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Spain will send the Aegis-equipped frigate Cristóbal Colón to assist in the defense of Cyprus from Iranian drone attacks. The Spanish Navy will also send out the supply ship Cantabria to meet, refuel, and resupply the French CSG as it makes its way to the Mediterranean. An aircraft carrier, almost certainly French Charles de Gaulle seen hauling ass/à toute vitesse towards Mediterranean yesterday. Credit to @Galwaybaywatch for finding her. |
Quote: Reports Claim U.S. Strike on Suspected Underground Nuclear Site in Iran Unconfirmed reports circulating overnight claim the U.S. Air Force struck a suspected underground uranium enrichment facility in Bukan, Iran. According to the reports, the facility was allegedly concealed beneath a dairy company used as a cover operation. The claims further suggest that several Iranian nuclear scientists were killed in the strike and that the site was completely destroyed. At this stage, major international news agencies have not yet confirmed the existence of the facility or the strike, and details remain unclear. If verified, it would represent a significant development in the ongoing campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. More information is expected as intelligence assessments and satellite imagery begin to emerge. |
The United States Navy deployed a laser weapon to this war. CENTCOM released footage of the HELIOS system mounted on a destroyer operating off Iran’s coast. The New York Post*, citing sources familiar with the operation, reported HELIOS has been used against Iranian drones during Operation Epic Fury. In early February 2026, weeks before the war began, HELIOS took out four drones in a live test. USNI Proceedings confirmed it. Whether HELIOS has recorded confirmed combat kills in this war is not yet publicly verified by primary military sources. What is confirmed is that the system is deployed, operational, and pointed at the same airspace through which Iran has been sending hundreds of drones and missiles every day. Here is why that matters regardless of the kill count. Every Patriot interceptor costs $3 to $4 million per missile. Every THAAD interceptor costs $10 million. The UAE has intercepted more than 755 drones and 172 ballistic missiles since this war began. Run that arithmetic at even conservative figures and you are looking at several billion dollars in interceptor expenditures across the Gulf in under a week. HELIOS runs on electricity. The marginal cost of firing a laser is essentially zero. The ship’s generator produces the power. There is no missile to reload, no magazine to deplete, no resupply ship needed. Against a Shahed drone that costs $30,000, a laser engagement costs less than the electricity bill for a large apartment. The economic architecture of drone warfare has been Iran’s most sophisticated strategic weapon in this conflict. Flood the defenses with cheap munitions. Force the defender to spend $1 million to stop a $30,000 projectile. Do that a thousand times and you have imposed a billion-dollar tax on the defense while spending thirty million on the offense. HELIOS breaks that equation at the physical level. If directed energy weapons can absorb even a fraction of the drone saturation that has been overwhelming Gulf air defenses, the cost asymmetry that makes Iranian drone doctrine viable begins to invert. Iran spent years developing the doctrine that makes Shaheds strategically valuable. The United States just deployed the technology that may make that doctrine obsolete. This war is the first real combat test of whether it works. https://www.twz.com/sea/uss-preble-u...anding-testing |
Can laser weapons blast through mirrors? If no then could a polished target be immune?
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Originally Posted by jolihokistix
(Post 12047202)
Iran's Samson Option.
This article written back in January seems to be describing some of Iran's actions today. As a last resort, activate Hezbollah and burn everything for everyone. Iran’s Samson Option: Hezbollah, Fatwas, and the Regime’s Endgame - Nowlebanon Quote:"This is where a Samson-like option emerges, not as a declared doctrine, but as a governing mindset. Much like the logic historically attributed to Israel, drawn from the biblical story of Samson who brought down the temple on himself and his enemies, declaring, “Let me die with the Philistines,” the Iranian regime has its own version of a last-resort strategy, one designed to drag the region into chaos and deny its enemies a clean victory. The message would be implicit but unmistakable: if we fall, the region burns with us. In this framework, Hezbollah and other regime proxies cease to be tools of influence or negotiation and become instruments of final leverage. Their activation would not aim to reverse collapse, but to punish, destabilize, and raise the cost of regime change to intolerable levels for all involved. This is not about winning; it is about ensuring that no orderly post-regime reality can emerge. Such an option would only be triggered if Khamenei believes death, political or physical, is imminent. At that point, restraint gives way to nihilism, and escalation becomes existential. This is the regime’s true final card and the reason why the closing phase of Iran’s crisis is the most dangerous. When survival is no longer possible, destruction becomes a strategy." Not coincidentally, there is a book about the Israeli nuclear weapons program entitled, The Samson Option. |
Update on post 3820. https://www.pprune.org/military-avia...l#post12047232
We received signals from partners in the Middle East. There have been strikes by Iranian “shaheds” on civilians in those countries. They are seeking our expertise. We are open. If their representatives come, we will provide the expertise. Especially since there is also a request from Europeans and from the United States. Requests have come to us to share our experience with partners in the Middle East. Regarding weapons: we ourselves are at war. And I said, completely frankly, that we have a shortage of what they have. They have missiles for the Patriots, but hundreds or thousands of “shaheds” cannot be intercepted with Patriot missiles – it is too costly. Nothing is too much for the people, of course, but they simply do not have that many missiles. That is why they need interceptor drones, which we have. Meanwhile, we have a shortage of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles. So, when it comes to technology or weapons exchange, I believe our country will be open to it. From an interview with Rai Italia (2/5). |
Originally Posted by ORAC
(Post 12047289)
……………
Video |
👀👀👀👀
At 9:00 a.m. on March 4, 2026 (local time), the Chinese Navy escort fleet, led by the Type 055 destroyer Lhasa, transited the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Persian Gulf, commencing a regular escort mission for Chinese-owned oil tankers. The fleet includes the Lhasa, the Type 052D destroyer Urumqi, and the supply ship Luomahu, under the command of Colonel Zhang Lei. It will provide 24/7 protection across the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf. This mission safeguards China’s overseas energy interests and supports international maritime security. The Type 055 destroyer’s advanced capabilities in air defense, anti-ship, and anti-submarine operations ensure robust mission support, enhanced by the fleet’s combat and logistical strength. The Chinese Navy remains committed to common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, contributing to global maritime stability |
Originally Posted by Dominator2
(Post 12047259)
If nothing else it would show the RN what "Rapid Response" means. Maybe, Operation - Before the Dragon.
