#SECURITY ALLERT Al-Shabaab Decision-Making Circles and Hardline Leadership
According to insights from internal sources and individuals with direct knowledge of the group’s internal dynamics, the most hardline elements within Al-Shabaab remain active and continue to shape the… pic.twitter.com/ARrJBz47bE
— Abdurahman Sheikh Azhari (@HOA_ANALYST) March 23, 2026
Text:
Al-Shabaab Decision-Making Circles and Hardline Leadership
According to insights from internal sources and individuals with direct knowledge of the group’s internal dynamics, the most hardline elements within Al-Shabaab remain active and continue to shape the organization’s strategic direction. These figures are central to sustaining the group’s insurgency against the Federal Government of Somalia and its international partners.
Of the four senior figures historically associated with the group’s core leadership, three are assessed to be alive. Among them is
1. Ahmed Diriye (Abu Ubaidah), the overall emir, who retains near-absolute decision-making authority. His leadership model reflects a highly centralized command structure, with minimal reliance on broad consultation beyond a tightly controlled inner circle.
2. Mahad Karate, a senior operative who oversees the group’s intelligence, counterintelligence, and financial networks. Despite a reported period of reduced influence, he has reasserted himself in recent years and remains a critical node within the organization’s command and control architecture.
3. Yusuf Haji (Moalim Daud), the founder of the Amniyat and a principal architect of Al-Shabaab’s modern military command structure, was killed in a 2016 airstrike in Kunyo Barrow. His role was widely viewed as foundational to the development of the group’s internal security apparatus and operational coherence during its early expansion phase.
[Breitbart] Britain is sending short-range air defence systems to the Gulf to help counter Iranian missile attacks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday.
“We’re deploying short range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed,” Starmer told a parliamentary committee, adding the UK was “doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia”.
The UK is working with industry to “distribute air defence missiles to Gulf partners”, which have faced waves of Iranian barrages in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes, and has embedded airspace specialists there, Starmer said.
Defence minister John Healey told parliament the country would be deploying its Rapid Sentry anti-drone system to Kuwait.
He called this a “battle-tested ground-based air defence missile system that has already proved highly effective for UK forces taking down drones in the region”.
A British warship, HMS Dragon, has also arrived in the eastern Mediterranean to defend Cyprus, Healey said.
Britain deployed the vessel following criticism over a perceived slow response to a drone attack on Britain’s Akrotiri base in southern Cyprus after the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28.
The UK now has more military jets in the region “than at any time in the last 15 years” and has boosted air defence personnel in Cyprus by 500, Healey said.
He added that UK pilots had now spent nearly 900 hours flying in the region “in defence of Cyprus, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates” as Iran has unleashed volleys of drones at countries in the region.
– ‘KEEPING UK SAFE’ –
The UK government is allowing Washington to use its bases in Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands and Fairford in southwest England to fly US bombing missions targeting Iranian “missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz”.
Britain is determined to play a “leading role in securing the strait so commercial ships can move freely and confidently again”, its defence minister said, referring to the strategic chokepoint through which much of the world’s crude oil and natural gas passes.
Iran on Friday launched two missiles towards the Diego Garcia base, Healey said, but neither reached their target and “normal operations continue”.
“I totally condemn Iran’s reckless attacks. Iran must stop, it must de-escalate. We want to see this war end now,” the minister said.
But he offered assurances, saying: “There is no assessment that we are being targeted in the UK”.
“We have the resources, we have the alliances in place in order to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks.”
Posted by: Skidmark ||
03/24/2026 00:00 ||
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[TheGuardian] Ship arrives three weeks after Iranian-made drone hit British base of RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus.
HMS Dragon has arrived in the eastern Mediterranean, three weeks after an Iranian-made drone hit the British base of RAF Akrotiri, the defence secretary has said.
The Type 45 destroyer will begin “operational integration into Cyprus’s defence” from Monday night, John Healey told MPs.
#3
No paywall: HMS Dragon has arrived in the eastern Mediterranean, three weeks after an Iranian-made drone hit the British base of RAF Akrotiri, the defence secretary has said.
