Late yesterday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) at around 4:00 ET launched “Operation Hawkeye” against ISIS forces across Syria. This operation is a response to last Saturday’s attack in the city of Palmyra on US partner forces that led to the death of two U.S. Iowa National Guard soldiers- Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29.
CENTCOM claims to have launched strikes using artillery, attack helicopter and fighter jets, and along with fighter jets from the Royal Jordanian Air Force struck over 70 targets across Syria.
F-15E “Strike Eagle” Multirole Strike Fighters and A-10C Thunderbolt II “Warthog” Close-Air Support Attack Aircraft, and AH-64E “Apache” Attack Helicopters launching for strikes in Syria.
“This operation is critical to preventing ISIS from inspiring terrorist plots and attacks against the U.S. homeland.” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region.”
U.S. soldier writes the names of the two Iowa national Guard who were killed in last week’s ISIS affiliated attack on Saturday.
CENTCOM says the operation utilized over 100 precision munitions to target know ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites.
Video showing what is believed to be the launch of US ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) ballistic missiles.
Video of some of the strikes was posted by CENTCOM several hours after the strike.
Locals in a central Syrian town caught a glimpse of an A-10 roaring overhead.
Recently released images show the damage after an Iranian attack on the U.S. Al Udeid airbase. The June 23rd ballistic missile attack was mostly intercepted, video of which can be seen here.
Qatari residents watch as US air defenses take out incoming Iranian ballistic missiles.
Al Udeid is a large military complex and is currently the forward operating base for US Central Command and the USAF Central Command and several air squadrons as well as one from the Royal Air Force. Al Udeid has been an important US instillations since after Desert Storm when a Defense Cooperation Agreement was signed and the base was built in 1996. The U.S. kept the base somewhat secret until the early 2000’s when it was used to launch missions into Afghanistan. Since then the base has remained an important strategical command post for US forces in the Middle East.
The Iranian attack on June 22nd was being carried out for several reasons but mainly as retaliation for the U.S.’s strike on Iran’s nuclear sites several days earlier. On a deeper level the retaliation was planned because Iran needed to appear to remain strong in front of their allies and the rest of the world. Not striking back, for them, was not an option.
Hours before the attack the US was made aware of the planned attack by the Qatari government who were told by Iranian officials. This gave the US enough warning that no lives were lost.
Above shows a before image of the exact area that received damage. What you’re looking at is a satellite antenna for the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) network. It is not a radar as some have reported.
Here is what it looks like on the inside.
Inside the radar dome at Al-Udeid.
Several days after the attacks this is what the same spot looked like.
The back circle is the remains of the radar dome and dish.
Looking closer with photos from the ground …
We knew several days ago that the site had received damage but having pictures from the ground is always a bonus.
Fixing the damage will be a high priority for the forces at the base. It’s a fairly new system made by L3Harris so it’s likely expensive. I’m the interim it’s possible a smaller version of the same model can be brought in to take care of their immediate communication needs.
According to US President Donald Trump, the attack last night at about 2:00 am (local time) on three of Iran’s nuclear sites was a success. Speaking to Fox News an hour or so after the attack Trump said that a total of six of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator- a 30,000 pound, GPS guided, “bunker buster” on Fordow others were used elsewhere. The bombs were dropped by USAF B-2 Spirit stealth bombers into Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. It was later reported that 7 bombers total took part in the strike, as well as a support package provided by CENTCOM.
The Natanz and Isfahan Nuclear facilities were hit with 30 BGM-109 “Tomahawk” land-attack cruise missiles (TLAM) fired from the USS Georgia (SSGN 729).
The result, Trump claims, was the complete destruction of all three plants.
Satellite images from the awesome people over at Planet labs shows us the impact spot for the GBU-57’s.
Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility several months ago. Fordow image taken today, the morning after the attack 06/22/2025) .
These next images show the spot a little better. From Maxar.
This one clearly shows the impact crater where the bomb burrowed its way through the soil and into the mountain. The ridge of the mountain is different in this video showing just how destructive the blast actually was.
This last image below is from Maxar as well and shows the 6 holes left by the bunker busting behemoths as they slammed through the mountain.
You can see the entrance holes from six individual bomb in this zoomed in image of the site. The holes are in two groups fairly close together.
