- Helobubbas - mcs13.brattland.org

Drones
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 09 Aug '26

09 Aug '26

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/08/06/navy-removes-the -head-of-its-drone-program-just-8-months-into-her-tenure/

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Submarine Drone Nets
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 08 Aug '26

08 Aug '26

https://www.twz.com/news-features/russian-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarin es-are-now-cocooned-in-nets CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) <mailto:mgbrattland@gerlecreek.com> mgbrattland(a)gerlecreek.com <mailto:mgbrattland@brattland.org> mgbrattland(a)brattland.org Admin/Moderator SanDiegoCarGuys List & Calendar of Events <mailto:sandiegocarguys@brattland.org> sandiegocarguys(a)brattland.org 619 454-0496 '38 Willys 2 Dr Sedan Webmaster for <http://www.brattland.org/> www.brattland.org <http://www.overthehillgang.com/> www.overthehillgang.com <http://www.overdrivehotrodnews.com/> www.overdrivehotrodnews.com <http://www.gerlecreek.org/> www.gerlecreek.org <http://www.helobubbas.com/> www.helobubbas.com <http://www.prowlers.org/> www.prowlers.org <http://www.gerlecreek.com/> www.gerlecreek.com <http://www.ford6vcarburetion.com/> www.ford6vcarburetion.com <http://www.westcoastwillysclub.com/> www.westcoastwillysclub.com <http://www.nssha.org/> www.nssha.org

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FW: New Sikorsky Helicopter design features
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 07 Aug '26

07 Aug '26

From: Harold Brattland <habrattland(a)arvig.net> Sent: Friday, August 7, 2026 9:48 AM To: Brattland, Mike * <mgbrattland(a)gerlecreek.com> Subject: New Sikorsky Helicopter design features Mike, You had passed around an item on Advanced Blade contract for the VH-92. Design was to enhance higher altitude ops and probably faster cruise as well. If you note on this advanced model for NATO, these are advanced design blades. No longer same shape for whole length and only tips larger and angles. Variations in width and shape, The artist's model doesn't show much technically, but indicates that advanced modeling is to be included in new aircraft! Looks like the design is continuing the "Flattened" profile fuselage, so likely would also work for ship-borne forces......maybe... h -- * Sikorsky NGRC Rotorcraft Tony Osborne <https://aviationweek.com/author/tony-osborne> July 17, 2026 <https://aviationweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/20…> This conventional single main rotor design was one of two concepts proposed by Sikorsky for NGRC. Credit: Sikorsky

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FW: Aviation Week :: Archer Flies Piloted Midnight Between Salinas And Monterey
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 07 Aug '26

07 Aug '26

From: Harold Brattland <habrattland(a)arvig.net> Sent: Friday, August 7, 2026 9:52 AM To: Brattland, Mike * <mgbrattland(a)gerlecreek.com> Subject: Aviation Week :: Archer Flies Piloted Midnight Between Salinas And Monterey Check out this site https://aviationweek.com/business-aviation/maintenance-training/archer-flie… -- Archer Flies Piloted Midnight Between Salinas And Monterey Ben Goldstein <https://aviationweek.com/author/Ben-Goldstein> August 03, 2026 <https://aviationweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/20…> A view from Midnight’s cockpit during Archer’s roundtrip journey between Salinas and Monterey. Credit: Archer Aviation Archer Aviation has completed a piloted roundtrip flight <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPLN8XrPq9E> between Salinas Municipal Airport and Monterey Regional Airport in California, using conventional runway takeoffs and landings as it prepares for potential operations under the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. The aircraft, Midnight N703AX, completed each leg of the July 30 trip in about 9 min., compared with a drive Archer said can take more than 35 min. The flights were conducted in coordination with the FAA. “This roundtrip journey is exactly the kind of route we plan to fly with Midnight under the eIPP and in LA during the Olympic Games,” Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said in a statement. “This mission provides a template for us to replicate with our partners across Texas, Florida and New York as we get ready for eIPP operations later this year.” The demonstration marked the first airport-to-airport mission for Midnight, but it did not include vertical takeoff or landing. Archer has not yet completed a piloted transition flight with Midnight from thrustborne hover into wingborne cruise. That remains an important distinction as several of its main competitors including Joby Aviation, Beta Technologies and Vertical Aerospace have already completed piloted transition flights. Archer has previously said it plans to conduct Midnight’s piloted transition during the second half of 2026. The flight comes as Archer broadens its focus beyond the civil air taxi market through the newly unveiled Halo and Thunder hybrid-electric tiltrotor aircraft. <https://aviationweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumbnail/public…> Ben Goldstein <https://aviationweek.com/author/Ben-Goldstein> Email: ben.goldstein(a)aviationweek.com <mailto:ben.goldstein@aviationweek.com> Based in Rhode Island, Ben covers advanced air mobility and is a contributor to Aviation Week’s Business Aviation & AAM Report.