The Type 45 destroyer will begin “operational integration into Cyprus’s defence” from Monday night, John Healey told MPs.
The British government has faced criticism for the slowness to deploy a warship to the region, after moves by Greece and France to send extra naval support to Cyprus after the attack.
The Cypriot government has also expressed concern that the drone was able to hit the base, suggesting that the presence of the British base on the island should now be reviewed.
The vessel had been undergoing a six-week refit in Portsmouth but was made seaworthy in six days, with crews working 22-hour days. Opposition parties said the UK government should have anticipated the US-Israeli conflict with Iran and how Tehran would retaliate, and moved assets closer to the region in advance.
Healey also confirmed reports over the weekend that Iran had attempted to launch two strikes on the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands.
“There is no assessment that we are being targeted in the UK in that way. We have the resources, we have the alliances in place in order to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks,” he said.
Healey said there were now an extra 500 air defence personnel in Cyprus. “As more military capabilities are committed to the eastern Mediterranean, we’re working closely with the Republic of Cyprus to coordinate the contribution of allies, including the US, France and Greece, to reinforce the security of Cyprus,” he said.
“RAF and navy pilots have now racked up nearly 900 flying hours in defence of Cyprus, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. We have more jets in the region than at any time in the last 15 years.”
HMS Dragon has a Sea Viper missile system, which intercepts drones and missiles, which the Ministry of Defence said would “play a vital role in safeguarding UK assets and interests in the Middle East”.
Healey confirmed that the prime minister had authorised the use of UK bases for the US military to launch defensive strikes against specific Iranian targets, including their missile sites and capabilities that threatened the strait of Hormuz.
The strait, which is a major route for global energy shipping, has been near impassable in recent weeks with vital energy infrastructure damage.
Healey said Iran was “holding the strait of Hormuz hostage by laying mines, targeting ships, including Red Ensign vessels, and putting lives in danger” and said the UK was deploying military planners into US Central Command to develop options to reopen the strait.
“We are determined that the UK plays a leading role in securing the strait so commercial ships can move freely and confidently again,” he said.
#5
Type 45 destroyer
Basically, a floating air defense platform with 48 vertical launch cells. They seem reasonably equipped on paper, but you still have to operate them.
[FoxNews] American-born Marxist businessman named Neville Roy Singham sold his technology company, Thoughtworks, for an estimated $785 million in 2017, and a Fox News Digital investigation reveals that he set about building his own version of Mao's united front.
The investigation, using large language models to analyze hundreds of pages of tax records, organizational messaging, online content and historical records, found Singham pumped at least $278 million into a layered network of 2,000 nonprofits, think tanks, activist groups and media organizations with shared messaging and ideology matching the communist ideals of Mao and Castro, operating across borders while appearing independent. What emerges isn't a loose coalition but a tightly-knit system.
At the time of the sale, Thoughtwork’s chief scientist, Martin Fowler, acknowledged the proceeds would fund Singham’s "activist work." The sale created a war chest that would flow into the constellation of nonprofits that now comprise the "House of Singham."
Policymakers and law enforcement officials have gotten a glimpse into pieces of Singham’s influence, from anti-Israel protests in the U.S. to a propaganda machine in India and the hijacking of a labor union in South Africa. But the broader picture is more expansive: a transnational network buried in layer upon layer of companies entangled with shared leaders, shared addresses and a shared mission to spread Marxism and promote China as a global counterweight to the U.S. in a new Cold War.
IRS records show that three entities transferred $278 million from 2017 through 2023 into six core U.S. nonprofits in Singham's network, but those six nonprofits haven't operated in isolation. They have functioned as hubs in a broader system, receiving and redistributing funding, and coordinating activity across a widening network of affiliated groups.
[Georgia Record] A Georgia Institute of Technology professor - under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract - wrote this in an email: "We have more than enough evidence of what looks to be Russian and Iranian command and control activities from state, local, tribal and territorial government networks that we have analysis that potentially makes them election related."