In this image we can see just how accurate a B-2 launched GBU-57 MOP really is. Being GPS guided, they can almost put one in the hole left by one of the others. As a B-2 can carry two of these bombs it would appear that at least three of the stealth bombers took part in this strike. My thinking is that the two made their individual drops and the third one put one more on top of each group. Total it’s being reported that 14 of the bunker busting bombs were used according to Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Cain.
In the weeks and days leading up to the strikes satellite images show a large number of trucks in site leading analysts to believe that a large portion of the valuable equipment had been moved from Fordow. In the following pictures 16 trucks can be seen with heavy equipment located near the entrance.
The strikes were proceeded by a reported heavy wave of GPS jamming and other electronic interference. I haven’t heard exactly what support craft took part in this mission. The F-35 is capable of Electronic Warfare as is the EA-18G Growlers flying from the US aircraft carriers in the region. The electronic jamming added to the stealth feature of the bombers and Iran reportedly never got a shot off at them. Another suspected factor that’s come up is that it’s being reported that Israel destroyed the air defense around Fordow, specifically, at the request of the U.S. administration. This is a closer coordination between the two countries militaries than most suspected, given some of the recent comments through the media. Israeli officials had stated just hours before the attack that Israel would not wait for the two week deadline that Trump gave himself to make a decision.
That decision was apparently made in the very last minutes as the bombers were in the air over Iran, US president Donald Trump have the order to SECDEF Pete Hegseth to bomb the facilities.
In the aftermath of the strike Iranian officials were livid. Iran’s foreign minister accused Washington of crossing “a very big red line” and that the U.S. would face consequences. US officials, like SECDEF Pete Hegseth messaging on this has remained focused on the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities, as they try to separate Americas goals from those of Israel who likely seeks complete regime change.
“the United States is not at war with Iran….We are at war with its nuclear ambitions,”
US Vice President JD Vance.
Iran responded to the attacks by launching a ballistic missile attack in Tel Aviv several hours later, one of the largest since the start of hostilities.
Israel today, has continued its strikes on Iran with reports of strikes in Tehran as well as Tabriz.
Thanks for reading. Your support is always appreciated and your shares of my articles and post helps grow this page giving us more resources to continue to out back into it. As GCR continues to grow I’m looking to expand into making a podcast. If you know anybody with knowledge or experiences that are relevant to what we write about here let me know. -Scott
In connection to the sudden large wave of aerial refueling tankers spotted leaving the continental US and heading East over the Atlantic and into Europe, the US has announced it is deploying several fighter squads into the Middle East.
According to reports the fighters have already left and likely have already arrived.
Statement released on social media from SECDEF Pete HegsethThe tankers as they left the US and headed across the Atlantic. Final landing position.
The tankers were previously spotted on the publicly available ADS-B where their location can be tracked so long as the military pilots leave it on. The capability to turn it off is included for missions of a more secret nature. The fact that the locations are turned on is an indication that US military leadership knows people are watching and is attempting to deter any potential enemy’s (Iran). Around 39 tankers total have left from the U.S. since July 15th.
Tankers location as of an hour ago.
The F-22 are reported to have been launched or are preparing to launch from Langley AOR force base in Virginia. Langley houses 3 F-22 squadrons, the 1st Fighter Wing and 192nd Fighter Wing. We don’t yet know if the F-22s have left yet but we do know that a l C-17 Globemaster III landed at RAF Mildenhall rhat had departed from Langley.
The C-17 Globemaster III that landed at RAF Mildenhall on Jun. 17, 2025
While the C-17 isnt a tanker these massive general cargo planes are used when a squadron or similar moves to a new location. It would be hauling weapons and some of the other administrative equipment needed. More of these flights are likely on the way.
The F-35’s are believed to be either the Vermont Air National Guard or the 48th FW at RAF Lakenheath, in the UK. The 48th is the only F-35 squadron currently foward deployed so their proximity means they would arrive much sooner and be available for mission tasking as soon as you can load them up.
I don’t have much more than that for now but it looking more likely that the U.S. is going to get involved in Israel and Irans fighting. Well more so than they already are. It’s a fact that Israel has already had US military support in this conflict but up until this point that support has been purely defensive. U.S. assets have assisted in downing drones and missiles coming from Iran.
Reuters put out an article about this as well, their writer claimed to have talked to 3 defense department officials, 2 of them stresses the defensive nature of sending these fighters.
I’ve reached out to several of the squadrons mentioned as well as the pentagon for a statement, however nobody has got back to me, I’ll update if they do.
One other thing I’ll mention is the rumor of f-16s also being moved to the Middle East out of Italy but I have less info on that.
