Iran War Update: Mines in the Strait of Hormuz

The mission of keeping the Strait of Hormuz safe from Iranian attacks on civilian ships is a burdensome and dangerous mission. The US needs to focus on protecting its carriers until the Iranian threat is further diminished.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIynxSI7ZQg

Iran’s drone swarms challenge US air defenses as troops in Middle East face rising threats

“High-end missile interceptors can run into the millions of dollars per shot.

Many of the drones they are designed to defeat are far cheaper and produced in large numbers — creating what defense officials have described as a growing “math problem” in modern warfare. The U.S. can end up firing expensive missiles at relatively inexpensive drones, a dynamic that becomes harder to sustain if attacks come in waves.

That imbalance is accelerating a push inside the Pentagon to expand a layered counter-drone strategy — combining short-range interceptors, electronic warfare tools and emerging technologies such as high-energy lasers.

For U.S. forces in the region, larger drone waves increase the odds that defenses are stretched, and that even one drone could reach a base or ship.

This marks the first sustained confrontation in which U.S. forces are facing large-scale, state-backed drone waves as a central feature of the battlefield — forcing commanders to adapt in real time and draw on lessons learned from Ukraine, where mass-produced Shahed drones reshaped air defense strategy.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/iran-drone-swarms-challenge-us-090020438.html

How much is the Iran war costing taxpayers? Here’s what estimates show

“The first six days of war in Iran cost U.S. taxpayers at least $11.3 billion in munitions alone, according to Pentagon estimates reviewed by lawmakers, and experts say the ongoing cost could increase exponentially. That total does not include the cost of operating and maintaining the military force engaged in the war or battle damage sustained from Iran’s attacks.

While initial cost estimates of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were around $50 to $60 billion, they ended up costing a combined $8 trillion, according to analysis by Costs of War.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/much-iran-war-costing-taxpayers-212311982.html

Iran’s military is split up into regional commands that each have the resources to fight independently if they lose contact with leaders or the rest of the country.

Iran’s military is split up into regional commands that each have the resources to fight independently if they lose contact with leaders or the rest of the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBf3-opjhbk

US military leaders are encouraging Christianity among their troops and justifying the war using Christian rhetoric and ideology.

US military leaders are encouraging Christianity among their troops and justifying the war using Christian rhetoric and ideology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbhdEcOxfkw

Iran’s 5,000 Drones a Month? Here’s Why That’s Fake

Producing Iran’s shahed drone requires many advanced components. Logistic supply lines need to remain open for Iran to continue producing many of those. Not only can the US and Israel bomb the factorites themselves, but it can also disrupt these supply lines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv64arOPMhY

Why the U.S. Gamble in Iran Is Much Bigger Than It Seems

W Bush focusing on fighting insurgencies while China was rising, led to the US not having the military industrial base and stockpiles of certain munitions. If the US uses too many munitions fighting Iran, it will be greatly weakened for a fight against China. This also weakens US deterrence against China.

However, if Iran is in too much chaos to pump oil, or if it is friendly enough with the US that in the event of a China-US war it would not sell oil to China, that would be a huge advantage in starving China of oil in the event of a war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupwKXGd54g

F-35 scored its first air-to-air victory against a piloted jet. They have shot down drones and cruise missiles before. 

F-35 scored its first air-to-air victory against a piloted jet. They have shot down drones and cruise missiles before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5im1oct6Cw

Looks like a Kuwaiti pilot, trying to defend against Iranian drones that were hitting his country, mistaked three American planes for attacking drones and shot them down.

Looks like a Kuwaiti pilot, trying to defend against Iranian drones that were hitting his country, mistaked three American planes for attacking drones and shot them down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSU7wSQl1-o

It’s not clear that the administration has a real strategic plan here.

It’s not clear that the administration has a real strategic plan here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuqOeWpNohM