Iran destroyed an American E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft during a missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia

[QP!]

You need to add one more pane which is Magats saying 'Death to American soldiers' as they send them on pointless wars while showing the Magats clapping like seals also saying 'we support you in your death'.

Maybe add in a 'thoughts and prayers'. Oh ya and then make sure the Magat govt tries to cut their VA benefits for those who make it home wounded.

 

[QP!]

Which excuses your decades old support for our enemies in no way, traitor.

I just want the US to engage in the Vietnam war again and afghanistan again. I 'support our troops' doing that.

Do you?

if not, why do you not support our troops?

 

[serendipity]

This incident significantly impacts the U.S. military's situational awareness and command capabilities in the region.

How Iran destroyed US base’s $500m battlefield nerve centre​

The mangled airframe of the four-engined US air force jet stands on the runway of Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia.

Amid the twisted metal, what looks like a large flying saucer lies upside down.

It is, or was, the rotating radar dome that usually sits above the E-3 Sentry, one of the jewels in America’s military crown – essentially a $500m (£375m) flying battlefield nerve centre that allows commanders to track everything in the air across hundreds of miles.

As of Friday morning, the United States had 16 of the vital but ageing Cold War-era aircraft, with roughly 40 per cent of the fleet deployed to the Middle East.

Now they have 15, after Iran attacked Prince Sultan with, it is believed, ballistic missiles and drones, injuring 12 US personnel, two seriously, and damaging up to five air-to-air refuelling tankers.

The point of impact, just where the radar dome attaches to the Sentry, suggests a precision strike by a drone, a more accurate weapon than a ballistic missile when used by Iran.

It also hints at a worrying level of intelligence on the part of Tehran.

On Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that Russia – already accused of sharing military information and hardware with Iran during the war – had taken satellite images of the Saudi base in the days before the strike.

“Do they [Russia] help Iranians?” the Ukrainian president said in an interview with NBC. “Of course. How many per cent? One hundred per cent.”

It is the latest of several successful Iranian hits on US bases in the region which, it emerged this week, had forced some personnel to evacuate to the relative safety of nearby offices and hotels.

Coming almost four weeks since the launch of Operation Epic Fury, a war Donald Trump promised would enable the Iranian people to overthrow the regime, the attack suggests the Pentagon underestimated the potency and resilience of Tehran’s offensive capability.

The destruction of an E-3 Sentry is a particular setback for United States Central Command (Centcom).

The ageing planes – the youngest of which was delivered in 1992 – known as airborne early warning and control aircraft are among the most precious assets in America’s conventional arsenal, able to track other aircraft, drones and missiles across a 250-mile radius.

A direct replacement for the high-tech aircraft would cost $500m in today’s money. However, there is no existing production line. Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail, the nearest equivalent, has a $700m price tag.

Commanders will have to consider how to protect the aircraft, just when maximum attention is needed to plan for a US ground assault on southern Iran, should Mr Trump give the order.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/iran-destroyed-us-500m-battlefield-183519547.html

View attachment 79655

Who's side are you fuckers on ?

 

[Walt]

It is odd, the Russian lost two and a half of their version of the AWACS with no way to build new ones. The Ukrainians went on to destroy two that were not in usable condition, but, in theory, maybe, could have been repaired.

The USA has lost one and a half, again the half one can probably be repaired. Again, there is no way to build a new one.

It appears the world has lost a significant number of AWACS style planes lately, with no replacements in the foreseeable future.

The replacement might be a fighter plane. AI, miniaturization, and drones might see a fighter plane controlling a swarm of drones. This swarm might cover hundreds or even thousands of square miles. The fighter plane would act like the command center, much like the AWACS. That would require the fighter plane to stand well back from any danger, and keeping the pilot safe.

It sounds great, until you realize it does mean that large amounts of the decisions would be made by AI. One pilot could not be making all those decisions. That means we will get more and more computers deciding what is and is not a target, and sometimes getting it wrong killing civilians.