Originally Posted By AlmightyTallest:



Devil is always in the details, if interested search for those details and build up a conclusion based on that, it may not be all the aircrafts fault.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GGUDwxMWkAA2fzl?format=jpg&name=900x900

Remember, NO aircraft has anywhere near 100% readiness rates:

In fiscal 2019, the F-22 fleet was the least ready among fighters at a rate of 50.57 percent. The F-35A had a rate of 61.60 percent, F-15Cs at 70.05 percent, F-15Es at 71.29 percent, and F-16 Cs at 72.97 percent.

otlg30  (@otlg30) February 27, 2024

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FirfTnoVsAAB9C3?format=png&name=900x900

Originally Posted By brass:


You can see crease lines in the fabric/plastic covering ath the nose, both vertically and backward diagonally.   I've seen model airplanes with better covering, any RC builder would start over if that's how their MonoKote turned out.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Unveiling_ceremony_of_Qaher-313_fighter_%2824%29.jpg

Originally Posted By sierra-def:



Somehow Serbians were able to catch a F-117.

Iraqi militias (Iraqi Resistance) issue a statement claiming responsibility for targeting Ovda Air Base wich is under the control of Israel.

Of course, these militias operate within a strategy of destabilizing the region in coordination with the IRGC, Houthi militias, and Hezbollah militias!

I say this early on, I won't be surprised if we see the return of Israeli airstrikes in Iraqi territory.

Press coverage: Occupation forces fire flare bombs into the sky of Tulkarm camp, coinciding with the ongoing military operation in Nour Shams camp.

Urgent| Red Crescent: Losing contact with our crews inside Nour Shams camp after two ambulances entered to deal with injuries more than 30 minutes ago, and coordination is underway with the Red Cross.

Originally Posted By cyclone:

Perfect HARM bait

Originally Posted By AlmightyTallest:

Significant Airstrikes by Unknown Aircraft have been reported against a Major Iranian-Backed Militia Base in the Babylon Governorate of Eastern Iraq to the South of Baghdad. pic.twitter.com/V6XTL5gu9Y

OSINTdefender  (@sentdefender) April 19, 2024

Originally Posted By Cypher15:
Used the same route night after night so they had a very slight idea of where to fire after the bomb bay opened and closed.

Originally Posted By brass:


Looking at the antenna elements, it's "long wave" radar, back to the 50s/60s era tech that runs in the VHF (500 ish MHz) range, rather than X-Band or Ka-Band which are in the higher 8-40 GHz range (8000 MHz-40000Mhz).  The smaller wavelength allows better precision resolution of the target.   If the frequency is too low, the airplane is missed due to the long wavelength, which is the maximum precision that it can get.    Hobbyists have made Passive Radar using all the FM Radio stations as the transmitters and catching the echos from them and correlating to remove noise and see aircraft flying over that don't have their transponders on.  That's really geeking out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n1bRgVFafA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n1bRgVFafA

The original Stealth is meant to defeat the GHz range radar, but I'm pretty sure the latest are not as susceptible to long wave radar as the F-117 and earlier stealth were, the Soviets discovered their older equipment could see some stealth aircraft.  

The other tech to help find stealth planes is Bistatic Radar which uses a transmitter far separated from the receiver (by tens of miles) to catch reflections that were redirected and not absorbed by the skin of the craft.   The system the guy is standing in front of could be a Russian bi-static radar system  Which might use both lower frequencies in addition to multiple transmit/receive locations with a data link between them.

Originally Posted By BM1455:
They should do it again tonight too.

Originally Posted By AlmightyTallest:

Iranian-Linked Groups are already placing the Blame for tonight’s Explosion and apparent Airstrikes at the Base of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) to the South of Baghdad on the United States and Israel.

OSINTdefender  (@sentdefender) April 19, 2024

Originally Posted By Muricha:


Wow, your really invested.

I didn’t see anywhere that mentioned it ‘being the aircraft’s fault’.

If you had done some research, you may have concluded that the gov outsourced everything to Lockeed Martin.

I have no fucks to give. If I needed advice from an internet expert, I would have asked.
Now go play with your models.

Originally Posted By Muricha:
That’s bait.

No more thread sliding for me tonight.

Originally Posted By michigan66:

Supposedly the Serbs had plane spotters outside Aviano who "called ahead" when our guys took off.

BAGHDAD — A huge blast rocks a military base used by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces to the south of Baghdad, two PMF and two security sources tell Reuters.

The two security sources say the blast was a result of an unknown airstrike, which happened around midnight.

