagery in the designated Area of Interest (AOI).

Effective retroactively from March 9, 2026, Planet is moving to a managed access model, extending the publication delay for all new imagery within the designated AOI, and releasing imagery on a case-by-case basis and for urgent, mission-critical requirements or in the public interest.

For the media, this model is in line with the media policies of other remote sensing companies. We expect this policy to last through the end of the conflict.

Access to imagery for the rest of the world is unaffected.

These are extraordinary circumstances, and we are doing all we can to balance the needs of all our stakeholders. We will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as possible to minimize the impact on data availability to our customers.

For questions regarding specific projects or to request a policy exception, please contact your Customer Success Manager or [email protected].

We appreciate your continued partnership as we work to ensure our data remains available for responsible use.

Best Regards,

Planet Team

[orionsbelt]

USAF Sandy Operations

langleybaston
A bit late but I have just read the marvellous news of the successful rescue.
This is an amazing feat of arms. Surely no other nation in the world could have achieved it?
My congratulations USA.
Well said

Sandy Operations of old, good job they still have the A10 the modern verson of the A-1H Skyraider.
If those boys had been RAF or other Nato crew, could they have been rescued????
***

[Ninthace]

Originally Posted by orionsbelt

langleybaston
A bit late but I have just read the marvellous news of the successful rescue.
This is an amazing feat of arms. Surely no other nation in the world could have achieved it?
My congratulations USA.
Well said

Sandy Operations of old, good job they still have the A10 the modern verson of the A-1H Skyraider.
If those boys had been RAF or other Nato crew, could they have been rescued????
***

SERE is taught and practised in other nations forces apart from the US.

[Geriaviator]

Originally Posted by orionsbelt

Sandy Operations of old, good job they still have the A10 the modern verson of the A-1H Skyraider.
If those boys had been RAF or other Nato crew, could they have been rescued????

Given the neglected state of our Services they probably wouldn't have been there in the first place. Army, Royal Navy and RAF personnel will always do their best but you can't make bricks without straw and our wretched Labour government has cut budgets even further as it prefers handing out benefits.to giving these brave folk the equipment they need.

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by ORAC

Appears that at least one MH-6 Little Bird helicopter was destroyed as well.​​​​​​​

Those MH-6s (reportedly two of them) weren't going to be going anywhere once the C-130s in which they arrived had been blown up.

[AR1]

Originally Posted by Geriaviator

our wretched Labour government has cut budgets even further as it prefers handing out benefits.to giving these brave folk the equipment they need.

Let me put you bang straight right here. The 2008 SDR sought to improve the UKs expeditionary capability based on the experiences in that decade. It was demolished by successive Tory led reviews that have put us where we are. In fact to give the Tories some credit we would have been in a worse position had they not reinstated the carriers. ( Debatable point for another thread)
The only Labour led review in the past 18 years, was last year. You are not looking at the results of it.

Back to the thread...

[albatross]

Great news.
BZ to the team who affected the rescue.
Points to the evader for not giving up.


FYI Since the Vietnam SAR “Sandy Ops” have come up.
I highly recommend the book “ My Secret War” by Richard S. Drury a USAF Skyraider pilot.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/....My_Secret_War

[Biggus]

Originally Posted by Ninthace

SERE is taught and practised in other nations forces apart from the US.

True, but is it a realistic proposition, or a fig leaf (like hiding behind a taken down door under your stairs during a nuclear war) to give the illusion that there is some provision, and we won't simply abandon our shot down aircrew.

A Puma/Merlin/Chinook with a couple of accompanying troops who practice CSAR once or twice a year as a tertiary role is not the same as a dedicated, practised and fully supported CSAR unit.

[ORAC]

Other nations practice SAR, but not CSAR.

The number of sets, between fighter cover, EW, SF, embedded escort, etc etc is far more than others could afford to commit to rescue just a couple of aircrew. As far as others are concerned they’re not expendable, but they’re also not recoverable except in peace/ceasefire negotiations when combat ceases or pauses.

When you look at the level of loses suffered in this operation, thankfully, but lucky, without lose of life, you can understand why.

[Steepclimb]

Originally Posted by rattman

Looking like CSAR has been called off and with no annoucement of a his recovery not looking good. Apparently a very low ejection and WSO/CSO who they retrieved was in a bad way. So maybe pilot went in

But in the end I was right for once in my life. The operation was ongoing as I wrote my comments. To be fair it was exceedingly obvious to anyone with a smidgen of knowledge of the subject. The cancellation you mentioned may have been disinformation designed to deflect the Iranians. Apparently the CIA was quite active in the operation. They CIA are being kept busy.

That does not include any of the so called journalists covering this war, some of whom have the cheek to refer to themselves as war correspondents. They set a very low bar.

Whatever you think of this war the operation was an major success. We can congratulate the people involved. Trump will claim it of course. There's always a downside.

[AR1]

Originally Posted by ORAC

Other nations practice SAR, but not CSAR.

The number of sets, between fighter cover, EW, SF, embedded escort, etc etc is far more than others could afford to commit to rescue.....

Indeed..The ability to commit that level of force in actual combat ops would be beyond the capability of quite a few countries!

[Cornish Jack]

Excellent military effort and "not S&R as we know it, Jim"
Begs the question, of course, as to whether one would prefer having such a capacity, or not being placed in need of it ?

[gums]

Salute!

"Both souls onboard!" Most famous radio call we heard in 1972 after we scarfed up the crew of an F-105G Wild Weasel near Thanh Hoa, N.Vn.

So our history book adds another great story about what is possible with motivation, super training, the right equipment andsupport of other units and the leadership above.

The outfit that sent in two smaller transports (427th Special Operations Squadron) was my last A-37 outfit before moving to A-7's. Big wheels keep on tuning....

Trust me, after reading several accounts, tactics were almost the same as I trained and flew in the real world over 50 years ago. But equipment much, much better. And .we still have "the spirit of attack born in a brave heart" to pull it off when things go to hell in a handbasket.

My neighbor two doors down flew those special C-130's until about 3-4 years ago. I'll have more intell from him this week.

Gums sends...

[dga718]

Echoes of the past on this Easter Morning, images of C-130s destroyed in the Iranian deserts - but here, now, the trapped Americans have been rescued, not left blindfolded prisoners to the islamic fanatics for 444 days. And while I appreciate all the logical arguments for wholly defanging a nearly nuclear Iran, I wonder how much of this is motivated by what the President saw of those mass executions of protesting Persians committed by the islamic fanatics in January of this year? Credible reports of 30,000 civilians being slaughtered - what atrocities did THAT entail? How much driven by the USN sailors on their knees in Jan 2016? And for context, here's 590 Madison in NYC, under construction in 1980, with the sign tracking the number of "Days in Captivity" for the American hostages. These posters were on sites all across the city; it was a deep wound to American men that never quite healed. Praying for all our forces on this Easter, and for a quick cessation of hostilities.

[sycamore]

For operating on really sandy /unprepared desert strips,consider using the `Antarctic` prep with skis,even if only on the nosewheels,as they are more likely to `bog in`,and a few strips of PSP for the mains before you stop.The tyre pressures would be reduced on the mains anyway.As with ski flying off snow,once you start moving ,keep going,full back stick to keep the nosewheel light,and steer with power..Helpful hints 101 from Justin Time,...next time..Kuwaiti sand is probably same as Iranian..GW1..

[RAFEngO74to09]

POTUS + military News Conference Mon 6 Apr 26 at 1300 US EST