US military, technology, arms, tactics
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
https://x.com/clashreport/status/1916934104081170478 ---> VERY Interesting: The U.S. Navy lost a $60 million F-18 jet at sea after it fell overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman, reportedly during a sharp turn to evade Houthi fire.
https://x.com/clashreport/status/1916944244838715675 ---> This is an extremely serious incident for US Navy. It would mean hostile missiles or drones got past the carrier’s layered defenses (fighters, AEGIS ships, CIWS), showing potential gaps in US naval protection. A group like the Houthis forcing a $13 billion carrier into hard maneuvers would signal a major asymmetric threat to US power projection. Such an incident would trigger a rethinking of how vulnerable carriers are to cheap, massed threats.
Super Hornet Assigned to USS Harry S. Truman Lost at Sea
https://news.usni.org/2025/04/28/super- ... ost-at-sea
28 April 2025
https://x.com/clashreport/status/1916944244838715675 ---> This is an extremely serious incident for US Navy. It would mean hostile missiles or drones got past the carrier’s layered defenses (fighters, AEGIS ships, CIWS), showing potential gaps in US naval protection. A group like the Houthis forcing a $13 billion carrier into hard maneuvers would signal a major asymmetric threat to US power projection. Such an incident would trigger a rethinking of how vulnerable carriers are to cheap, massed threats.
Super Hornet Assigned to USS Harry S. Truman Lost at Sea
https://news.usni.org/2025/04/28/super- ... ost-at-sea
28 April 2025
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
F-35 Had To Maneuver To Evade Houthi Surface-To-Air Missile: U.S. Official
https://www.twz.com/air/f-35-had-to-man ... s-official
13 May 2025
https://www.twz.com/air/f-35-had-to-man ... s-official
13 May 2025
The incident took place during Operation Rough Rider, the enhanced bombing campaign against the Houthis launched by Trump on March 15.
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
The United States had not even established air superiority over the Houthis. Instead, what was emerging after 30 days of a stepped-up campaign against the Yemeni group was another expensive but inconclusive American military engagement in the region.Rakesh wrote: ↑14 May 2025 19:09 F-35 Had To Maneuver To Evade Houthi Surface-To-Air Missile: U.S. Official
https://www.twz.com/air/f-35-had-to-man ... s-official
13 May 2025
The incident took place during Operation Rough Rider, the enhanced bombing campaign against the Houthis launched by Trump on March 15.

Whats new .. lol
How did the SAM lock onto F$$ ?

Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
Have they hoodwinked Qatari's also into buying this white elephant???
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
DJT has armtwisted them into buying Boeing 787 etc and also 38Billions into air defence and maritime defence apart from Reaper drones. Overall deal 1.3 Trillion!!! No wonder US is dissing Rafale and French equipment!!



Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
^^^
Not the first big item wastage by the American… too many over the last three decades.
Signs of a superpower in decline. Very costly products becoming too complex and sensitive to own and operate.
Forget about exports. Too many restrictions and oversight. “Kill switch” suspicions.
Highly doubt success of X-47 - will be over time and over budget and plagued with problems. Innovations are not going to surpass those of emergents by all that much.
Less and less “over-achievement” as the decades go by. The peak has already occurred.
Not the first big item wastage by the American… too many over the last three decades.
Signs of a superpower in decline. Very costly products becoming too complex and sensitive to own and operate.
Forget about exports. Too many restrictions and oversight. “Kill switch” suspicions.
Highly doubt success of X-47 - will be over time and over budget and plagued with problems. Innovations are not going to surpass those of emergents by all that much.
Less and less “over-achievement” as the decades go by. The peak has already occurred.
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
E-2 Hawkeye Replaces USAF E-3 Sentry, E-7 Cancelled In New Budget
https://www.twz.com/air/e-2-hawkeye-rep ... new-budget
11 June 2025
https://www.twz.com/air/e-2-hawkeye-rep ... new-budget
11 June 2025
The E-2D is far smaller than the E-7 and lacks some of its abilities, but it can fly from austere forward bases where the E-7 cannot.
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
US Air Force's YFQ-42A Stealth Fighter Breaks Cover
US unmanned AI powered jets which will tag along with regular fighters and be fully networked. Similar to CATS warrior being made in India.
watch: youtube.com/watch?v=t6nfzGA1WMk
US unmanned AI powered jets which will tag along with regular fighters and be fully networked. Similar to CATS warrior being made in India.
watch: youtube.com/watch?v=t6nfzGA1WMk
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
US Navy F-35 Fighter Crash Near Air Station In California
A US Navy F-35 fighter jet has crashed near the Leemore Naval Air Station, located around 40 miles (64 kilometres) southwest of the city of Fresno in central California, according to a Navy press statement. The pilot managed to successfully eject and has reportedly been airlifted to a hospital.
The incident that occurred around 6:30 pm (local time) is under investigation, the statement said.
Visuals from the spot show thick plumes of smoke rising from the burning debris.
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
VIDEO: https://x.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1950189567627448555 ---> SR-71 “Vader” outpaces an F-4 Phantom at Mach 3+
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
That was from a game wasn't it.
Seen it some time back
Seen it some time back
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
A couple of months ago saw a podcast by a few ex-USAF/USN pilots in mirth over an accidental civilian ejection from a twin-seat Rafale
Will wait to see their smirks on this...