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FW: Aviation Week :: NATO Rotorcraft Program Enters Competitive Concept Design Phase
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 07 Aug '26

07 Aug '26

From: Harold Brattland <habrattland(a)arvig.net> Sent: Friday, August 7, 2026 9:20 AM To: Brattland, Mike * <mgbrattland(a)gerlecreek.com> Subject: Aviation Week :: NATO Rotorcraft Program Enters Competitive Concept Design Phase Two articles...for Bubba to get off the Iran subject... Check out this site https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/nato-rotorcraft-progra… -- NATO Rotorcraft Program Enters Competitive Concept Design Phase Tony Osborne <https://aviationweek.com/author/tony-osborne> August 03, 2026 <https://aviationweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/20…> Credit: Leonardo LONDON—The NATO-led effort to develop a replacement for Europe’s battlefield utility and naval helicopters has entered a competitive phase. Airbus, Boeing <https://aviationweek.com/term/boeing> , Leonardo and Sikorsky and their teams of partners and suppliers are set to develop and deliver a new set of detailed concept design solutions <https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/airbus-boeing-leonardo…> for the alliance’s Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC). That program could lead to the development of a new medium rotorcraft that would operate on Europe’s battlefields and at sea from a warship. The four airframers have already successfully pre-qualified to enter the Concept Design phase and will have until the end of August 2027 to respond to the request for proposals. These rotorcraft solutions will be developed against a refined set of undisclosed requirements. Once returned they will be evaluated by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) through a new acquisition process called “Acquisition by Qualified Options.” Under this arrangement, proposed solutions will be scored based on a pre-defined weighting. Once evaluated, the NSPA will refer to the nations for their final decision on the next steps toward further development and an industrial program that could be launched by the end of the decade. The current NGRC participants are Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. NATO formally launched the NGRC initiative in 2022 following several years of multinational pre-concept studies led by the UK. Similar initiatives in the late 1980s were the genesis of what ultimately became the NATO Helicopter for the 90s—now the NHIndustries NH90, developed by Airbus, Leonardo and Fokker. What emerges from NGRC could go on to replace around 1,000 helicopters of different types currently in service with NATO nations. These could include Airbus Puma-family platforms, Mil Mi-8/17, Sikorsky UH-60/S-70s, Leonardo AW101s and the NH90. Three of the four interested companies had already participated in NATO’s Study 5 developing a series of rotorcraft concepts based on an earlier set of requirements. Each of the bidders in Study 5 had the option to provide two concepts. Both the Airbus and Sikorsky teams provided two—one a conventional rotorcraft, the other based on their compound rotorcraft technologies—while the Leonardo/Bell team provided a single proposal, based on their tiltrotor technology as reported by Aviation Week last November <https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/industry-concepts-refi…> . Last month, Sikorsky declared it would be entering the concept design phase <https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/sikorsky-proposes-prod…> and said that if its proposals were selected by the nations, it would locate development, production and component manufacturing for the aircraft in Europe, without specifying a location. Sikorsky had proposed a conventional single main rotor platform and another based on its X2 compound technology combining a co-axial rotor system and pusher propeller. <https://aviationweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumbnail/public…> Tony Osborne <https://aviationweek.com/author/tony-osborne> Email: tony.osborne(a)aviationweek.com <mailto:tony.osborne@aviationweek.com> Based in London, Tony covers European defense programs. Prior to joining Aviation Week in November 2012, Tony was at Shephard Media Group where he was deputy editor for Rotorhub and Defence Helicopter magazines. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sikorsky Proposes Production Of NGRC Rotorcraft In Europe Tony Osborne <https://aviationweek.com/author/tony-osborne> July 17, 2026 <https://aviationweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/20…> This conventional single main rotor design was one of two concepts proposed by Sikorsky for NGRC. Credit: Sikorsky Sikorsky would commit to opening helicopter production facilities in Europe if its proposals for NATO’s Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) are selected by the partner nations. In a July 16 announcement ahead of the Farnborough Airshow <https://aviationweek.com/shownews/airshow-news> and the upcoming launch of the NGRC Concept Design phase by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), the airframer says it would develop, produce and conduct component manufacturing in Europe, although it does not say where these facilities would be located. Sikorsky would also “partner with leading European aerospace firms, industry and suppliers as part of a robust, locally sourced NGRC production line,” it says. The NGRC aims to replace around 1,000 medium helicopters of different types currently in service with NATO nations from the late 2030s and 2040s. Previous collaborations in the late 1980s were the genesis of what ultimately became the NATO Helicopter for the 1990s—now the NHIndustries NH90 developed by Airbus, Leonardo and Fokker. Sikorsky is one of four airframers that have been approved to enter the Concept Design phase after passing a pre-qualification assessment at the end of 2025. Other successful bidders include Airbus, Boeing <https://aviationweek.com/term/boeing> and Leonardo. This phase, to be launched imminently, will develop a new set of detailed concept design solutions for the future rotorcraft based on a series of refined and harmonized requirements currently under development. When these are delivered back to NSPA by the bidders in mid-2027, they will be evaluated and scored based on a predefined weighting. NSPA, as contracting authority, will perform the evaluation of the proposals and will come back to the nations for their decisions. NGRC nations include France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and Canada. The U.S. and Spain are currently observers. In an earlier concept stage, Sikorsky proposed two rotorcraft configurations: one conventional single main rotor and another based on the company’s X2 compound technology, which uses a coaxial main rotor and a pusher propellor for high-speed flight. X2 technology had previously been offered for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, but was rejected by the service in favor of Bell’s tiltrotor design. “We are committed to strengthening our strategic partnerships, expanding industrial capacity and deepening our long-term presence in Europe,” said Dennis Goege, Lockheed Martin’s chief executive for Europe. “Local production supports a highly skilled regional workforce, reinforces Europe’s defense industrial base and enhances NATO readiness,” he added. Sikorsky already has a production capability in Europe through its ownership of PZL-Mielec in Poland, which builds the S-70 Black Hawk. Beyond Europe, Sikorsky says it is also pushing a global variant of its NGRC X2 proposal in Asia. <https://aviationweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumbnail/public…> Tony Osborne <https://aviationweek.com/author/tony-osborne> Email: tony.osborne(a)aviationweek.com <mailto:tony.osborne@aviationweek.com> Based in London, Tony covers European defense programs. Prior to joining Aviation Week in November 2012, Tony was at Shephard Media Group where he was deputy editor for Rotorhub and Defence Helicopter magazines.

