US Strikes on Iran (Operation Epic Fury)

[Angrboda]

Multiple American military aircraft were damaged in Iranian strikes overnight Tuesday into Wednesday local time on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, people with direct knowledge of the matter told CBS News.

One A-10 Thunderbolt, an attack aircraft known as the Warthog, was struck and lost a wing, the sources said.

Roughly eight F-15s sustained light damage and were put back into service, according to the people familiar with the damage, who spoke to CBS News under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

No U.S. deaths have been reported in the strikes on Jordan.

The overnight damage came after the U.S. said Tuesday it attacked five Iranian tankers in retaliation for Iran targeting a U.S. Navy warship. In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it launched attacks at eight tankers and two warships, including the base in Jordan.

U.S. forces in Jordan launched more than 30 Patriot missiles defending against the Iranian strikes in Jordan.

CBS News previously reported that U.S. officials are concerned over the rapidly declining stockpile of Patriot missiles among other types of precision munitions.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/multiple-us...se-jordan/

[Deesse23]

What a waste of money! The war was lost long ago, and Trump lets American assets be destroyed. 
or
Maybe its part of his 4D-chess-like plan to create more jobs in the armament industry? 
What a genius!

[The Grand Nudger]

These conflicts are surfacing huge and resolvable issues in weapons procurement - if the idea is to drum up profits for existing players who paid for a plate at the trump table...it's a short sighted one.

[Leonardo17]

Grand Nudger:
 
“We use those munitions because they’re the best at what they do. Ask Ukraine. Can you imagine being the guy who has to explain to Mr and Mrs Joe that their kid is dead because Uncle Sam decided he needed to save a buck on his multi trillion dollar budget?”
 

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The war started some 6 months ago. The fact that US losses were minimal is a good thing. But I don’t know if the situation is being managed in an optimal manner. Ex: The Saudis had built an east-west pipeline to redirect their oil exports to the Red Sea. Now pro Iran forces are hitting this pipeline from Iraq and the Huti’s (Yemeni / Saudi forces being unable to deal with them) are making moves to close the Strait of Bab-al-Mandab just like the Strait of Hormuz:
 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/article...47331.html
 
This is nothing like George W. Bush’s wars after 9/11.
 
Some are arguing that the MAGA base who is inherently racist and ultra nationalist believe in something very similar to the Nazi thinker Claus Schmitt’s “Gorssraum” or “Sphere of influence” theory (you just have to ask to AI for detailed information). In this theory (which is a theory of “Peace”) each great power has its “zone of influence” and leaves other great players alone. So Ukraine goes to Russia, Japan and Taiwan goes to China, The Middle East goes to whoever wants that area, Europe and all of America (and Greenland) belong to America (White Americans actually).
 
This was a crazy theory back in the 1930’s, but this gave shivers thinking that there are powerful Americans (the ones behind D. Trump) who sincerely believe in these theories.
 
Anyway: Someone like Barrack Obama would have dealed with Iran in a much more effective and rational manner.
 

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D. Trump is actually planning to boost the military budget even further. In an age of asymmetric warfare and complete turning around of military paradigms I don’t know if “a bigger US army” is the solution. With all that size, the US is not really able to deal with this tiny groups with minimal weaponry + missiles + drones. So our main goal should be to get to 2029 without anyone getting hurt and hope that US citizens do not repeat the same mistake for a third time
 
“These conflicts are surfacing huge and resolvable issues in weapons procurement - if the idea is to drum up profits for existing players who paid for a plate at the trump table...it's a short sighted one.”
 
- Everyone is boosting their military budgets now. European countries are doing the same partly because of D. Trump’s “America first” policies.
 
But cannot win wars by shooting 5000 $ drones with 5,000,000 $ sophisticated missiles. Russia being unable to make Ukraine is also pointing at the same thing. Realities about warfare a shifting rapidly. So there is a need for innovation. Boosting production capacities and the size of the military machine alone will not be enough on its own.
 
+ I believe that D. Trump was elected mainly because the life of some ordinary Americans has become really difficult. So for me: All that cash needs to go to ordinary Americans (healthcare, education, jobs etc) while the US army looks for ways to modernize itself and innovate so that its hands are not completely tied in the next Iran or Bab-al-Mandab event.

[The Grand Nudger]

I absolutely agree with you on that last bit. We canceled future soldier system a decade ago, after it was already a decade in...and it's turned out to be exactly the sorts of weapons and tactics that are effective on a modern urban grey zone battlefield. We were ahead of the curve, and we fell asleep at the wheel. It didn't help that we lost an intact drone to iran along the way. Nor has it helped that we've allowed administrative overhead, non competition, and cost+ contracting to bloat the price of our munitions. Ukraine is developing a patriot-alike for 14% our cost. Russia has developed a jet shahed for 10% of that. Meanwhile, the most expensive thing on the battlefield remains the soldiers. A single squad of basic infantry deployed to hold a bunker costs more than the drone and the interceptor combined. Many times more if they're well trained. Orders of magnitude more if they are well trained and experienced. This is why it makes sense and why, if you cannot (or will not) fire a missile to down a drone aimed at your infantry, you cannot fight a war at all. Russia is learning this the hard way. The economics of defensive use are not a cost comparison between the incoming munition and the defensive munition. They're a cost and opportunity comparison between the intended target and the defensive munition.

I don't think the us army is going to correct course anytime soon. The current administration views it as yet another thing to be dismantled.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The Saudis have (for now, at least) shut down the East-West pipeline, citing attacks by Iran-linked groups based in Iraq. The pipeline carries about 4% of Middle Eastern oil. 

Thank you, Mr. President!!

Boru