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ISRAEL MILITARY STRENGTH The Military Show: How F-35 Lightning Devastated Houthis' Pirates PLAY YOUTUBE VIDEO Original article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MT4YglnwjM Peter Burgess COMMENTARY Understanding the Middle East is not easy. In some ways, there is a history that goes back thousands of years and another modern history that has multiple twists and turns and goes back only a few decades. I find it helpful to look at the Middle East from many different directions. In this video, the amazing competence of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) is addressed. The IAF may well be the most competent air force in the world ... but without the right strategic vision this power and competence will be wasted. I have been a civilian all my life. The nearest I have been to military serice has been the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) at school (Blundell's School) and the Royal Officer Trainins Corps (ROTC) at university (Cambridge). I missed being drafted into the British Army by 9 days and was able to go straight from school to university as an 18 year old! Though I have not served in any military, I have a respect for what the military needs to do. At the same time, I do not subscribe to the idea that international affairs should be deominated by military thinking, rather military solutions should be a last resort. I have had both Israeli friends and Palestinian friends during my adult lifetime. It is sad that a relatively small right wing faction in Israel 'want it all' to the exclusion of any Palestinian interest. It is perfectly reasonable that Israelis should want peace and security. I am writing this at a time when Israel's leadership is in fighting mode ... and the world at lerge very uncomfortable about Israel's intentions in both the short term and long term. Prime Minister Netanyahu does not have universal support, not inside Israel and certainly not around the world! Peter Burgess
How F-35 Lightning Devastated Houthis' Pirates The Military Show Sep 22, 2024 1.08M subscribers ... 691,051 views ... 10K likes #themilitaryshow #militarydevelopments #militarystrategy In this video, we dive into Israel's recent response to Houthi piracy, which has threatened global maritime trade and Israel's economy. The Houthis, backed by Iran, have launched numerous attacks on commercial ships and even targeted Israeli territory with drones. To counter this, Israel conducted Operation Longarm in July 2024, utilizing its F-35 Lightning II jets to strike Houthi-controlled targets in Yemen. We explore how Israel's advanced military capabilities, particularly the F-35, played a crucial role in this long-range retaliation. #militarystrategy #militarydevelopments #militaryanalysis #themilitaryshow SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/6PWPpb9U Transcript 0:00 If you’re Israel and a bunch of Houthi pirates are causing you trouble, what should you do? For effective retaliation and deterrence of future attacks, you need to destroy something valuable in the heart of enemy-held territory over 1,000 kilometers away from your homeland, one protected by air defense systems of some sophistication. Thankfully, there’s a ready solution available. If you need to destroy a high-value target with minimal risk, you can’t ask for much better than the F-35 Lightning II. This fine piece of machinery has the radar cross-section roughly of a metal golf ball, so chances are, you can get into some nasty areas without being noticed. Even if you are noticed, it’s likely that the enemy won’t be able to hit you with a missile, because this fifth generation aircraft is difficult to lock onto with the high-frequency radar required to guide a long-range missile to its target. The F-35 comes with a suite of sensors giving it unparalleled situational awareness, so it acts as a fighting Airborne Warning and Control System or AWACS aircraft. These include its AN/APG-81 radar system. This work of art is the most advanced 1:01 Active Electronically Scanned Array or AESA radar in the world. Though its effective range is naturally classified, it is thought to be able to detect a one square-meter radar cross-section for at least 150 kilometers. To add to its situational awareness, the F-35 has six infrared cameras mounted on the frame to provide 360-degree coverage, and an electro-optical targeting system to provide infrared search and track abilities. The F-35 also has a helmet-mounted display that feeds data directly to the pilot. It is designed to see first and strike first. So chances are if you’re its enemy, it can hide from you, but you won’t likely be able to hide from it. And then there’s its payload. For a mission like this one, the F-35 can be armed with up eight bombs to hit important targets on the ground. These include JDAM bombs, AGM-154 JSOW glide bombs, GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs, and the AGM-158 JASSM cruise missile. In October 2023, the F-35 was certified nuclear-capable, as it can carry the B61 Mod 12 bomb. In total, the F-35 can carry 8.1 tons worth 2:05 of payload, with 2.6 tons in its internal weapon bays to maintain its stealth profile. Thanks to its radar, it can send one of these weapons well on its way and avoid direct contact with the enemy. Put simply, it can hit without being heit. In other words, it’s the perfect weapon if you’re a country faced with troublesome attacks from Houthi pirates, and in July, Israeli forces used the F-35 to destroy Houthi targets in their Yemeni territory for the first time. This retaliation was long in the making. The Houthis in Yemen have made the tinderbox in the Middle East much more precarious. These rebels are armed by Iran, and have fired