This morning(11.14.2025), the Greek owned, Marshall Islands flagged crude oil tanker M/V Talara was ambushed and seized by forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp(IRGC) while transiting the Gulf of Oman.
The M/V Talara departed from the port of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates(UAE), for a short trip to Singapore according to the ships AIS data which can be viewed publicly on maritime tracking services. The British maritime risk assessment group Vanguard reported that the ship was surrounded by Three Iranian IRGC fast attack craft while near the strait of Hormuz. Contact with the ship was lost at this time and at 8:22am local time the ship reportedly turned towards the direction of Iran. It’s last signal was around 12:06PM still on a course towards Iran.
Iranian fast attack patrol boats.
At the time of the incident a Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton with the U.S. Navy was present in the strait and was seen circling the area where the incident took place. According to media reports no damage or casualties are reported at this time.
Flight tracking data showing the MQ-4C Triton during the incident. This shows us where the ship was seized and turned towards Iran. The drone never went into Iran, interference can sometimes distort a flight path.
In a statement Columbia shipmanagement, the company who manages the ship said “The vessel, carrying a cargo of high-sulphur gasoil, was transiting the Indian Ocean during its passage from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates to Singapore when contact was lost at around 0822 local time on Friday, 14 November, 2025 approximately 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates.”
The company said they are working closely with the relevant authorities. They added “The safety of the crew remains our foremost priority,”
The ship is owned by the Greek Coronis Family Group of Companies. They have yet to release a statement of any kind.
Merchant vessels have been advised of the incident and warned to practice caution while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The ship is believed to be sitting in port somewhere in the Khuran (or Clarence) Strait, a smaller strait inside of the strait of Hormuz. Tomorrow’s satellite imagery should tell us more.
Khuran (or Clarence) Strait, where the ship is believed to be held.
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.
Right now 15 sailers are missing and presumed dead after Houthi forces carried out their second attack and subsequent sinking of a cargo ship in the Red Sea this week.
Image taken of the Eternity C frim 2019.
The Eternity C, a Greek-owned cargo vessel was attacked on Monday, one day after the attack on the ‘Magic Seas’, showing an increase in the Houthis willingness to attack shipping since the ceasefire with the U.S.
The attacks main thrust , according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operation, started around 1703 (5:03PM) on Monday. At that time the company security officer reported that the ship had been hit with multiple Rocket propelled grenade rounds and was being approached by multiple small craft. They had been in and out of fights with this group of boats for the past day as they attempted to get through the Red Sea.
10 minutes after the first UKMTO report Eternity C, reported that the vessel has sustained significant damage and has lost all propulsion. At this point the ship was surrounded and taking continuous fire from the small boats. The boat was completely overrun after that.
The Europeans unions defensive operation in the region- Operation Aspides, rescued several of the crew of the Eternity C floated in the water for 24 hours before a rescue could be made. The Yemeni Navy also responded to rescue survivors.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the assault, releasing several videos. One I’ve included as they are both very similar The ship is filmed as it slowly sinks after being struck with a missile which caused damage to the deck but did not cause the sinking. Holes caused by off screen damage can be seen at the ships water line.
The U.S. mission in government controlled parts of the Yemen, accused the Houthis of kidnapping many of the survivors of the ship who have yet to be found.
Update-
Of the crew, 10 were rescued, 3 were killed and 12 are suspected to have been kidnapped.
Several hours ago the M/S ‘Magic Seas‘ a Greek-flagged and Liberian registered cargo carrier traveling through the Red Sea was attacked by multiple Houthie boats who exchanged small arms fire at the ship in an attempt to hijack the vessel. The ships security team returned fire. During the course of the firefight the vessel was struck with an unknown (at the time) projectile which started a fire. The ships crew ultimately had to abandon their ship as its condition became dire.
Magic Seas set ablaze after an attack carried out by Houthi fighters.
This is the first attack from the Houthi rebels of Yemen since December of last year. They took credit shortly after the attack occurred,claiming it was in support of Palestinians in the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel.
When the attack occurred the ship was about nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodiedah. The report from the UKMTO says that at 1125 UTC the ahip came under attack from 8 skiffs carrying multiple fighters apiece that opened up with small arms fire and RPG’s, and also attacked with unscrewed drone boats.
Magic Seas.The first update from the UK Maritime Trade Operations informing of the attacks. An update from several hours later confirming that the ship was taking on water and the crew was abandoning ship.