Not least when the airfoce appears to have decided to deploy its most expensive and capable tac air asset to an unhardened fixed airbase where they are vulnerable to attack. The irony...... |
How come we are sending HMS Dragon to Cyprus when it is not ready for sea?? I understand the news service pundits are saying that HMS Duncan is ready to sail. The other four are unlikely to be ready for sea till next year. Also the two carriers are not available.
Must be about time for Argentina to invade the Falklands again! They would have no opposition! |
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Nah, that bloke who isn't Churchill would probably hand it over.
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Hmmm, it just keeps getting worse, what a bunch of fools running this farce. I am surprised that the Iranians' haven't started adding some of their uranium into their missiles and drones, turning them into dirty bombs
Middle East war spirals as Iran hits Kurds in IraqIsrael pounded Tehran with fresh strikes and Iran targeted Kurdish guerrilla groups in Iraq on Thursday as a spiralling war engulfed the Middle East. Earlier Thursday, Tehran said it had hit Iraq-based Kurdish groups, as the United States reportedly seeks to arm Iranian Kurdish guerillas to infiltrate Iran. The strikes which killed a member of an exiled Iranian Kurdish group, according to a representative, followed a warning from Iranian officials. 'Notion that the Iranian Kurds could trust anything the Americans said would be pretty reckless'Iranian Kurdish militias have reportedly been consulting with the US in recent days about whether, and how, to attack Iranian security forces. A coalition of groups based on the Iran-Iraq border in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan has been training to mount such an attack in hopes of weakening the regime. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with former ambassador, Peter Galbraith, who previously acted as an advisor to the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq. |
Originally Posted by Lookleft
(Post 12047072)
When is a war not a war?
Aviation content follows:
Originally Posted by J Post
Iranian tactical bombers were only minutes away from striking a US military base when Qatari planes shot them down on Monday, CNN reported.
The planes, two Su-24 tactical bombers, had been apparently targeted at two important sites in Qatar: The al-Udeid Air Base, where approximately 10,000 US soldiers are housed, and Ras Laffan, a gas processing facility.The aircraft were classified as hostile, and taken out in aerial combat by a Qatari F-15 fighter, only "two minutes" away from their targets. This operation marked the first time the Qatari air force has engaged in air-to-air combat, CNN noted, adding that it was unusual for Iran to attack using manned aircraft instead of missiles or drones. |
Looks like I am late to the party on the air to air encounter, did anyone else cover this? Doha, March 02 (QNA) - Qatar's Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that its armed forces had shot down two Iranian aircraft and intercepted several missiles and drones targeting the country. In a statement, the ministry said the Qatar Amiri Air Force had downed two Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jets approaching from Iran. It added that air defenses intercepted seven ballistic missiles, while five drones were brought down by the air force and the Amiri Naval Forces after they targeted multiple locations across the country. According to the ministry, all projectiles were intercepted before reaching their intended targets, in line with operational plans activated immediately after the threats were detected. The ministry stressed that the Qatar Armed Forces possess the full capabilities to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territory and to respond firmly to any external threat. It also urged citizens, residents and visitors to remain calm, follow instructions issued by security authorities and rely on official sources for information. (QNA) |
We have made the decision to delete reports made last night regarding the crash of a USAF F-15E Strike Eagle in Iran and the successful evacuation of the crew members by U.S. and Israeli Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). Defender Media maintains confidence in its sources, however, the story is as of now being officially and publicly denied by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). |
[Sri Lanka trying to ‘safeguard lives’ on second Iran ship after US attack
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/...fter-us-attack |
So Starmer is sending another 4 Typhoons to Qatar.
Whoopee-do. One thing that came out of GWI was that, to sustain a wartime 24hr AD posture it took the CR crews from a MOB wing (3 sqns), leaving just enough at home to keep training the LCR crews up to CR. Best will in the world, with the UK QRA commitment, plus the jets deployed in Cyprus, the current force establishment sees inadequate for the tasking the PM is asking of it. At the French, Greeks and Spanish are turning up to provide the TBM cover we haven't got. (Only picked up a couple of days ago that the T45 won't have an anti-TBM capability till after it's next Aster upgrade*) * https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/uk-o...sile-upgrades/ |
Originally Posted by bilby_qld
(Post 12047206)
No whey!
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Originally Posted by judyjudy
(Post 12047370)
Thats a cheesy remark!
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