The U.S. currently has around 40,000 soldiers in the Middle East. That’s combined everybody from air force to infantry and all the logistics and support crew jn between .
Thank you for reading! I’m always available for questions or comments and can be reached by email or through any of my social media pages. Your support helps grow this page as well as supports independent journalism and reporting. I’d also like to thank the people who send me tips and heads ups, as well as other reporters who I sourced to help write this any many other articles. Journalism is a team effort in the end. I’ve always felt it’s not about being first it’s about being right. Any spelling mistakes are there to give the article character.
A lot is happening in the Middle East today as the state department have put U.S. diplomats and embassies on alert that they could be evacuated at any moment as the U.S./Iran nuclear talks seem to be stalling after months of meetings.
If these talks fail it’s likely that Israel with or without US backing will launch military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities causing Iran to launch retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, utilizing conventional ballistic missiles, as well as drones. The deadline set by the U.S. for these nuclear talks roughly two months ago was two months. Time seems to be almost up for the question of what’s going to happen with Iran.
We’ve had some indication earlier this week as a load of anti drone missile that were earmarked for a shipment to Ukraine were sent to the Middle East. Some said this was the Trump administration pulling away from Ukriane however it seems more likely that the DoD views these assets as being mission critical right now.
So far only non essential staff have been evacuated however that is subject to change as things progress. When asked about this earlier today why military and government families and non critical staff were being evacuated he said that they would “ have to see, thank you”
Multiple unnamed U.S. officials who spoke to members of the media are saying that they doubt this weekends round of US and Iran talks will even happen. you can find that quote in WP.
The airspace around Iran has been subject to a heavy amount of t of GOs jamming. A thing that can be measured by looking at historical flight data of airplanes that flew close to the areas. This phenomenon is noticed a lot near Israel’s borders who were almost constantly jamming GPS signals during the war in Gaza. This is something we also see originating from Russia’s Kaliningrad however at a greater degree there.
You can see this planes course was incorrectly recorded near Baghdad. This is a tell tale sign of GPS jamming.
Speaking of air assets. I’m sure it will suprise almost nobody when I say that Iran has seen an uptick in aerial monitoring from the U.S. as of late. Reconnaissance and signals gathering platforms making daily trips around the countries borders.
Image shows a the flight tracks of a number of US recon and signals gathering platforms thag have done recent mission around or near Iran. Most of the planes stayed near the Iran Iraq border however it looks like some flew into Irans airspace.
The next bit we have is an advisory put out by the UKMTO or the UK Maritime Trade Organization.
This UKMTO goes out to mariners operating in the region and warns them away from the Strait of Hormuz due to “increased security tensions in the area that could affect mariners”.
While the U.S. presence in the Middle East isnt what it once was it still has the capability to retaliate if Iran starts launching ballistic missiles. On the 9th satellite flyovers at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean show that the base still holds at least 4 B-52s as well as at least 6 F-15s (along with some transport and refueling aircraft). Beyond that the USS Carl Vinson (CVN- 70) along with its CSG and carrier air wing 2.
I haven’t even mentioned everything. The U.S. still has some several thousand soldiers in the region along with multiple air squadrons spread across Iraq and Saudi Arabia and the rest of the gulf partner states.
Hey guys I just wanted to go a little less formal to say that I don’t know whats going to happen, but whatever it is feels like it’s coming soon. Some signs are there that we are coming to a point where decisions are going to be made regarding all of this we talked about above. My point is tensions for these players are high and when tensions are high things seem to happen. Anyway for now we wait and see. -Scott
The U.S. Air Force has sent several F-15 fighters to the base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The fighters are being deployed to help protect the isolated base as well as the important strategic asserts currently deployed there.
In recent months the base has been the subject of many talks as the arrival of a number of long range strategic bombers was noted by analysts. Satellite imagery taken in late March shows at least 4 B-2 Spirit long range stealth bombers.
Image taken in late March showing some of the B-2s as well as the refueling aircraft.
The bombers were used to strike targets in Yemen before the White House announced thag the U.S. had completed its mission in the region (to the dismay of Israel and several other American partners in the region).
The B-2s have reportedly since left the base but for a time their presence overlapped with that another titan of American air power, 4 B-52H’s that are currently still stationed at the base as of writing.