Same professor. Days later: "There is a group that has successfully penetrated these networks." Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Program Manager Ian Crone confirmed in writing they were analyzing "actual election networks."
His response when briefed on the penetration? "I think their muted response was because they're a little dazed."
The people in that room when all of this was confirmed:
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - Department of Homeland Security
Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center - the organization that monitors every single state and local election network in America Russia and Iran were inside networks tied to our elections. Every one of these agencies knew. You were never told.
NOW THE QUESTIONS:
Given all the Pre & Election day heads up evidence of the breech.
* Were the Democrats & their Controlled Media in on the steal?
* Did Iran & Russia already know about Biden's mental issues?
* Was the Ga. Governor & the GA. Sec of State informed before they certified the Ga Election results? If so, was there a political deal between them and the DNC?
[X]
🚨 Tweet #9: Suggest reading this slowly.
A Georgia Institute of Technology professor - under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract - wrote this in an email:
"We have more than enough evidence of what looks to be Russian and Iranian command and control activities… pic.twitter.com/qgBzmLpzFb
#2
We've heard the old [sick] joke "vote early, vote often" for, what, 50 years (at least)? GOP did nothing then, so are they part of the scam? But we never heard of "foreign actors" in those days. Now, suddenly....
[WND] As President Donald Trump deployed ICE agents to some airports across America on Monday to help speed up TSA security-checks for passengers, CNN reported "fantastic" results at the nation's busiest airport, with wait times down from more than five hours to "under 30 minutes."
"Finally we can take a deep breath here. The numbers have dropped off. The lines are getting shorter," reported Ryan Young during a live shot for CNN Monday as he pointed out the ICE agents acting as perimeter security at Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
"We've been told that the lines now again are under 30 minutes which is fantastic. That's after Sunday when it was more than five hours and we saw lines stretch outside the building."
Young also reported anti-ICE activists got a permit to protest ICE's presence at the Atlanta airport.
Antifa/Black Bloc moves this to War on Terror Background on the potential, and WoT: Fifth Column when they start screeching, followed by federal arrests.
That prompted a reaction from Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet, who said: "So not only did ICE fix the wait lines at Atlanta's airport, now leftists are coming to protest them!!"
"This is an important microcosm of modern America. Democrats screw things up. We try to fix it. Leftists protest you trying to fix the problem they created. They hate you and want you to suffer."
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/24/2026 11:14 Comments ||
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#6
...now leftists are coming to protest them...
Still illegal to loiter at an airport if you don't have a flight or are picking someone up and disrupting operations WILL put you in a pound you in the ass federal pen.
#7
@3 LG is correct and trying to prevent the morons from PEACEFULLY protesting outside of the security perimeter is a lawsuit that the Georgia would almost certainly lose on 1st Amendment violations.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Leonid Tsukanov
Frighten? That’s a word, certainly. Not the correct word, but a word.
[REGNUM] Despite claims by American and Israeli military leaders that Iran has "no missiles left" to carry out targeted attacks, Tehran has managed to periodically publicly deny these claims.
In particular, Iranian forces recently launched a successful strike on southern Israel, hitting buildings in the cities of Dimona and Arad. The attack injured 303 people.
The incident sparked outrage among Israelis. Not only because it was Tehran's largest successful attack since the beginning of the campaign, but because the Shimon Peres Nuclear Research Center, the crown jewel of Israel's "nuclear perimeter," is located near Dimona and Arad in the Negev Desert.
And the recent successful Iranian attack has created a real threat to this center.
Since the beginning of the February campaign, Iran has virtually never launched rockets into southern Israel, despite official Tehran repeatedly threatening to "wipe off the face of the earth" key Israeli targets in the Negev.
To intimidate their opponents, the Iranians typically used UAVs, which were easily shot down by local echeloned air defenses.
This continued until the end of the second ten days of March, when Israel again decided to escalate the situation and struck Iran's nuclear facility in Natanz. Tehran responded quickly and asymmetrically: air raid sirens sounded in the "quiet south," followed shortly by powerful explosions.