In their statement, published on the Al Ansar Telegram channel, the Houthis claimed that the ship for the profile for ships that should be targeted. They also stated that four navel drones took part in the attack on the Magic Seas. They indicated that two of the drones collided with the port side of the ship which caused the fire.
Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea started in November 2023, In support of Hamas and their war against Israel in Gaza. Since then dozens of vessels have been attacked, most with Iranian supplied ballistic missiles fired from Yemen. Shipping company’s from most of the worlds nations have all had to weigh the options of a faster trip through the Red Sea and the danger of a Houthi missile attack, or a safer but much longer and more costly trip around the Horn of Africa. In total the Houthis managed to sink two ships- the M/S Tutor and M/S Rubymar and damaged many more. Four mariners have been killed total with many more being held hostage.
(By my memory over 30 ships were attack,possibly more.)
In 2024 the Biden administration started up near daily airstrikes against the Houthis targeting missiles and drone production sites, their launching infrastructure and military infrastructure, radar, and air defense. The changing of the US administration seen a change to the policy against the Houthis with a monthlong campaign of airstrikes being carried out in March.
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
As the US president Donald Trump is set to meet with his NSC National Security Council tonight (Saturday) Six US long range strategic stealth bombers, the B-2 spirit are being moved to a U.S. base in the Pacific. At least 6 of them were spotted by flight tracking software along with their refueling planes. They took off from Whiteman AFB in Missouri and refueled soon after leading some to believe that the planes were carrying a considerable amount of weight at takeoff.
Reuters spoke to several unnamed officials who said that no forward orders beyond Guam had been given yet.
These bombers were recently positioned at the joint British/US base in the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia. That location is the likely destination if these assets are to be moved closer to Iran. Currently at least two B-52’s are located at Diego Garcia.
Assets like this are put in place ahead of time, even if they aren’t ultimately utilized to give the President options in case he decides to go forward, joining Israel and carrying out US offensive actions on Iran.
The B-2 Spirit is a stealth, long-range bomber that can carry an assortment of munitions. For its likely intended purpose in destroying underground nuclear sites in Iran the B-2 is suspected to deploy one or more of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP. The GBU-57 is a 30,000 pound, GPS guided, bunker busting bomb capable of penetrating deep into the earth before exploding. The GBU-57 can penetrate up to 200ft of earth or 59ft of reinforced concrete. No there is some debate on whether or not the bomb could penetrate far enough down to destroy Iran’s site at Fordow.
A mock-up of the GBU-57, shown in a B-2 Spirit simulator weapons loading training station At Whiteman AFB.
The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP) also known as Shahid Ali Mohammadi Nuclear Facility is a partially underground, uranium enrichment facility that is located twenty miles North of the city of Qom. The base is mostly buried under a mountain making attacking the target difficult, maybe even impossible, even for the always impressive B-2 Spirit. It’s possible that cracking this nut could require the use of something less stealthy and more conventional. Possibly ground forces sent in to plant explosives. Either way the task of destroying the site gets harder every day that Israel (and the U.S.) wait. Iran has a chance to move the valuable scientists and equipment to another base, possibly the nuclear base Israel has an agreement with Russia not to attack because of a reported number of Russian scientists.
What are your thoughts? How should the Iranian nuclear base be handled?
Update.
Instead of being moved to a preposition thr B-2’s bombed three of Irans nuclear sites. Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan were all struck.
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.
(Buckle up folks, this is going to be a lengthy one. part two tomorrow. -Scott)
As reported last night Israel, early on Friday morning (local time), launched a series of strikes all across Iran with a focus on targets across thr capital of Tehran as well as a number of Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. Surprisingly some of the strikes were confirmed to have been launched by Mossad agents operating inside of Iran, a tactic Israel has used in the past for smaller scale operations. As the operation began this was the first video I noticed being circulated around.
#BREAKING: Unconfirmed reports of explosions heard in Tehran, #Iran. Unconfirmed video circulating on Telegram below. #Israel has declared an emergency situation, with the defense minister saying that Israel conducted a preemptive strike in Iran. pic.twitter.com/oZDsqbztWX
Even now, almost a full 24 hours after this strike we don’t know Israel’s full intentions in this operation however we have a better idea of what they managed to hit. Israel conducted heavy SEAD and DEAD missions striking this radar station located in the Hamadan province.
