Saturday, October 26, 2024

Israel -- For The Archives -- For The Grandkids -- And Especially For Olivia -- October 26, 2024

Locator: 48662ISRAEL.

Great summary, NY Times.  

Great summary, The WSJ.

Link here. Brings back a lot of wonderful memories. 

I had almost exactly 100 sorties in the F-15, all in Germany. I didn't track all my F-15 flights -- don't ask -- but the ones that were officially tracked by the USAF numbered about 100. It's hard to believe how incredibly versatile the F-15 remains.
The F-15 entered service (USAF) in 1976. Forty-eight years ago. Can that be correct? Someone check the arithmetic. In some respects, my hunch, warfighters prefer the F-15 to the F-22 and, without question, the F-16.
It would be interesting to know who / meet the flight surgeons assigned to these fighter squadrons. They have no idea how lucky they are ... or maybe they do. More from the linked article:


While assigned RAF Lakenheath, I was assigned to the F-111 and sat in the right seat -- the weapon systems operator / navigator. Many stories to tell. And note, the A-10 is still around, still firing depleted uranium rounds (link here). No two-seater A-10s manufactured so I never flew in the A-10 but almost every other a/c in the USAF inventory of note at during the 70s, 80s and 90s. 
You only get one chance at life; you only go through life once. I'm glad 30 years of my life was with the USAF. I honestly can't think of anything else I would have rather done in those years.
For more on all of this, see "Next Generation Weapons Technology." Posted October 13, 2024:
US F-15s arrive in Middle East as Israel preps Iran retaliation.
A new squadron of US F-15s arrived at an undisclosed base in the region this week as Washington works to stop Israel from escalating the fighting in a counterattack on Iran.
Another squadron of US Air Force F-15s arrived in the Middle East this week, the US military said, as Washington aims to persuade Israel not to launch a major counterattack in response to Iran's October 1, 2024, ballistic missile barrage against Israel.
The F-15s arrived at an undisclosed base in the region on Wednesday, US Central Command said. They join additional US F-16s that arrived earlier this month, bolstering US fighter squadrons already in the region including highly advanced stealth F-22 Raptors.
The United States also has several mid-air refueling tankers based in the region as well as an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Gulf of Oman within striking distance of Iran and Yemen. Several US Navy destroyers are also in the Red Sea and in the Mediterranean, where an amphibious-borne Marine Expeditionary Unit remains ready in case the United States orders the evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon.
If you have time for only one "thing" today -- go to "x" (aka twitter) and search Israel.

 


 


For Iran, that was an expensive (in terms of capability) excursion into Gaza.

NY Times provides nice coverage. But "x" has better pictures.

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