It is noteworthy that Iran used liquid-fuel Qadr missiles, which were first presented to the general public in February 2018, to strike southern cities.
This came as an unpleasant surprise to Israeli security officials. Previously, the General Staff believed that Iran had only managed to produce a few hundred prototypes, most of which were either destroyed in the first days of the war along with their launchers, or were buried in the destroyed "missile cities" around Tehran.
The Israeli army is commenting on the failure to repel the air attack with poorly concealed irritation. The General Staff insists that the fatal hits were caused not by an Iranian technical breakthrough, but by a "chain of unfortunate malfunctions" in the air defense system. The algorithms responded too late, and the missile managed to escape the kill zone.
At the same time, the military insists that the percentage of successfully engaged targets throughout March never dropped below 92%, an internal record for the air defense forces. Therefore, there's no point in looking for anyone to blame for the incident. This is especially true given that the public warning system was activated 10 minutes before the strike, but many simply ignored it, resulting in a significant number of casualties being caught out in the open.
However, the public was not satisfied with such excuses. Especially since the pattern of "unfortunate malfunctions" in both cities was identical, as if someone had deliberately covered their tracks. Rumors began to circulate about Iranian hackers interfering with the Iron Dome's digital infrastructure. However, no pro-Iranian group has yet attempted to claim this sudden fame.
News of the strikes in the southern districts infuriated Israeli far-right politicians. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was among the first to arrive at the scene in the city of Arad and, in the rubble of a damaged building, delivered a speech about the need to take the war to "existential mode" and achieve the complete destruction of Iran.
However, the local population, barely escaping the shelling, did not appreciate the controversial minister's appeals. Ben-Gvir was greeted with whistles and insults, and one Israeli woman nearly attacked him.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to rectify the situation. While he supported Ben-Gvir, he did so in extremely vague terms. Addressing the victims, the prime minister declared that "the entire home front has become the front" and that they must be prepared for further escalation of the conflict.
Israel's liberal forces reacted to the incident in two ways. On the one hand, the leaders of all the Knesset factions opposing Netanyahu condemned the incident, calling the Iranian attack "terrorism against civilians," and also expressed solidarity with the residents of the Southern District and the course of the military campaign against Tehran.
Which, however, did not stop some politicians from starting their own hidden game.
For example, opposition leader Yair Lapid used public distraction from the crisis in the south to lobby for a no-confidence vote against the government, which he introduced in mid-March. Lapid and his supporters argue that while Netanyahu was busy promoting "populist laws" and appointing his protégés to key positions in the army and intelligence agencies, he had completely lost touch with the realities on the ground.
Among other things, shortly before the conflict, he cut funding for air defense in the south of the country, which led to the recent tragedy. This means that the prime minister himself must bear responsibility for the attacks on Dimona and Arad.
On the other hand, there's no unity on this issue even within the opposition bloc. In particular, former Defense Minister and leader of the security forces faction, Benny Gantz, who has every reason to undermine the prime minister, suddenly refused to support the no-confidence vote, citing its "inopportuneness." Apparently, Gantz decided not to play along with the Iranians—especially when they don't particularly need to be played along.
Iranian authorities are positioning the strikes on Dimona and Arad as a "warning" measure, designed to demonstrate their increased capabilities to breach Israel's Iron Dome. This suggests that they not only possess missiles but are also prepared to use them if their opponents escalate further.
Israel is well aware that the next strike in the Negev Desert will be aimed specifically at the nuclear center, and most likely using a more sophisticated array of weapons. Tehran has quite clearly hinted at such capabilities by recently launching an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean.
Although the missile was shot down in mid-air and did not damage local infrastructure, both the Americans and Israelis interpreted the message clearly: the Iranians had not yet thrown out all their cards. In theory, this should cool the nerves of those advocating for expanded operations in the Middle East.
On the other hand, Iran's "preemptive attack" partially plays into Netanyahu's hands. The Israeli prime minister can easily exploit the public's heightened fear of a nuclear catastrophe to pressure the US to intensify its pressure on Iran.
