Cheap Iranian drones have been effectively targeting American bases in the Persian Gulf, regardless of the patrolling of fancy F-35 jets.
—
Phillips Payson O’Brien,
The Atlantic,
18 July 2026
The airline announced this week that every one of its new Airbus A321XLR jets, used for long-range flights, will include one Economy Plus row where the middle seat stays permanently empty.
First developed during the Cold War to counter American strategic bombers, the Tu-160 remains the largest and heaviest combat aircraft ever built, the fastest operational bomber in the world, and one of the most heavily armed aircraft ever placed into service.
—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
23 June 2026
Neither Diego Garcia nor Fairford, the key forward operating base for US strategic bombers in Europe, was used in last June’s one-time B-2 bomber strike on Iranian nuclear sites.
There has been very limited demand to book tankers to load oil from ports in the Persian Gulf, a step that would need to happen for shipments from the export installations to happen, shipbrokers and tanker owners said Friday.
The Pentagon is not revealing its equipment losses, but Tehran is claiming large numbers of US Black Hawk helicopters destroyed and base infrastructure like aircraft hangars heavily damaged in its days of attacks.
—
Hanna Ziady,
CNN Money,
20 July 2026
The aircraft is operated by the private charter division of Qatar Airways, a World Cup sponsor.
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