Iranian Early warning Radar struck in the Hamadan providence. Shown several hours after it was struck when the sun came up. A majority of the strikes happened in the early morning. 35.185878°N 48.271270°E
Following the path back from Tehran over the radar site and past Iraq puts us in Deir ez-Zor,Syria where Israeli jets were filmed refueling from their Boeing 707 tanker jets.
At this point I’d like to include a statement put out by the IDF.
“A short while ago, following the directive of the political echelon, the IDF launched a preemptive, precise, combined offensive based on high-quality intelligence to strike Iran’s nuclear program, and in response to the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression against Israel. A short while, dozens of IAF jets completed the first stage that included strikes on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran.
The public is requested to follow the instructions of the IDF Home Front Command, which will be updated as necessary, and act calmly and responsibly. The IDF and the relevant authorities are prepared for a wide range of scenarios in defense and offense that may be needed.
For years, the Iranian regime has been waging a direct and indirect campaign of terror against the State of Israel, by funding and directing terrorist activities via its proxies across the Middle East, while advancing toward obtaining a nuclear weapon. The Iranian regime is at the head of the axis responsible for all terrorist attacks against the State of Israel since the beginning of the “Swords of Iron” War, including by arming and funding the Hamas terror organization which was responsible for the October 7th Massacre. During the “Swords of Iron” War, Iran even directly attacked Israel twice, firing hundreds of missiles toward the State of Israel.
The Iranian regime has proclaimed that its objective is to destroy the State of Israel. Senior officials in the Iranian regime have publicly declared their intent to destroy Israel, and are operating to achieve this together with their proxies in the Middle East. Today, Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and a significant threat to the wider world. The State of Israel will not allow a regime whose objective is to destroy the State of Israel to obtain weapons of mass destruction.
The IDF has conducted a process of preparations for a campaign on the frontline and on the home front. The resilience of Israel’s citizens will be an important factor of the campaign.
The IDF is ready to continue to act as required. The State of Israel has the obligation to act in defense of its citizens and will continue to do so everywhere it is required to do so, as we have done in the past.
The IDF is conducting an ongoing situational assessment and will update on any developments.”
-Statement released to the people of Israel frim the IDF.
It was around this point that AIs Senator Marco Rubio put out his statement. The most important part from that was that Israel had taken unilateral action and that the U.S. was not involved, but that the U.S. was advised that Israel viewed it as necessary for their self defense.
Around 9:00 pm (Eastern Standard time) Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin put out a statement saying that Irans nuclear program had been attacked but that the IDF had also focused on targeting Irans nuclear scientist and ballistic missile program. That fit with videos we were already seeing showing strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile storage bases, showing probably the most secondary explosions I’ve ever seen at once as hundreds of ballistic missiles and other munitions cook off after the strike.
Ballistic missile base in Piranshahr,.
At around 9:30Pm (5:00AM in Iran) Iranian media announced that their enormous nuclear site at Natanz was struck overnight. Around this same time I was seeing videos coming in from the capital, Tehran. Israel has multitasked this operation, striking at Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp, IRGC, leadership. Multiple videos and images showed penthouse and high level apartments that were struck with precision munitions, killing Hossein Salami Iran Revolutionary Guards chief, Hossein Salami, along with Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri chief of staff of the Iranian armed Forces. Both were killed along with others in the first wave of strikes.
After this was announced Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said this,
(Israel)…should anticipate a harsh punishment. The strong hand of the Islamic Republic will not let them go.” He added “ The Zionist regime with this crime has created a dark and painful fate for itself, and it will definitely receive it.”
Thanks to Planet Labs we have some amazing satellite images of some of the strikes. The first set is from the Tabriz missile base.
This one is the massive nuclear facility Natanz from last month. According to reports coming out of Iran this one is completely destroyed. I’m hoping to get some more images tomorrow.
A couple unconfirmed things I’ve heard. It appears that the F-14 Tomcats, the only combat F-14s left in the world might have been targeted. Also have reports that Iran lost many of its remaining F-4 phantoms.
This was a large strike and we’ve only scratched the surface here. I’ll have more as information is discovered.
I would like to split Iran’s response into a separate article just for the sake of making it easier for people to read and also because I believe it is still ongoing as I write this. So consider this Part One.
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.
Global Conflict Reporting 
You must be logged in to post a comment.