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FW: CAPT Charlie Plumb - Keynote Speaker: Why Wars Come Faster Than We Expect- and What Readiness Really Requires
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 07 Aug '26

07 Aug '26

From: U.S. Naval Institute Conferences and Events <conferences(a)usni.org> Sent: Friday, August 7, 2026 9:20 AM To: mgbrattland(a)gerlecreek.com Subject: CAPT Charlie Plumb - Keynote Speaker: Why Wars Come Faster Than We Expect- and What Readiness Really Requires Save the date · 4 November 2026. A one-day conference on speed, miscalculation, and what readiness really requires. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ <https://www.usni.org/sites/default/files/usni-header-lockup.png> Keynote Speaker Spotlight <https://mcusercontent.com/e971c577684d30446b18f75bf/images/2b73caa3-4ccc-62…> 2026 Majoras History Conference Why Wars Come Faster Than We Expect — and What Readiness Really Requires Wed 04 Nov 2026 Annapolis, MD <https://us.list-manage.com/nOYL9p78w6u?e=d23398e165&c2id=c4ddf599743b290fac…> Register Now → In person at the Jack C. Taylor Conference Center, U.S. Naval Institute, or online. The Independent Forum of the Sea Services History repeatedly shows that wars arrive faster than nations expect. Captain Charlie Plumb flew 74 successful combat missions over North Vietnam and made over 100 carrier landings. On his 75th mission, just five days before the end of his tour, Plumb was shot down over Hanoi, taken prisoner, tortured, and spent the next 2,103 days in North Vietnamese Prisoner of War camps. During his nearly six years of captivity, Plumb distinguished himself as a pro in underground communications. He was a great inspiration to all the other POWs and served as chaplain for two years. Join Captain Plumb as he examines the lessons of the past to better prepare for the challenges of tomorrow. On the Program <https://mcusercontent.com/e971c577684d30446b18f75bf/images/d32d4eff-aca2-5e…> Opening Keynote “War Does Not Wait: Time, Miscalculation, and the Illusion of Readiness” Eliot A. Cohen, Ph.D. · Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, CSIS; Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins SAIS - (confirmed) <https://mcusercontent.com/e971c577684d30446b18f75bf/images/0551b47a-f5d0-d4…> Lunch Keynote “Preparing for the Unexpected” CAPT Charlie Plumb, USN (Ret.) · Naval Aviator, Vietnam Veteran, former Prisoner of War, Author, Speaker - (confirmed) <https://mcusercontent.com/e971c577684d30446b18f75bf/images/272ae62c-c8a4-a1…> Afternoon Keynote "Operational, Strategic, and Leadership Dimensions of Readiness" ADM Charles "Brad" Cooper II, USN · Commander, U.S. Central Command - (invited) <https://us.list-manage.com/8W29JiQv0j8?e=d23398e165&c2id=c4ddf599743b290fac…> View the full agenda online → Mark your calendar for 4 November! Registration is open now. Seating is limited — reserve your place early. <https://us.list-manage.com/fBdmeF556qp?e=d23398e165&c2id=c4ddf599743b290fac…> Reserve My Seat → <https://www.usni.org/sites/default/files/Revised_logo_of_the_United_States_…> U.S. Naval Institute Copyright © 2026 U.S. Naval Institute, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the U.S. Naval Institute. Our mailing address is: 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402 <https://usni.us2.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=e971c577684d30446b18f75bf&id…> Unsubscribe from this list · <https://usni.us2.list-manage.com/profile?u=e971c577684d30446b18f75bf&id=ade…> Update preferences <https://us.list-manage.com/2F6_WXCQ8mX5xs87VcQqGW?e=d23398e165&c2id=c4ddf59…>

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Un-Invited 1000 lb Bomb HMS Antrim D-18 Falklands 1982
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 06 Aug '26

06 Aug '26

https://x.com/DrChrisParry/status/2085359963954614736?s=20 RADM Parry, RN (Ret.) wrote a very good book about the Falklands as a member of chip's company and HMS Antrim Flight Observer(LT then) CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) <mailto:mgbrattland@gerlecreek.com> mgbrattland(a)gerlecreek.com <mailto:mgbrattland@brattland.org> mgbrattland(a)brattland.org Admin/Moderator SanDiegoCarGuys List & Calendar of Events <mailto:sandiegocarguys@brattland.org> sandiegocarguys(a)brattland.org 619 454-0496 '38 Willys 2 Dr Sedan Webmaster for <http://www.brattland.org/> www.brattland.org <http://www.overthehillgang.com/> www.overthehillgang.com <http://www.overdrivehotrodnews.com/> www.overdrivehotrodnews.com <http://www.gerlecreek.org/> www.gerlecreek.org <http://www.helobubbas.com/> www.helobubbas.com <http://www.prowlers.org/> www.prowlers.org <http://www.gerlecreek.com/> www.gerlecreek.com <http://www.ford6vcarburetion.com/> www.ford6vcarburetion.com <http://www.westcoastwillysclub.com/> www.westcoastwillysclub.com <http://www.nssha.org/> www.nssha.org

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Fwd: The Houthis have found Saudi Arabia’s jugular
by Michael G. Brattland 06 Aug '26

