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Air superiority was established fairly early on in the conflict. Flying F-15 and F-16s now. Not even stealth and they drop more than just missles - they carry b

Air superiority was established fairly early on in the conflict. Flying F-15 and F-16s now. Not even stealth and they drop more than just missles - they carry bombs. B-52s weren’t sent in to carpet bomb the area of that’s what you mean. US could indiscriminately drop dumb bombs but you would have a higher civilian casualty rate.

appointment 3mo ago
> Flying F-15 and F-16s now. Except not really. If they were willing to risk sending many aircraft deep into Iranian airspace with SDBs and JDAMs they wouldn't be running out of ballistic missiles.
- firesteelrain 3mo ago
  There have been 60-70 F15 and F16s operating in Iran (could be more just found via public sources).
  - justin66 3mo ago
    And when an F-15E was shot down they got spooked. They're relying heavily on missiles because it doesn't cause a multiday story in the news when one is shot down on its way to the target (and because they're incapable of thinking more than one move ahead, and because it's not their money...).
    - firesteelrain 3mo ago
      [dead]
elendilm 3mo ago
This is hilarious. Yeah. Air superiority. Last I heard they moved all their equipments to Jordan to stay out of range from Sijjeel and they are still getting hammered in Jordan. Saw the video taken by the US service men. In movies you see US soldiers yelling "go go go" while in the battlefield we saw them scream "run run run". Your confidence in claiming air superiority is commendable. Keep it up.
- firesteelrain 3mo ago
  I don’t think you understand meaning behind air superiority.
  - elendilm 3mo ago
    I am glad that you do.
    - firesteelrain 3mo ago
      Then explain what you think it means, because your examples are about missile attacks on fixed bases, not control of the air.
      - elendilm 3mo ago
        Bro, logistics and refueling are important to maintain air superiority. If there are no bases, there is no air superiority. If you follow world news from non-western-propaganda-sources, you would know, the fighter jets shoot without entering Iranian airspace to stay clear of Iranian home made anti air defense and heat seeking tech along with potential russian and Chinese air defense. Entering Iranian airspace has been costly for US as witnessed by the famous shootdowns of multiple jets over the course of last several months.
        firesteelrain 3mo ago
        You’re moving the goalposts. First it was missile attacks on bases, now it’s logistics and refueling. Those influence air operations, but they aren’t the definition of air superiority. Also, “multiple US jet shootdowns” is an extraordinary claim. What’s the evidence?
        elendilm 3mo ago
        I give up buddy. I thought you wanted explanation of how air superiority is acheived. Apparently you think it can be acheived without logistics and refueling. What is the need of evidence when you have magic by your side. So no - those fighter jets were not shot down. Magic saved them. You were right all along.
feb012025 3mo ago
This doesn't really make sense. We're using stand off munitions to bomb targets like missile silo entrances--why would you not just use guided bombs if we had air superiority? Civilian casualties wouldn't be a factor
- firesteelrain 3mo ago
  [flagged]
maxglute 3mo ago
And immediately lost it after a few weeks, hence current detente. A maximally preopositioned/prepared/postured US + Israel suckering punching Iran was able to briefing maintain air superiority through select regions, but the minute Iran reorganized and hit CENTCOM basing, US lost sortie generation rate to maintain air superiority. Land basing / sustainment ~70% of theatre sortie generation, US carriers / long range bombers good supplementary door kickers, but they can't sustain enough fires generation to suppress Iran, hence US forced to burn standoff stockpile - because shit tier air defense network + theater level precision strike complex (missiles) allows even crippled Iran to deny US air superiority and ability to prosecute cheap dump bomb war. Reminder to get even to the temporary air superiority (which was only established on select areas) US+Israel had to expend mass amounts of high end munitions, and push high tempo logistics to shape battlefield, can't do that anymore without land basing, and US logistically incapable for sustaining / surging 6-8 carriers to backfill sortie. Now highend standoff munitions are functional substitute for air superiority for hitting targets, not whole tactic replacement, i.e. no CAS, hence it's an expensive fallback, but only if there is enough munitions to sustain, which currently there isn't.
- firesteelrain 3mo ago
  That’s a lot of assertions, but none demonstrate Iran denied US air operations. You’re describing increased friction, not loss of air superiority.
  - maxglute 3mo ago
    Iranian friction created prohibitive operating environment that made US abandon air space dominance - that is literal loss of air superiority. There was enough manned and unmanned airframe losses over the first few weeks that it was no longer viable to try to maintain air supremacy - it was obvious after downed F15 that US can't afford to burn an entire combat SAR worth of hardware more than a few times. Hence from air supremacy -> superiority -> contested air space scale, losses vs US appetite = Iran contested air space enough that US could not afford to maintain superiority, and Iran degraded or put enough CENTCOM sortie generation under threat that US likely cannot anyway. Of course this all mediated by US risk appetite. US on paper pour enough hardware at extreme cost, eat enough losses, to reestablish superiority or even supremacy over Iran, but it's unlikely.

