What on earth is going on! It feels like the U.S. suddenly won’t be going to war overnight! On April 4th, according to foreign media reports, the U.S. military endured a grueling 24 hours in Iran:
- 1 F-15E Strike Eagle shot down (1 pilot rescued, 1 crew member missing)
- 2 HH-60W rescue helicopters hit by Iranian artillery fire (crew safe, some injured)
- 2 A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft struck (one crashed into the Persian Gulf—pilot rescued; the other made an emergency landing with one engine failure)
- 1 F-16 declared emergency status, safely landed
- 1–2 KC-135 tanker aircraft also declared emergencies
Meanwhile, Iran also claimed it shot down another U.S. jet near the Qeshm Island area. Air strikes have clearly become far more dangerous.
Evidently, as the conflict deepens, one would expect the U.S. and Israel to further strike and destroy Iran’s air defense systems—but instead, Iran’s air defenses seemingly sprang up overnight from underground, causing the U.S. such serious trouble. It's likely that the U.S. is now desperately trying to figure out what actually happened—how could U.S. air operations go so poorly?
Although the U.S. has substantial resources, if losses continue at this pace, even they may not be able to sustain it. Clearly, Iran has thoroughly caught the U.S. off guard. Even more troubling for U.S. forces is that Iran appears to have completely deciphered American combat tactics, enabling increasingly effective counterattacks. If U.S. fighter jets are already operating with such constant fear during aerial combat inside Iran, this will inevitably greatly weaken U.S. striking capabilities.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861494802773001/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author