06 Aug '26

MGBrattland Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S23 5G, an AT&T 5G smartphone -------- Original message --------From: "andy.cain" <andy.cain(a)comcast.net> Date: 8/6/26 5:24 AM (GMT-08:00) To: Mike Brattland <mgbrattland(a)gerlecreek.com> Subject: Fwd: The Houthis have found Saudi Arabia’s jugular Worth reading with a map in hand.Sent from my Galaxy---------- Forwarded message ---------From: Andrew Fox from Fox On War <mrandrewfox(a)substack.com>Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2026 at 21:23Subject: The Houthis have found Saudi Arabia’s jugularTo: Yemen’s rulers stayed cautious through five months of war. Then Riyadh touched their red line, and they went after the kingdom’s oil escape route.͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ View in browserIf you’d like to see more reporting like this, let me know.The Houthis have found Saudi Arabia’s jugularYemen’s rulers stayed cautious through five months of war. Then Riyadh touched their red line, and they went after the kingdom’s oil escape route.Andrew FoxAug 5∙Paid READ IN APP Whilst all eyes are on Iran, another of the world’s key waterways faces a similar threat. It is worth keeping an eye on Yemen.On Wednesday, Yemen’s Houthis claimed they had launched ballistic missiles at a Saudi tanker off Yanbu. A day earlier, they said they had carried out a drone strike on Najran airport. These followed attacks on Saudi tankers, Aramco facilities and the East-West oil pipeline. Yemen’s four-year truce is unravelling at the worst possible moment for Riyadh: traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted, Saudi crude has been diverted west to Yanbu, and the Houthis now have the escape hatch under their missiles.Ansar Allah’s origins lie in the Zaydi highlands around Saada, where state neglect and the spread of Saudi-backed Salafism fuelled a religious and political revival in the 1990s. Ali Abdullah Saleh tried to crush it in 2004. Six wars over the following six years killed its founder, Hussein al-Houthi, while teaching his followers to survive bombardment, navigate tribal politics and turn state repression into recruitment. Saleh’s state helped them learn.The movement swept into Sana’a in 2014, aided by an extraordinary tactical alliance with Saleh, its former enemy. Saudi Arabia intervened the following year, expecting to restore the internationally recognised government. Instead, war gave the Houthis time, territory and an outside patron. They became a de facto state with ministries, prisons, taxation, mass mobilisation and a missile force. The weapon system now aimed at Yanbu took two decades to assemble.The Houthis’ roots, leadership and political project are Yemeni. Tehran jumped on their success, and Iranian and Hezbollah support then enhanced the quality of Houthi power through training, smuggling routes, technical expertise and components for ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. Calling them a proxy captures the supply chain but misses the decision-maker. Ansar Allah has its own constituency, coercive economy and ambitions, although its strategic relationship with Tehran is now deep.Last week, some recent attacks on Saudi Arabia were launched from Iraq by Iraqi militias aided by the Houthis under IRGC supervision, according to regional assessments that Iran and the Houthis have not confirmed. This indicates close operational cooperation and speaks to the endurance of the IRGC’s proxy network in the Middle East, even after nearly three years of attrition post-7 October.The Houthis’ recent quiet needs qualification. The Houthis launched a handful of missiles and drones at Israel in late March, yet avoided sustained attacks on Gulf states or Red Sea shipping for nearly five months during the Iran war. Restraint served them well. The informal 2022 truce had left them entrenched across northwestern Yemen, while Saudi Arabia searched for an exit. American and Israeli strikes in 2025 had damaged ports, supply routes and senior personnel, and a renewed maritime campaign risked bringing the bombers back. The campaign against Israel also played well inside Yemen. A war against an Arab neighbour in defence of Iran was likely to draw less popular enthusiasm.Pete Hegseth claimed that earlier American operations against the Houthis kept them out of the Iran war, but recent developments suggest that Bab el-Mandeb was simply more valuable as a weapon held in reserve. Iran and the Houthis tend to escalate in stages, saving the most economically