on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in response to the Israeli operations in Gaza following the October 7th 2023 Hamas terrorist attack that left 1,195 people dead, 3,400 wounded, and 251 taken prisoner, at least 65 of whom were later confirmed dead. The Red Sea is one of the busiest and most important maritime trade routes in the world, and the Houthis’ geographical position there gives them an important geopolitical advantage. But they have done more than just shoot at ships. They have threatened to cut undersea internet communications cables that are also vital for global commerce. They have 3:02 also acted as pirates. On November 19th, 2023, the Houthis conducted a sophisticated operation against a Bahamian-flagged ship that was carrying automobiles. The Houthis used a helicopter to land gunmen on the ship and take the crew of 25 merchant sailors captive. They then took control of the ship and sailed it into the port of Al Hudaydah. This operation met the definition of an act of piracy under Article 101 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, since it was a violent attack on a private ship by the crew of a private ship or aircraft in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State, since it was in international waters. The ship was 50 miles west of Al Hudaydah, which was significantly further than the 12-mile claim of territorial waters under UNCLOS. The incident also occurred beyond the 12-mile claim that Eritrea could have made. Between October 2023 and July 2024, the Houthis sunk two commercial ships and damaged at least 30, in addition to their piracy operations. The Houthi attacks against commercial shipping have altered international maritime trade to the detriment of the global economy. For understandable reasons, 4:02 many ships are now choosing to sail around the Cape of Good Hope in an effort to avoid coming under Houthi fire in the Red Sea. The change has significantly increased transit times and delivery costs. The costs to Israel have been particularly acute. Between December 2023 and the end of February 2024, no merchant ships arrived at the Israeli port of Eilat, located in the Red Sea on the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. The lack of shipping cost Israel at least $3 billion. Eilat has come under more direct attack, too. Earlier in July, the Houthis sent a drone toward the port. An IAF aircraft intercepted and shot down this drone, but it was the latest reminder of the Houthi threat to the port, the Israeli economy, and international shipping. To protect commercial shipping, the United States and United Kingdom began attacking the Houthis in air strikes early this year in an operation dubbed Prosperity Guardian, but this did not stop them from continuing their efforts. Houthi attacks continued into the summer of 2024, and later in July, the Houthis succeeded in striking Israel directly. The Houthis have launched over 5:00 200 missile and drone attacks at Israel since last October, but on July 19th, they conducted a much more effective operation. An Iranian-made kamikaze drone successfully made it through Israel’s air defense network and exploded over an apartment building in downtown Tel Aviv. One man was killed and ten others were injured, all civilians. Local police said that the drone exploded over the apartment block, with the blast wave shaking the city. This was the first time that the Houthis had spilled Israeli blood directly. The apartment was only one block away from an American diplomatic building was once the official United States Embassy to Israel. The building kept that status until 2018, when the Trump administration moved the embassy to Jerusalem. The Houthis immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. According to them, they had used a new drone “capable of bypassing the enemy’s interception systems and undetectable by radars.” Naturally, these words were taken with a heavy grain of salt. Israeli officials later admitted that the attack had caught them off guard and that “human error” had prevented the air defense systems from detecting the intruding drone. As the people in Yemen celebrated the success of the strike, 6:02 Houthi leaders warned that they would direct more such operations against Israel. The attack against Israel came as consensus built in Washington and London that Operation Prosperity Shield was failing. The air strikes were simply not putting on enough pressure to stop and deter the Houthi attacks, with the strike of July 19th putting an exclamation point on that assertion. Critics said that the Prosperity Guardian air strikes had not targeted high-level Houthi commanders or large supply facilities, and so were too impotent to disrupt Houthi operations or make them think twice about attacking. To make matters worse, the Houthis might soon get another high-level backer. American intelligence officials have warned that Russia might begin arming the Houthis with more powerful anti-ship missiles as a way of retaliating against the West for arming Ukraine with weapons the latter has since used to attack targets in Russian territory. Ukraine’s offensive into Russia’s Kursk Region has likely hardened that opinion in the weeks since these reports were circulating. These Russian weapons would come to the Houthis by way of smuggling routes that the Iranians have long established in the area. Since Iran has backed Russia’s invasion with thousands 7:02 of its Shahed drones, the arms route between these two countries is also well-established. Naturally, if you’re Israel, you cannot allow the Houthis to continue to attack you and get better weapons. On July 21st, Israel conducted Operation Longarm, a massive air raid against the Houthis in Yemen. 