The two PMF sources point out the strikes did not lead to casualties but caused material damage. However, an Iraqi interior ministry source quoted by AFP says the “bombing” killed one person and wounded eight others.

Sources in the PMF, also known as the Hashed al-Shaabi, say the strikes targeted a headquarters of the Iran-backed grouping of militias at the Kalso military base, near the town of Iskandariya around 50 kilometers south of Baghdad.

One said killed in ‘bombing’ of Iraqi military base used by pro-Iran militias

Originally Posted By armoredman:

NATO reporting name, Pencil Dick.

Originally Posted By Muricha:
YouTube is showing significant strikes in Iraq.
They are making some big claims and that  it’s been going on for 3 hrs.
(Israel bombing the shit out of IRAQ.
I don’t know if the source is reputable, just passing along info.
Here’s the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa13PL2gc9g



The Enforcer is the channel and its live stream now.

Key Takeaways:

Gaza Strip
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Air Force struck military infrastructure in the northern Gaza Strip.  The 215th Artillery Brigade (162nd Division) and IDF Air Force struck rocket launchers and a weapons depot in Beit Lahia.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) launched two rocket salvos at Ashkelon.

Palestinian militias conducted several indirect fire attacks on the northern Gaza Strip.  The al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades mortared Israeli vehicles southeast of the Zaytoun neighborhood in southeastern Gaza City.  PIJ fired rockets targeting Israeli forces and Israeli positions east and southeast of Gaza City.

Israeli forces are conducting raids in southeastern Gaza City to secure the Netzarim corridor,

The Nahal Brigade (162nd Division) killed several Palestinian fighters in the central Gaza Strip on April 19.  The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular leftist Palestinian group fighting alongside Hamas in the war, fired rockets targeting Israeli forces in the east of the central Gaza Strip.

The IDF Air Force struck approximately 25 military targets to support IDF ground forces operating in the Gaza Strip on April 19.  The targets included military buildings, observation posts, and rocket launchers.

PIJ launched a second salvo of rockets from the Gaza Strip targeting Ashkelon in southern Israel

West Bank
Israeli forces engaged fighters from several Palestinian militias, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), during an operation in the Nour Shams Refugee Camp, Tulkarm.

The IDF reported three Israeli soldiers sustained injuries during clashes with Palestinian fighters who used small arms and improvised explosive devices (IED).  Palestinian sources reported that Israeli forces killed at least five Palestinians, including a senior commander in PIJ’s Tulkarm Battalion.

Israeli forces have engaged Palestinian fighters in at least four locations in the West Bank including multiple engagements in Nour Shams refugee camp.  The al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades fired small arms targeting Israeli forces near an Israeli settlement north of Hebron.

Southern Lebanon and Golan Heights
Lebanese Hezbollah conducted at least seven attacks from southern Lebanon into northern Israel.  Hezbollah targeted Israeli surveillance equipment in three attacks using unspecified weapons.

The IDF 869th Combat Intelligence Battalion (91st Division) identified Hezbollah fighters in Aita al Shaab, southern Lebanon, and directed an airstrike targeting them.[56] Hezbollah announced that one of its fighters died but did not provide further details.

Iraq
Waad al Sadiq Secretary General Mohammad al Tamimi criticized the Shia Coordination Framework for supporting Iraqi President Mohammed Shia al Sudani’s visit to Washington, DC.

Iran (Detailed discussion on Israeli strike on Iran in spoiler below)
Israel conducted retaliatory airstrikes targeting an Artesh Air Force base in Esfahan City, Esfahan Province, Iran, in response to Iran’s April 13 drone and missile attack targeting Israel.

An online shipping tracker confirmed that the IRGC intelligence gathering ship, the Behshad, returned to Bandar Abbas port, Hormozgan province, Iran, on April 18.  Bloomberg reported on April 18 that the Behshad left the Red Sea on April 4 to return to Iran.  The Behshad provides the Houthi movement with real-time intelligence, enabling them to target ships that have turned off transponders.

Syria
Israel likely conducted airstrikes targeting Syrian Arab Army (SAA) air defenses and other positions in Daraa Province.

Political Negotiations
Unspecified US and Saudi officials told the Wall Street Journal that the United States is attempting to negotiate a deal in which Israel would recognize Palestinian statehood in exchange for diplomatic recognition from Saudi Arabia.

Exclusive |
DUBAI—Hamas’s political leadership is looking to move from its current base in Qatar, as U.S. legislators build pressure on the Gulf state to deliver on cease-fire negotiations that look likely to fail.