appointment 3mo ago

> Flying F-15 and F-16s now. Except not really. If they were willing to risk sending many aircraft deep into Iranian airspace with SDBs and JDAMs they wouldn't be running out of ballistic missiles.

firesteelrain 3mo ago
There have been 60-70 F15 and F16s operating in Iran (could be more just found via public sources).
- justin66 3mo ago
  And when an F-15E was shot down they got spooked. They're relying heavily on missiles because it doesn't cause a multiday story in the news when one is shot down on its way to the target (and because they're incapable of thinking more than one move ahead, and because it's not their money...).
  - firesteelrain 3mo ago
    [dead]

elendilm 3mo ago

This is hilarious. Yeah. Air superiority. Last I heard they moved all their equipments to Jordan to stay out of range from Sijjeel and they are still getting hammered in Jordan. Saw the video taken by the US service men. In movies you see US soldiers yelling "go go go" while in the battlefield we saw them scream "run run run". Your confidence in claiming air superiority is commendable. Keep it up.

firesteelrain 3mo ago
I don’t think you understand meaning behind air superiority.
- elendilm 3mo ago
  I am glad that you do.
  - firesteelrain 3mo ago
    Then explain what you think it means, because your examples are about missile attacks on fixed bases, not control of the air.
    - elendilm 3mo ago
      Bro, logistics and refueling are important to maintain air superiority. If there are no bases, there is no air superiority. If you follow world news from non-western-propaganda-sources, you would know, the fighter jets shoot without entering Iranian airspace to stay clear of Iranian home made anti air defense and heat seeking tech along with potential russian and Chinese air defense. Entering Iranian airspace has been costly for US as witnessed by the famous shootdowns of multiple jets over the course of last several months.
      - firesteelrain 3mo ago
        You’re moving the goalposts. First it was missile attacks on bases, now it’s logistics and refueling. Those influence air operations, but they aren’t the definition of air superiority. Also, “multiple US jet shootdowns” is an extraordinary claim. What’s the evidence?
        elendilm 3mo ago
        I give up buddy. I thought you wanted explanation of how air superiority is acheived. Apparently you think it can be acheived without logistics and refueling. What is the need of evidence when you have magic by your side. So no - those fighter jets were not shot down. Magic saved them. You were right all along.

feb012025 3mo ago

This doesn't really make sense. We're using stand off munitions to bomb targets like missile silo entrances--why would you not just use guided bombs if we had air superiority? Civilian casualties wouldn't be a factor

firesteelrain 3mo ago
[flagged]

maxglute 3mo ago

And immediately lost it after a few weeks, hence current detente. A maximally preopositioned/prepared/postured US + Israel suckering punching Iran was able to briefing maintain air superiority through select regions, but the minute Iran reorganized and hit CENTCOM basing, US lost sortie generation rate to maintain air superiority. Land basing / sustainment ~70% of theatre sortie generation, US carriers / long range bombers good supplementary door kickers, but they can't sustain enough fires generation to suppress Iran, hence US forced to burn standoff stockpile - because shit tier air defense network + theater level precision strike complex (missiles) allows even crippled Iran to deny US air superiority and ability to prosecute cheap dump bomb war. Reminder to get even to the temporary air superiority (which was only established on select areas) US+Israel had to expend mass amounts of high end munitions, and push high tempo logistics to shape battlefield, can't do that anymore without land basing, and US logistically incapable for sustaining / surging 6-8 carriers to backfill sortie. Now highend standoff munitions are functional substitute for air superiority for hitting targets, not whole tactic replacement, i.e. no CAS, hence it's an expensive fallback, but only if there is enough munitions to sustain, which currently there isn't.

firesteelrain 3mo ago
That’s a lot of assertions, but none demonstrate Iran denied US air operations. You’re describing increased friction, not loss of air superiority.
- maxglute 3mo ago
  Iranian friction created prohibitive operating environment that made US abandon air space dominance - that is literal loss of air superiority. There was enough manned and unmanned airframe losses over the first few weeks that it was no longer viable to try to maintain air supremacy - it was obvious after downed F15 that US can't afford to burn an entire combat SAR worth of hardware more than a few times. Hence from air supremacy -> superiority -> contested air space scale, losses vs US appetite = Iran contested air space enough that US could not afford to maintain superiority, and Iran degraded or put enough CENTCOM sortie generation under threat that US likely cannot anyway. Of course this all mediated by US risk appetite. US on paper pour enough hardware at extreme cost, eat enough losses, to reestablish superiority or even supremacy over Iran, but it's unlikely.