And after the incident in Dimona and Arad, both Democrats and Republicans showed obvious concern and nervousness.
And where there is US support, there is a strong domestic political position: parliamentary opponents are unlikely to risk challenging Netanyahu directly if they see that he has managed to draw Washington even deeper into the conflict and thereby relieve Israel of some of the military burden.
Posted by: badanov ||
03/24/2026 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] This dirt-cheap 3D-printed missile is raising red flags for security agencies worldwide.
Independent engineer posts open-source prototype of a shoulder-fired guided missile built for under $100; cheap sensors, GPS and distributed cameras highlight growing fears over the democratization of advanced weapons
A video circulating online has exposed what security officials describe as a troubling new reality: a prototype shoulder-fired guided missile built with household tools, a 3D printer and parts costing less than $100.
The prototype, which reportedly cost $96 to assemble, was developed by independent engineer Alisher Khojayev, who published the full project online on GitHub.
Khojayev’s design includes a missile with folding stabilizing fins, a navigation system based on GPS and a compass, and a simple flight computer built on an ESP32 controller, the same low-cost chip commonly found in consumer electronics and smart home devices.
Beyond the launcher and missile itself, the engineer proposed a broader concept: a distributed network of cameras capable of triangulating airborne targets and transmitting targeting data to the missile in real time.
A WAKE-UP CALL FOR DEFENSE INDUSTRIES
Security experts say the project serves as a wake-up call for defense agencies in Israel and around the world.
To grasp the scale of the development, analysts point to the cost gap between the prototype and existing military systems.
The U.S.-made Stinger missile, widely considered the Western standard for shoulder-launched air defense against low-flying aircraft, costs American taxpayers about $480,000 per unit.
Even the U.S. Air Force’s “low-cost missile” initiative, the Counter-Air Missile Program (CAMP), which aims to significantly reduce production costs, still targets prices of several hundred thousand dollars per missile.
In Israel, the economic comparison is also stark. An interceptor used by the Iron Dome defense system costs between $20,000 and $100,000.
The laser-based “Iron Beam” system promises interception costs of just a few dollars per shot, but its development and infrastructure are estimated to cost billions.
Khojayev’s prototype highlights a different path: cheap, decentralized production using consumer-grade technology and artificial intelligence, without the need for large factories or global supply chains.
THE RISE OF 3D-PRINTED WEAPONS
The trend does not exist in isolation.
In China, the world’s largest manufacturer of 3D printers, the defense industry is rapidly adopting additive manufacturing to mass-produce missile components.
In Europe, defense giant MBDA already incorporates 3D-printed parts in its missiles to shorten production times.
The real testing ground, however, may be Ukraine, which has been fighting Russia for four years. Reports from the battlefield describe networks of “basement labs” using hundreds of 3D printers to produce low-cost interceptor drones and munitions.
Ukrainian company SkyFall recently unveiled the P1-Sun, a 3D-printed interceptor drone capable of reaching speeds of 450 kilometers per hour and designed to shoot down cruise missiles and Iranian-made Shahed drones.
The ability to rapidly alter manufacturing plans in order to evade Russian electronic warfare systems gives small-scale producers an advantage that large defense companies struggle to match.
FROM 3D-PRINTED GUNS TO GUIDED WEAPONS
The path toward a $100 missile began in 2013, when American activist Cody Wilson released the plans for the Liberator, the first fully 3D-printed handgun.
At the time, many experts dismissed the development as a dangerous but limited novelty.
#2
There is major potential, but also major drawbacks. Fabricated and/or forged casings keep flaws and weak spots to a minimum as they are one piece and any impurities are usually spread out through the piece. We have checks nearly perfected now to use a microscope to check for cracks and that goes for weapons to airplane fuselages.