painful options for when pressure is needed. Once Hormuz was largely closed and Saudi Arabia began pushing millions of barrels a day through Yanbu, the value of the southern Red Sea route soared. The Houthis could wait until the target became richer.The immediate rupture occurred on 13 July. An Iranian aircraft approached Sana’a, carrying what the Houthis said was a delegation returning from the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government struck the airport runway to prevent the plane from landing, saying the flight violated Yemeni sovereignty; the plane diverted to Hodeidah. Riyadh regards an Iranian air bridge into Houthi territory as a national security red line. Regular flights could move advisers, senior operatives and high-value components directly into the Houthi capital, converting a tacit truce into rearmament under Saudi Arabia’s nose.The Houthis blamed Riyadh and launched missiles and drones at Abha airport. On 20 July, they declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia under the slogan “blockade for blockade”, echoing the Iran-US blockade competition over Hormuz. They subsequently claimed strikes on the tankers Encelia and Layla, on Aramco facilities at Jizan and Yanbu, on the East-West pipeline, on Najran airport, and on another tanker near Yanbu. Several claims remain unconfirmed, although video and satellite imagery indicate damage at Jizan, and the Encelia issued a distress call after being struck. The threat alone prompted tankers to turn around or sail with their tracking systems switched off. Following Iran’s lead in the Strait of Hormuz, the Houthis have weaponised insurance calculations as effectively as missiles.Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes on Houthi military facilities in Hodeidah, as well as launch sites and depots elsewhere in Yemen. It has also announced a multinational maritime coalition, supported by fourteen states, to protect the Red Sea. Riyadh’s behaviour still shows conspicuous caution: its defence minister urged Washington to avoid a broader campaign against the Houthis, warning of unknown risks. The kingdom wants to restore deterrence without restarting the war it spent years trying to escape.The strategic danger now runs through two narrow stretches of water. Around twelve per cent of world trade normally passes Bab el-Mandeb⁠, including a quarter of container traffic. More than seven million barrels of petroleum a day were shipped through the strait in June, while Saudi Arabia has recently sent roughly four million barrels a day through Yanbu. Pressure at Bab el-Mandeb, on top of the Hormuz crisis, gives Iran’s network influence over both maritime exits from the Arabian Peninsula. Ships can divert around Africa, adding time and cost. Saudi Arabia cannot easily reroute national vulnerability.The Houthis are using that leverage to reopen Yemen’s frozen settlement on their terms. Their bargaining aims include freer access through ports and airports, prisoner exchanges, civil-service salaries and oil revenues. Iran gains another pressure point against Washington and its Gulf allies, while Ansar Allah gains bargaining power, prestige and proof that years of bombing did not break it. Both agendas fit within the same missile.Riyadh now faces a miserable choice. Absorbing the attacks would concede a Houthi veto over Saudi oil exports. Major escalation reopens a war the kingdom failed to win and drives Ansar Allah deeper into Iran’s military network, thereby handing Iran another win. Maritime escorts and Patriot batteries can reduce the damage; more airstrikes will crater another runway. None settles who rules Yemen or how Saudi Arabia lives beside an entrenched missile state. Iran’s war supplied the opening, but the prize remains Houthi power in Yemen, enforced by a hand around Saudi Arabia’s oil artery.Share Andrew FoxYour support lets me spend less time arguing on X and more time doing research and fieldwork, talking to people on the ground and writing for you. I don’t take that lightly.If you ever feel this isn’t worth what you’re paying, please reply and tell me why before you cancel — I’d rather fix it than lose you.If you want to help even more, the best thing you can do is share the free posts I send out — that’s how new serious readers find their way here. If there’s ever anything you’d like me to cover for members only, reply and let me know. LikeCommentRestack © 2026 Andrew Fox548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 Unsubscribe-- Albie Fox07876443221