If Hamas left Qatar, the move could upend delicate talks to free dozens of Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza and likely make it more difficult for Israel and the U.S. to pass messages to a group designated by Washington as a terrorist organization. Hamas leaders have lived in Doha, the Qatari capital, since 2012 in an arrangement supported by the U.S.

Arab officials said that in recent days the group has contacted at least two countries in the region asking if they would be open to the idea of its political leaders relocating to their capitals. Oman is one of the countries that was contacted, one Arab official said. Omani officials didn’t respond to a request for comment. Arab officials said Hamas believes the slow-moving hostage negotiations could last for months, putting the group’s close ties to Qatar and its presence in Doha at risk.

“The talks have already stalled again with barely any signs or prospects for them to resume any time soon, and distrust is rising between Hamas and the negotiators,” said an Arab mediator familiar with the situation.

In recent weeks, mediators from Qatar and Egypt have pressured Hamas representatives to get the group to soften its conditions. At times, Hamas leadership received threats of expulsion if it failed to agree to a deal releasing hostages.

“The possibility of the talks being upended entirely is very real,” said another Arab mediator.

Qatar, a Persian Gulf monarchy the size of Connecticut, has long worked to end Gaza wars and boost aid to Palestinians, building trust with the combatants and familiarity with their negotiating tactics. In the past six months, it has brought those relationships to bear on one of the world’s thorniest diplomatic crises, demonstrating its value as a U.S. ally while raising its profile as the Middle East’s indispensable mediator.

But Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, recently said the Gulf state was reassessing its role as mediator between Israel and Hamas. He cited what he said was unfair criticism of Qatar’s efforts to end the war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said pressure should be applied on Qatar, which played a significant role in mediating November’s truce and prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel.

“There are limits to this role and limits to the ability to which we can contribute to these negotiations in a constructive way,” the Qatari leader said at a news conference. “The state of Qatar will make the appropriate decision at the right time.”

Never before has Qatar’s decadelong relationship with Hamas, which is committed to violent resistance to Israeli occupation, come under such scrutiny. The attacks on Oct. 7, when Gaza militants, according to Israeli authorities, killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped over 200 others, have raised suggestions in Israel that Qatar might have been partly responsible because of its ties with Hamas.

Some U.S. lawmakers and Israeli politicians have for months called on the White House to force Qatar to cut ties with Hamas and face punitive action for what they say amounts to support for terrorism.

Qatari and U.S. officials deny the terrorism allegations. They say Qatar has coordinated with Israel on its previous engagements with Hamas, and Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, has praised its recent diplomacy following the Oct. 7 attacks.

The officials say Hamas political leaders are in Doha at Washington’s request and would otherwise end up in a location where it is harder for Western officials to communicate with them, such as Iran or Syria. Qatar’s ability to engage with Hamas is crucial, since U.S. and European officials are prevented from contacting them directly by their governments’ classification of the group as a terrorist organization.

Israel and Hamas remain far apart on issues such as when Israeli forces would leave Gaza and how many Palestinians forced from their homes by Israeli evacuation orders will be able to return, the officials said. Hamas has also said it is unsure whether it could produce 40 Israeli civilian captives as part of a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal. That stance has complicated talks toward a possible cease-fire in the six-month-old war that has left much of Gaza in ruins, according to Arab officials familiar with the negotiations.

Health officials in Gaza say more than 33,000 people, most of them women and children, have been killed there since the start of the war, without distinguishing between civilians and militants.

Israel and Hamas have rejected various proposals made through Egypt and Qatar following the end of the last cease-fire on Nov. 30, though they have previously largely agreed on a framework that includes several phases and a potential long-term cease-fire.

Qatar’s ability to maintain ties with Hamas—as it does with other radical groups such as the Taliban and states including Iran and Venezuela—reflects a difficult balancing act in a world in which the U.S. increasingly demands that its friends take unequivocal stances with it and against an array of enemies. This hereditary monarchy hosts one of America’s largest foreign military bases.

Pressure from U.S. legislators has been building on Qatar to extract more concessions from Hamas or sever ties with the organization.

Earlier this month, Sen. Ted Budd (R., N.C.) introduced a bill to consider terminating Qatar’s status as a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally unless it expelled all Hamas members or agreed to extradite them to the U.S. The status, which opens the door to more military exercises, joint operations and potential arms sales, was granted by President Biden in 2022 after Qatar helped facilitate the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan.

“Failure to take action against Hamas is beginning to look like tacit support for a foreign terrorist organization designated by the United States,” Budd said in a statement.