3D printed things however can allow weak spots and impurities gather as they are built one layer at a time. For a quick and immediate one use launch there would be a higher failure rate than normal missiles, but you can make a hell of a lot more of them. If stored, weather and temp swings can cause cracking and failures in the print to happen a heck of a lot more often and easier. I wouldn't trust a MANPAD missile that was 3D printed if it was stored a year in a unheated bunker in upper NY, that is for sure. Good way for it to blow up next to your head.
[PJMedia] The A-10 Warthog never tried to impress anyone with looks. Good thing, because it couldn't; the plane looks as though it was assembled in a scrapyard during a bar fight. "Born in a junkyard raised in a body shop."
And when things get serious, it's still one of the first aircraft anybody wants covering them overhead. Operation Epic Fury just drove the point home again, this time over the Strait of Hormuz.
The current operational tempo in the Strait of Hormuz highlights why the A-10 remains uniquely suited for this type of warfare. Iranian tactics rely heavily on swarm attacks using fast, low-signature boats, often armed with rockets, mines, and short-range anti-ship missiles. These targets are difficult to detect and track using conventional high-altitude strike profiles. The A-10, by contrast, operates at low altitude with extended loiter time, allowing pilots to visually identify, pursue, and engage these threats in real time, even in congested maritime environments where civilian and military vessels are intermingled.
The aircraft’s GAU-8/A Avenger 30mm cannon remains central to this mission, offering sustained, high-precision firepower against small and maneuvering maritime targets. The system fires depleted uranium or high-explosive incendiary rounds at a rate of up to 3,900 rounds per minute, with a typical combat load of around 1,150 rounds. This gives the A-10 a unique ability to conduct multiple attack passes and maintain pressure on targets, something no other Western aircraft can replicate at this scale.
Built by Fairchild Republic, the A-10 exists for one purpose: to kill enemy threats close to American forces.
That mission hasn't changed since the 1970s, and no amount of PowerPoint presentation has replaced it. The aircraft was designed around the GAU-8 Avenger cannon, a 30 mm monster that roars like a lion and leaves fire in its wake like a dragon. Everything else on the plane exists to support that weapon and keep the pilot alive long enough to use it.
#6
I believe you and I have a different idea of what ugly is.
Posted by: chris ||
03/24/2026 14:00 Comments ||
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#7
No one has seen an ugly ballerina at work.
A-10 Wingtip Pirouette Video
The A-10 Thunderbolt II is known for its exceptional maneuverability, particularly at low altitudes and speeds, which allows for extreme flight maneuvers. While there is no widely recognized or verified video of an A-10 pivoting entirely on a single wingtip in flight, the aircraft's design and flight characteristics make such a maneuver theoretically possible under specific conditions.
**Drooped Wingtips** on the A-10 are a key design feature. These downward-bent wingtips are not just for aesthetics—they serve multiple aerodynamic purposes:
- **Reduce induced drag** by managing wingtip vortices, improving loiter time for close air support missions.
- **Enhance low-speed handling and maneuverability**, crucial for operating near the ground.
- **Improve aileron effectiveness** at low altitudes, allowing precise control during tight turns and low-altitude flight.
The **"pivoting on a wingtip"** maneuver you might be referring to could be a dramatic visual effect seen in aerobatic or training footage, where the aircraft banks sharply, and one wingtip appears to act as a pivot point during a tight turn or slow roll. This is consistent with the A-10’s high maneuverability and low wing loading (200 kg/m²), which allows it to perform aggressive, low-speed maneuvers.
While no official footage confirms a full pivot on a wingtip in flight, the **A-10’s design and flight performance** make such maneuvers plausible in extreme cases. For example, the aircraft has demonstrated remarkable resilience, including landing with no canopy and damaged landing gear, proving its ability to operate safely under severe conditions.
In summary, while no verified video shows an A-10 fully pivoting on a wingtip, its **drooped wingtips and high maneuverability** enable extreme low-altitude flight dynamics that can create such an impression.
[Jpost] Drones have played a significant role in the war against Iran, but it's not only the big ones that are taking part. It's also the small, quiet ones.
Covert tactical Israeli drones have been used in sensitive missions during Operation Roaring Lion, Defense & Tech (D&T) by The Jerusalem Post understands.