At the time this article was started their was believed to be 4 F-15’s that had been moved to the Indian Ocean to help protect the island base and the bombers however TWZ (Who originally broke this story) have since wrote another article and added two more fighters bringing the total to six. While official sources decline to state where the F-15s were moved from, open source trackers believe the jets came from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. This belief comes from watching the flight tracking data. While fighter jets don’t usually broadcast their live position through ADS-B, the refueling aircraft often do and can be tracked.
Kadena airbase in Japan is located 4,000 miles away from the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean.
Last month Kadena received a contingent of F-15E’s forward deployed from the 336th Fighter Squadron (FS) (Also called the Rocketeers) at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina. Their relatively close proximity to an otherwise remote island makes them ideal candidates for this ACE force protection mission.
“As the Keystone of the Pacific, Kadena is a pivotal hub for Agile Combat Employment (ACE),” from an Air Force press briefing on the deployment of the 336th to Kadena.“The 18th Wing will continue to receive rotational units that strengthen capabilities, such as ACE, and project combat power in concert with allies and partners.”
From The War Zone on ACE (From the article that originally broke this story).
‘ACE is a term that currently refers to a set of concepts for distributed and disaggregated operations centered heavily on short notice and otherwise irregular deployments, often to remote, austere, or otherwise non-traditional locales.’
Diego Garcia is one of the most “Austere or otherwise non traditional locales” while still being critically important to Department of Defense operations in the region. While remote the base is used for multiple different DoD needs such as hosting space force activities, being an important navy port(Especially to the nuclear submarine fleet) and using its lagoon as a shelter for the Sealift Command Prepositioning Ship Squadron.
While the bases remote location protects it from attack, some have suggested that Iran would be capable of hitting the base using missile carrying smaller warheads. Besides Iran, other peer and near-peer adversaries and potential adversaries have the ability to carry out longer range strikes using bombers, drones or missiles, making the presence of these fighters a welcome sight.
The War Zone originally broke this story, go check them out, their articles have always been a huge inspiration and they do some really amazing work.
Thank you for taking the time to read and for your constant support. I wouldn’t be here without you all. To further support my work I would invite you to sign up for my Patreon, where I will be releasing some podcast episodes very soon. Membership and access to the podcast is $1 a month. I wanted to keep it cheap as a thank you for joining me on this adventure and allowing me to do what I love.
Today according to the U.S. Navy an F/A-18 Super Hornet was lost overseas from the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). The jet and its two aviators were attempting to land when an “arrestment failure” occurred. The plane failed to catch it wire or the wire broke, either way the plane went off the end of the ahip causing the pilot and weapons officer to eject into the Red Sea.
Both pilot and weapons officer were picked up by a rescue helicopter from the Truman. They suffered minor injuries but are alive. The jet was not recovered.
This is the second loss of a Super Hornet this week. The first was caused by an accident during a high speed turn where the hanger crew lost control of the jet and a towing trailer. No injuries reported there.
Super Hornet and towing tractor.
The Truman was also reportedly fired upon earlier on Tuesday according to CNN. This was in the hours before the ceasefire was announced. I don’t believe the two events from today are related.
The F/A-18 cost around 70 million dollars.
Reached out to centcom for a statement, I’ll update with a response if received. I’ve had good luck when emailing them but it’s hit or miss with the DoD.
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After a months long bombing campaign against the Iranian backed Houthi terrorist in western Yemen, the White House has today announced that those strike will stop immediately. This was announced after Houthi leadership made contact with the U.S. leadership and according to trump agreed to stop striking ships in the Red Sea. This puts a close to “Operation Rough Rider” under president Trump as well as hundreds of strike carried out by the former Biden administration.
The announcement was made during Trump’s meeting with Canadian PM Mark Carney. The conversation with the Houthis had been had the night before.
“They have capitulated, but more importantly … we will take their word,” Trump said. “They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.”
It’s very likely Iran played a part in this turn. Possibly telling the Houthis to cease their actions against shipping following threats from the U.S. during the ongoing negotiations.
Trump wouldn’t say specifics on who he talked to only that the k do that the Houthis would be backing down came from “a good source”. The Houthis, reeling from yesterday’s attack by Israel released this statement yesterday.
“The operations of our armed forces will continue and the support by Yemen to Palestine will only end with the end of the aggression and siege against Gaza,” -Houthi statement from Al Masirah TV.
While the U.S. has agreed to stop bombing the Houthis, Israel is another matter and have carried out more strikes since what was reported yesterday. Locals in Yemen as well as the IDF report the bombing of Sana’a airport as well as various power stations, and another concrete factory. Videos included below.