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Oil and NG potential in the Eastern Mediterranean
by Marc Liebman 05 Aug '26

05 Aug '26

https://jinsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/EastMed-Regional-Center-of-Gra… You never read or hear about this in the mainstream medial Marc Liebman https://www.marcliebman.com https://www.facebook.com/marcliebmanauthor/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_sDoFQM5wupNaCeGIvKL1g Author of: Cherubs 2 Raider of the Scottish Coast Big Mother 40 Carronade Render Harmless Death of a Lady Forgotten Last Battles Inner Look For a Few Francs Moscow Airlift Predators The Simushir Island Incident Fight We Shall Flight of the Pawnee Prices of Opportunity Failure to Fire Insidious Dragon The Red Star of Death Member of: The Author’s Guild Military Writers Society of America Association of Texas Authors North American Snowsport Journalists Association --

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Iran
by Marc Liebman 05 Aug '26

05 Aug '26

Here’s the latest from ISW. https://understandingwar.org/research/middle-east/iran-update-special-repor… My take is the DJT is letting his confidence as the deal maker get in the way of smart foreign policy and fighting a war. At this point, he should have figured out that he is being played by the Iranians. While not maybe intentional, the good cops (pragmatists) don’t have any power, or what they have is subject to the whims of the bad cops (IRGC). The only way this is going to end is either the U.S. walks away and Iran wins. Or we take out the leadership, destroy its ability to wield power and/or make it so economically painful that the Iranian economy collapses. That is the only way to get to the what needs to happen is regime change. Marc Liebman https://www.marcliebman.com https://www.facebook.com/marcliebmanauthor/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_sDoFQM5wupNaCeGIvKL1g Author of: Cherubs 2 Raider of the Scottish Coast Big Mother 40 Carronade Render Harmless Death of a Lady Forgotten Last Battles Inner Look For a Few Francs Moscow Airlift Predators The Simushir Island Incident Fight We Shall Flight of the Pawnee Prices of Opportunity Failure to Fire Insidious Dragon The Red Star of Death Member of: The Author’s Guild Military Writers Society of America Association of Texas Authors North American Snowsport Journalists Association --

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