Will wait to see their smirks on this...

Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
@Manish_P ji, video is embedded at this webpage. Turn the volume way down before opening the video.
https://www.twz.com/air/f-15-ride-along ... the-ground
https://www.twz.com/air/f-15-ride-along ... the-ground
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
Alasakan F35 crash report is out.
Cost just USD 200 million only - the accident I mean, not the report
Technically minded posters like Ramana ji, Admiral sir might find the detailed report by the investigative agency (USAF AIB) interesting
https://www.pacaf.af.mil/Portals/6/docu ... 6zeA%3D%3D
Cost just USD 200 million only - the accident I mean, not the report
Technically minded posters like Ramana ji, Admiral sir might find the detailed report by the investigative agency (USAF AIB) interesting
https://www.pacaf.af.mil/Portals/6/docu ... 6zeA%3D%3D
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
First Photo Emerges Of U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon Flying With LRASM Missile
https://theaviationist.com/2025/09/06/p ... sm-mojave/
06 Sept 2025
https://theaviationist.com/2025/09/06/p ... sm-mojave/
06 Sept 2025
A Poseidon was spotted flying over the Mojave Desert with the long range anti-ship missile last month.
Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
Costs are not the primary thrust for this thinking but still hope our planners don't take 'inspiration' from this idea
Business Jet Aerial Refueling Tankers Eyed By USAF

Business Jet Aerial Refueling Tankers Eyed By USAF
Abusiness jet converted into a tanker is among the options the U.S. Air Force has been considering as part of plans for a future aerial refueling ‘system of systems.’ The service is also still looking at stealthy designs and other options to meet its tanker needs going forward as the anti-air threat picture continues to expand and evolve.
A tanker converted from a business jet could offer a comparable cruising speed and service ceiling, but with lower operating and maintenance demands. It would also be able to take off and land from shorter runways and have more limited logistical needs, offering increased flexibility. The Air Force does currently envision future high-end operations centering on dispersed and distributed concepts of operations (CONOPS), collectively referred to as Agile Combat Employment (ACE), primarily to complicate enemy targeting cycles and reduce vulnerability. The U.S. Marine Corps has also been completely restructuring its forces around similar CONOPS in recent years.
At the same time, those comparative benefits come at the cost of maximum range and on-station time, and especially to the core of its entire reason for being — the total fuel available to offload to receivers. This could be offset to a degree by being able to fly from airstrips closer to operating areas. If the business jet-based tanker is itself able to refuel in mid-air, it could be utilized as one part of a multi-tier hub-and-spoke concept.
It’s also worth noting here that not every mission necessarily requires a full airliner-sized tanker. Business jet-based types could be used primarily to support more routine activities, especially in peacetime, like training and testing, and moving small numbers of fighters from point a to point b, freeing up larger tankers for more demanding operations. Simply not having to fly bigger tankers as often would also help reduce the wear and tear on those fleets.
Lower acquisition costs could also help the Air Force buy more business jet-based tankers. Depending on how they are configured, they could also be used as light transports when not needed for aerial refueling missions.

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Re: US military, technology, arms, tactics
Driscoll goes scorched earth on Army buying inertia
...
Driscoll castigated the Army for its reliance on outdated equipment, pointing to a photograph showing a soldier born in 2004 working on a computer system fielded in 1995, a decade before his birth.
“Meanwhile, Ukraine is updating its drone software every couple of weeks,” he said. “It is absolutely unconscionable that we would send soldiers to war with 30-year-old, obsolete systems. This is the inflection point where we turn it all around.”
...
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Driscoll also brought aircraft parts on to the stage: a fin for a UH-60 Black Hawk’s external fuel tank and a tiny Black Hawk screen control knob. The parts, he said, could be 3D-printed at higher quality for about $3,000 and $60 respectively, but cost $14,000 and $47,000 for full assembly replacements from the manufacturer. That amounted to $180,000 in unnecessary Army spending every month and months of delays, Driscoll said, and underscored the Army’s need to secure the right to repair its own equipment without losing manufacturer support. Driscoll ordered earlier this year that current and future Army contracts include this right.
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With accelerated efforts to field advanced manufacturing capabilities including 3D printing across the Army, he said, “soldiers will be able to download the schematic, manufacture it and install it all in the field.”...
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He cited other “disruptive” initiatives on display at the show, including a “Shark Tank”-like program to apply venture capital to Army tech initiatives, campus-style dining facilities and adoption of 3D-printed concrete structures to cut construction costs.
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