CRAZY FOOTAGE 🔴
Full footage of the aftermath at Sana’a International Airport following IDF strikes.
Video showing the full footage of the aftermath of the attack on Sana’a international airport.
🚨 Breaking: Reports from Yemen that the entire international terminal of Sanaa Airport, including all airplanes there, have been destroyed pic.twitter.com/ehpwgh3Car
The U.S. has brought in a large amount of military assets to carry out its attacks against the Houthis. Currently from the navy two aircraft carriers are operating in the region, the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75), these ships are both escorted and supported by numerous destroyer squadrons and several cruisers, not to mention their air wings. Several other destroyers have been ordered to the region and are operating separately of the carrier strike groups. Also USS Gettysburg (CG-64) and USS Princeton (CG-59) both Ticonderoga class guided missile cruisers have also been ordered to the region as apart of Operation Prosperity Guardian and have been used to strike Houthi targets as well. At least one Ohio class submarine USS Georgia (SSGN-729) has been spotted in theater as well. The Air Force has sent a large number of planes to the region included F-35s and F-22s as well as B-2 Spirit bombers stationed at Diego Garcia. As of several hours ago a pair of B-52s were heading towards the region from the continental US. It’s likely at least some of these assets will remain in the CENTCOM area of responsibility as negotiations with Iran over their nuclear program continue. The White House and Trump have threatened to use military force if the negotiations fail.
Image from USNi news shows the current general location of the U.S. aircraft carriers.
The Truman just several days ago had its deployment to the Middle East extended by another week, to continue to keep up a high tempo of attacks against the Houthis. This could possibly be extended further if negotiations are unsuccessful.
After writing this it was announced that Oman had carried out the negotiations between the Houthis and the US. They had been the go between in the conversation which led to the U.S. ceasing it’s military strikes.
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The U.S. navy confirmed moments ago that an F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the USS Harry S. Truman and Carrier Air Wing 1 has been lost overseas during a towing operation in the carriers hanger bay. The super Hornet is a single seat fighter from the Knight Hawks” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136.
The aircraft was being towed around the hanger when the tow crew lost control of the aircraft and tractor and both were lost overboard.
“Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.”
-Statement from the Navy
Stock photo showing an F/A-18 and one of the towing tractors.
According to the statement no sailers were lost however one was injured in the incident. The carrier and her strike group remain mission capable and will continue operations in the Red Sea. For the past months the Red Sea has been the site of major operations against Houthi forces who have attacked international shipping. US forces have struck upwards of 800 targets over the course of the last month.
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On Friday, the US stuck at an the oil port at Ras Isa in one of the largest attacks in the group since the current U.S. administration launched its strikes.
Satellite images released afterwords show the extent of the damage. I screenshot from a news report on the strike.
From CENTCOM:
“U.S. forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years.”
The strike destroyed several oil storage tanks as well as a number of oil transport trucks. Also destroyed was the equipment to load and unload oil into ships.
Images showing the aftermath of the attack.
The Houthis claim the strike killed 74 people and injured another 171 others. They aired footage afterwords on their al-Masirah satellite news channel of the site showing blown up trucks and corpses strewn about the area. The Houthi denounced the strike as a “completely unjustified aggression.”
CENTCOM declined to answer specific questions on civilian casualties however said that “this strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen.”
This strike will likely have far reaching consequences for the Houthi as well as the people of Yemen. The U.S. is looking at this strike as a message to those who continue to supply the Houthis even through the sanctions. Iran is the biggest supporter of the group, however they also have done business with China and Russia.
The Ras Isa port was an important economic point for the country (as well as the Houthi group). The port is located in the Hodeida governorate along the Red Sea and is just off Kamaran Island which has seen heavy U.S. strikes in recent days.
Image from @Tankertrackers showing the site.
Twitter group @TankerTrackers has recently reported that vessels that were in the port at the time have been held under threat of violence from the Houthis who demand they not leave without unloading their cargo. They also note that the GALAXY LEADER (9237307) vessel is still being held in the port. The cargo vessel was hijacked on November 19, 2023.
Thank you for reading. I hope you get as much out of what I’m doing here as I get out of making these reports. If so I would invite you to join my Patreon. Doing that would help me more than I can describe. I’ve kept it as cheap as possible to become a member. It’s only a $1.00. However a dollar from even half of my Facebook followers would be a life changing amount of money for me and for this page.
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