We know what’s coming and we are prepared.
The U.S. Interceptor Shortage and Its Impact
The U.S. interceptor shortage impacts both the response to the Houthi threat and the sleep of millions of Israelis.
Israel and the U.S. are cooperating to address the Houthi threat. However, due to a shortage of interceptors in the U.S. Navy, some missiles are not intercepted far from Israel's borders. This leads to the activation of sirens in Israel, requiring the Israeli Air Force's air defense system to neutralize these threats.
Even the mighty America faces challenges in managing its armament economy. How did it come to this point? Since the early stages of the war, the U.S. has deployed aircraft carriers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea. These destroyers carry Standard Missile (SM) interceptors capable of neutralizing Houthi-launched missiles during their ascent phase, long before they reach Israel.
These interceptors are quite expensive, costing several million dollars each (more than the Arrow system, though not necessarily superior). However, the shortage isn't due to financial constraints. Throughout the war, American destroyers have had to fire large quantities of these missiles to protect themselves, the aircraft carriers, commercial vessels targeted by the Houthis, and Israel. Additionally, the U.S. assisted Israel in countering Iranian attacks using SM missiles.
These missiles are manufactured by RTX, formerly Raytheon, one of the world's largest defense contractors. Due to their complexity, RTX produces only a few hundred of these missiles each year. The U.S. wasn't prepared for the scenario of two prolonged wars in different parts of the world simultaneously—the war in Ukraine and the war in the Middle East.
Moreover, stock management is also influenced by the possibility of escalation in the Pacific region, between China and Taiwan. Add to this the fact that more than 10 other countries, in addition to the U.S. Navy, have pre-ordered SM interceptors, and you have a shortage of this type of interceptor.
This is likely one of the reasons the U.S. deployed the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Israel. THAAD can also intercept ballistic missiles, but since it is ground-based, it does so toward the end of their flight path—in other words, it doesn’t "prevent" the alarms from sounding.
In conclusion, this isn't a 'punishment' by the Biden administration against Israel. The U.S. continues to assist in defense, though their capabilities have diminished, impacting the sleep of many until the Houthi threat is dismantled.
(Tamir Morag on X)
✍️ @beholdisraelchannel
Yanis Varoufakis (former Greek Minister of Finance) describes AI as a new form of capital that produces not goods, but behavioral modification. This is achieved by engineering perceptions.
The answers provided by ChatGPT, or the images rendered by StableDiffusion — as these increasingly inform our perceptions, they in turn define the reality we experience.
This is what makes AI so powerful — he who controls the AI, defines the reality of tomorrow.
⚡️🇺🇸 Some more things coming out for the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Under the preliminary drafts of the bill, the USAF is requesting a release of $57,000,000 USD ($57.0 Million) to retire all remaining 162 A-10 Thunderbolt IIs in current service. Apart of the 2023 NDAA, there was a clause for a few million dollars to be released every so often to gradually retire the (then) 250 airframes by 2034; however due to the push by the Dept of Defense to ‘shed’ obsolete or obsolescent airframes that cannot be overhauled or upgraded further without a whole new airframe, it appears the USAF wants to retire all 162 remaining A-10s by the end of 2026.
The USAF plans to fully divest the 340-total remaining A-10s entirely, including those that currently serve in a handful of Air National Guard units in some states; which will be replaced by F-15EX Eagle IIs (like what is already happening with the Michigan State Air National Guard’s A-10s), or F-35A/Bs.
Included ...
My older sister lives in the country in between Velma Oklahoma and Duncan Oklahoma near the Fuqua Lake area, this story was told by a rural mail delivery woman who delivers the mail in the country.
The incident happened while she was on her route, when she came upon to the mailbox a male Chinese nation came out brandishing a, AK-47 rifle being very hostile,
I don't know if he pointed it at her since it is against the law to do so but she was terrified and said she was never going back and that the location that had a guard tower. Was the sheriff department notified, I don't know, did she notify her supervisor, don't know. But word is from the country folk who live in the area they have seen the guard tower at the pot place;
I refuse to call it a farm because it is an insult to farmers.
And yes she was traumatized by that ordeal