The Qatari Embassy in Washington called the bill disappointing and unhelpful. “Especially in this delicate moment in our region, it is reckless to undermine the partnerships that America and its allies have built carefully over decades,” it said in a statement.

Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, objected to the bill, saying that while it is uncomfortable for an ally to have a relationship with Hamas, kicking its leaders out of Doha would guarantee that the hostages are never released because there would be no alternative negotiating channel. He said the bill would endanger U.S. interests in the Middle East, predicting that such a move would have an impact on America’s base in Qatar and the Gulf state’s purchases of U.S. arms.

“They are an imperfect ally,” Murphy said. “This is a repressive regime with a bad history on human rights and worker rights, but they are a critical ally.”

He said Qatar hosted Hamas after a request from the U.S. in 2012, later sent money to Hamas at Israel’s request and helped negotiate cease-fires over the past decade.

Israeli officials have for months been lobbying Egypt, which communicates directly with Hamas’s military wing and often with its political leadership, to take a bigger role in hostage talks, citing concern that Qatar wasn’t putting enough pressure on Hamas in Doha.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D., Md.), the former Democratic leader in the House, said in recent days that Qatar should pressure Hamas to release the hostages by cutting off funding to the group or kicking its political leaders out of Doha. “If Qatar fails to apply this pressure, the United States must re-evaluate its relationship with Qatar,” he said in a statement.

The Qatari Embassy in Washington responded by saying Doha is “only a mediator” and that Israel and Hamas are entirely responsible for reaching an agreement. It said that Qatar is frustrated by the slow progress of the talks and is tempted to walk away from them, but that it isn’t giving up on freeing the hostages.

A U.S. official said the Qataris have been clear that when the U.S. wants to have a conversation about ending Hamas’s presence in Doha, Qatar would be ready “to do what’s best” for the bilateral relationship.

Many Israelis fear Qatar’s relationship with Hamas could thwart attempts to destroy the group. Some say that Qatar’s humanitarian aid helps Hamas, even if unintentionally, by freeing the group to spend its money on militant activities.

The Qataris say Hamas trusts them because they have no direct stake in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Their backing of other Islamist groups during the Arab Spring uprisings bolstered credibility with Hamas, according to regional analysts, while Doha-based Al Jazeera television provides sympathetic coverage of the Palestinian cause and amplifies the group’s messaging.

A Qatari negotiator, Abdullah Al Sulaiti, helped coordinate the Gaza war’s November truce. Photo: Imad Creidi/Reuters
A U.S. official said earlier this year that Qatar has used its relationship and ability to speak with Hamas to urge the group toward a reasonable position to advance the negotiations with Israel but that the split between Hamas’s political leadership in Doha and military leadership in Gaza made it difficult to achieve results.

“Our priority is the hostages, especially the American hostages, and we understand that to gain their freedom, it’s important that Qatar be able to have a conversation with Hamas,” said the official. “I don’t think that anyone believes there’s a future for Hamas in Doha. The Qataris understand and are not clamoring for Hamas to stay or be there.”

The IDF has been carrying out a counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank's Nur Shams refugee camp for more than 40 hours now, the military says.

Amid the raid near Tulkarem, at least 10 gunmen have been killed and eight wanted Palestinians have been detained, according to the IDF.

The IDF says the troops also discovered and destroyed a bomb-making lab, and seized firearms, including assault rifles.

Eight soldiers and a Border Police officer have been wounded so far amid the operation. They are listed in light and moderate conditions.

Last night, the IDF says it struck sites in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun following rocket fire from the area at the southern city of Sderot.

The targets included an underground rocket launcher, the military says.

According to the IDF, several rockets were fired at Sderot, although only one managed to cross the border. It was then shot down by the Iron Dome.

Dozens more targets in the Gaza Strip were hit by Israeli fighter jets and drones over the past day, including gunmen and buildings used by terror groups, the IDF adds.

One member of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces was killed and eight wounded in an explosion at its command post on the Kalso military base 50 km (30 miles) south of Baghdad, a military statement said on Saturday.

There were no drones or fighter jets detected in the airspace of the Babylon area before or during the blast, the military confirmed in a statement.

Originally Posted By BM1455:

The Iranian State Media Outlet, Student News Network (SNN) is reporting that Iran is set to receive its First Batch of roughly 24 Su-35 “Flanker-E” Air Superiority Fighters from Russia sometime next Week; with this Delivery marking a Massive Upgrade for the Aging Aircraft Fleet… pic.twitter.com/S5rEgGiuZY

OSINTdefender  (@sentdefender) April 20, 2024