25 fighters with the Israeli Air Force were reportedly involved in this operation, including F-15 and F-35 aircraft, along with accompanying tankers to make sure they didn’t run out of fuel. Israel likely used the airspace of Saudi Arabia as part of this long-range mission. Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have been at odds since the former intervened in the Yemeni Civil War, and both sides have launched fierce attacks against the other. Although a 2022 ceasefire has reduced some of these tensions, it would not be surprising if the Saudis were happy to lend their assistance against the troublesome Houthis and their backer, Iran, which it has engaged in a proxy war for over four decades. The target for Operation Longarm was the same port of Al Hudaydah. The Houthis have tried to present this port as being a humanitarian enterprise. In reality, the Houthis import a 8:01 lot of their weapons through this facility, mixing such imports in with some humanitarian aid. When they aren’t importing weapons, they’re using this facility as a pirate cove. For Israel, the attack on the port was the latest for a country that has often been at the tip of the spear in the F-35’s development and service record. Israel has been involved with the F-35 since February 2003, when it agreed to help develop the aircraft as part of the Joint Strike Fighter program. The agreement stipulated that Israel would pay millions of dollars to the United States for rights to participate in the program. In 2010, it ordered 19 aircraft, eventually bumping this number up to a total of 75 over the years. The IAF operates a special variation of the F-35A called the F-35I Adir, Hebrew for “Awesome” or “Mighty One,” a variant designed to meet Israel’s specific needs. There were some bumps in the road on the way to the F-35I. In 2009, the Pentagon announced its opposition to selling the F-35 to the Israelis because of the modifications they wanted. One of those modifications includes a unique Israeli suite of electronic warfare equipment. After three 9:02 years of opposition, the Israelis successfully concluded this agreement with Lockheed Martin in 2012. Israel was adamant about installing its own electronic warfare suite out of concern that the aircraft’s stealth protection would erode after its first decade of service life, as potential adversaries were supposedly finding ways to detect stealth aircraft. At the time, the Israelis wanted “new EW capabilities that can be rapidly improved.” They said the integrated software would improve on the aircraft’s basic design. The agreement between the Israeli military and Lockheed Martin was an early sign of the F-35’s versatility thanks to its open architecture. This feature allows the F-35 to adapt to changes in technology through software updates rather than expensive platform changes. Because of this open architecture, the F-35 is versatile enough to have an expected service life until at least 2070. The Israelis ordered the aircraft with that versatility in mind and demonstrated it with the Adir. In December 2017, the IAF declared the F-35 combat-ready after it received its first aircraft. Shortly after, the IAF became the first air force 10:02 to use the F-35 in a military operation. In May 2018, the Israelis announced they had used the F-35 to strike multiple targets, showing imagery of the aircraft flying over Beirut in daylight. The Israeli brass claimed that they were using the aircraft in operations all over the region. The Israelis followed up these strikes with attacks on other Iranian proxies a year later, with F-35 aircraft hitting Iranian missile shipments headed for Hezbollah. These strikes came in Iraqi territory and were the first Israeli air strikes there since a 1981 raid on a nuclear reactor. The same year, the IAF used the F-35 to attack Iranian assets in Syrian territory as well. In more recent history, the Israelis have used the F-35 as part of its missile defense network. On November 2nd, 2023, an IAF F-35 shot down a Houthi cruise missile bound for Israeli territory. It was the first time that the F-35 had been used to intercept an incoming missile, proving the concept laid out in 2019, when the Trump administration’s Missile Defense Review called on the F-35 to be capable of intercepting various missile threats, including ICBMs. Gary 11:05 North, Lockheed Martin’s Vice President for Customer Requirements and Aeronautics, declared at the time that the F-35’s AN/APG-81 radar allowed the aircraft to identify and intercept threats flying at low altitude and high velocity, like cruise missiles. But the Israelis were now going on offense with their Mighty Ones, and they proved mighty indeed. The Houthis are not a ragtag terror group. They control large amounts of territory in western Yemen, including the country’s official capital of Sanaa. Because of their Iranian backers, they have radars and SAM systems which they have already used to shoot down American MQ-9 Reaper drones. However, the IAF aircraft easily got the better of these on July 21st. The IAF F-35s and F-15s conducted ten air strikes in eight waves against targets in the Houthi port. The targets included oil refineries, fuel depots, a power station, and Yemeni air force assets. The IAF air strikes also caused significant damage to the port itself. Three people were killed and at least 87 wounded in 12:03 the air strikes. At first, there was speculation that the United States and United Kingdom were also involved in the operation, as both have struck the port city before, but both countries and Israel denied their involvement. Israel hoped that destroying these assets would slow down one of the ways that the Houthis receive weapons deliveries from Iran. The IAF has not stated which weapons were used in the attack, but The War Zone reports