The Afterburn Podcast

A US F-35 was forced into an emergency landing at a US airbase in the Middle East after being struck by suspected Iranian fire during a combat mission over Iran. CENTCOM confirmed the emergency landing and that the pilot is in stable condition — but has not confirmed what hit it or whether it was enemy fire.

 

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Iran struck Dubai International Airport for the fourth time — the busiest international airport in the world. Flights suspended. Every major international carrier pulled out. War risk premiums are up somewhere between 300 and 1,000 percent depending on the source. Emirates was still running a limited schedule, and I want to talk about what that means for a flight crew managing fuel state and divert options in an active threat environment. 

We also cover why the reduced Iranian drone and missile launch numbers may not mean what officials are saying they mean — War on the Rocks published an interesting piece on this worth walking through. Pre-war estimates put Iran's drone inventory somewhere between several thousand and over 10,000. The math on that matters. 

And then the ally situation. Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Australia, Poland — all out on securing the Strait of Hormuz. Japan and South Korea reviewing but uncommitted. The UK won't send warships and won't call it a NATO mission. President Trump responded this morning with a direct statement about letting the countries that use the Strait be responsible for it.

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Day 13 of Operation Epic Fury. General Caine and Secretary Hegseth briefed this morning and several details aren't getting enough coverage. CENTCOM confirmed all six crew members of the KC-135 mishap have been killed.  Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/6dMaKZ_8CuE

 From the briefing: ATACMS — Army Tactical Missile Systems fired from HIMARS — have been used to sink multiple Iranian ships, including a submarine in port. That's a ground-launched ballistic missile being used as an anti-ship weapon and it's a significant shift in how this war is being fought. Today is also the heaviest strike day of the entire campaign by Caine's own account, with over 6,000 targets struck and 99% of today's munitions being delivered overhead — not standoff. That's a permissive environment.

 We also cover the Strait of Hormuz situation — at least six civilian seafarers killed, tanker traffic down more than 90%, and Caine's direct quote: "The only thing preventing commercial traffic through the Straits right now is Iran. They are the belligerents here." Sources and links in the comments.

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In Bro Chat #21, Mike "FLASH" McVeigh, John "RAIN" Waters, Jeff "VADER" Brandon, Jeff "BENDER" Page, and Kevin "KONAN" Parkhurst debate the greatest fighter pilots in American history — and can't fully agree on a single mountain. 

Robin Olds is a given. Everything else is up for grabs. 

From Royce Williams' classified Korean War sortie to Richard Bong's 40 kills in a P-38, from John Boyd's OODA loop to Eddie Rickenbacker setting the standard in WWI — we make the case, defend the picks, and violently disagree in the comments section. Who did we miss? Drop your Mount Rushmore below

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