that semi-direct munitions like JDAM bombs were likely responsible for the results. These bombs have a range of about 30 kilometers. If these were indeed the F-35’s weapon of choice, Operation Longarm is further proof of the fighter’s deep penetration abilities and stealth attributes. The IAF F-35s would have easily evaded the Houthis’ Iranian-made air defense network to get this close. To make the feat more impressive, the operation took place in daylight. It helped that the United States provided “Mission Bricks” to the Israeli F-35s at the start of the Gaza campaign last autumn. This aid made it easier for Israel’s F-35s to more easily penetrate enemy airspace. Meanwhile, the strike on the 13:01 refinery sent a message to Iran itself. It showed that Israel can disrupt the energy supply chain, which the heavily-sanctioned Iranian economy depends on. According to Morielle I. Lotan, an energy security expert writing for The Jerusalem Post, the attack on Al Hudaydah could have simulated a future operation on Khark Island in the Persian Gulf. This island is Iran’s primary facility for oil exports. If it were attacked, Iran would lose much of its capacity to fund and supply its proxies, as revenues from international customers for Iranian energy, especially China, would be disrupted. Operation Longarm was named appropriately. The attack not only demonstrated Israel’s ability to destroy similar facilities as those on Iran’s Khark Island, but the range and ease with which it could do so. The port was 1,700 kilometers away from Israeli territory, making this the IAF’s longest-range operation since 1985’s Operation Wooden Leg, when it destroyed the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Tunis, Tunisia. Wooden Leg saw the use of at least ten F-15 Eagles sent to strike the target over 2,200 kilometers beyond 14:02 Israeli territory. This operation was something of an innovation. At the time, fighter aircraft were not typically used for such long range missions. Bombers were the go-to platforms for missions of that sort, but Israel did not have any. It instead relied on its Eagles, with the assistance of refueling tankers, to traverse the distance and back again. That experience prepared the IAF for extended range operations, and that experience came to roost here. Operation Longarm was the longest-distance daylight raid ever conducted by the IAF. Israel’s choosing to directly strike Yemeni territory for the first time was part of the warning, too, as Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Minister of Defense, said some stark words in the aftermath of Operation Longarm: “The fire that is currently burning in Hodeidah is seen across the Middle East, and the significance is clear. The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required.” These words hint at why the fuel depots were designated as targets. The Israeli brass knew that by targeting the fuel depots, they would start massive fires that would burn for days. Locals would also see these 15:02 fires from a long distance. The attack sent a psychological message to Iran’s proxies and Iran itself. Footage released in the aftermath shows large fires and columns of smoke easily visible for miles. Since Iranian territory is 1,500 kilometers away from Israel, the operation also showed that the IAF can hit important targets in Iran with minimal risk to the Israeli aircraft. The Israelis have decades of institutional experience conducting such operations, and the F-35’s penetration of the Houthi radars and air defenses sent the message that Iran was incapable of shooting down Israel’s stealth fighters. The Houthis vowed retaliation for Operation Longarm. Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ governing political bureau said in a statement: “The Israeli aggression against Yemen will not stop our military operations in support of the Palestinian people. Rather, they will increase until the aggression against Gaza is stopped and the siege on its residents is lifted, and we will meet escalation with escalation.” Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the strikes at Al Hudaydah “makes it clear 16:00 to our enemies that there is no place that the long arm of the state of Israel will not reach.” The attack on the Houthi port may have sent a message, but it was not a game-changer in the Middle East. There was a two-week pause following Operation Longarm, but, as they promised, the Houthis resumed operations following Israel’s assassination of Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran during the small hours of the morning of July 31st. The Houthis continued to attack commercial shipping in the Red Sea. On August 9th, four Houthi attacks were recorded against a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. One of these incidents saw private security guards on the ship shooting and destroying a drone boat loaded with explosives. With the Houthis as an instrumental part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance” in the Middle East, tensions don’t look like they will lift anytime soon. Operation Longarm might well only be the first in a series of long-distance Israeli strikes in retaliation for other attacks sure to come. Israel and Iran have been at odds since the Islamic Republic came into being. The attack on a port in Yemen will not change that. What do you think will come next in the Middle East? Will Iran launch another direct attack at Israel as 17:03 the American intelligence community alleges? Will Israel use its F-35s to strike targets in Iranian territory such as Khark Island? Don’t forget to let us know in the comments. Also make sure to hit the like button and subscribe for more military analysis from military experts! 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