The drones, manufactured by AeroSentinel, were used for force protection and the detection of hostile troops during missions far from Israel’s borders.
AeroSentinel is a boutique Israeli drone manufacturer specializing in covert intelligence-gathering drones. The platforms are short-range and medium-range drones optimized for tactical operations, border patrol, and other sensitive surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
The company’s drones are designed for missions requiring extended flight time of up to 90 minutes and minimal noise, capabilities that have become increasingly valuable in modern military operations, such as in Lebanon and Iran.
The eight-pound (3.6 kilo) drones can be assembled in under five minutes by operators and securely transmit data in real time to a mobile ground control station up to three miles (4.8 kilometers) away.
Based in Petah Tikva, AeroSentinel’s product line includes a family of four intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) drones of varying sizes. Some models can carry payloads of up to 10 kg, while others are known for their extended endurance.
The company operates modern manufacturing facilities and has over 13 years of experience in supplying drone systems to defense and governmental clients. It reports annual revenues of NIS 15-20 million.
The platforms are already in service with elite IDF units and the Israel Police, as well as civil defense teams and international military customers in Europe, Morocco, Japan, the Netherlands, and others.
A WAVE OF NEW DEALS
Speaking to D&T, Ofir Avram, Chief Marketing Officer at Aerosol, a subsidiary of Aero Sol Aeronautical Solutions, described a company built on years of operational experience and technical specialization.
AeroSentinel’s drones can fly for 80-90 minutes straight with Israeli software, while the Chinese benchmark, like DJI, is capped at 40 minutes and suffers from information security issues, Avram said.
“Our platforms also have a very low acoustic sound, which makes it great for covert missions; that’s why we are one of the favorite drones of elite special units,” he said.
AeroSentinel has secured several significant contracts in recent weeks. One was for 12 drones at a cost of half a million dollars for a returning American dual-use company, and another contract was from an Israeli defense company for five drones at a cost of NIS 1 million.
Earlier in February, the company also gained a new foothold in Central Asia after announcing a partnership with Germany’s 2LNK GmbH to distribute its operational drone platforms – the G2 and G3 – in Kazakhstan.
The company’s business model is intentionally narrow and quality-focused.
“We believe in boutique, hands-on production, and we are now planning to expand to even more cost-effective products. Low quantity but high quality,” Avram told D&T.
A LEAN TEAM WITH DEEP MANUFACTURING EXPERTISE
AeroSentinel operates with an unusually small workforce.
“AeroSentinel only has five employees. Other companies have 40 to 50 workers, but with many years of experience in the aviation and aeronautics field. We have a very lean model, but manage to do pretty well,” Avram said. The broader company, AeroSol, employs 25 people, mostly in production roles.
AeroSol was founded in 2005, initially focused on composite materials, and in 2012, AeroSentinel began developing drones.
The company also manufactures the body of a UAV for another Israeli start-up, and is a key player in the development and production of another Israeli UAV company with customers around the globe.
Beyond drones, the company also manufactures advanced composite components for major Israeli defense programs. AeroSol has been manufacturing the polymer carbon used in the helmets for F-15 and F-16 fighter jet pilots over the past decade, as well as the hives for helicopter flares.
“We have a lot of knowledge and tens of thousands of flight hours and reliability in the best units and on the most complex scenarios,” Avram, who himself has thousands of hours of operational UAV activity under his belt, told D&T.
ISRAELI DRONES IN COMBAT: A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
Israel is widely recognized as a global leader in unmanned aerial systems, with drones playing a central role in intelligence, surveillance, and precision operations.
From large platforms like the Heron and Hermes to small quadcopters used by infantry, UAVs have become essential tools for situational awareness and threat detection.
In recent conflicts, including operations in Gaza, Israeli forces have increasingly relied on small tactical drones to identify terrorists, map urban environments, and support ground units. These systems have reduced risk to personnel and provide real-time intelligence in complex terrain.
The company is now seeking additional units that want to diversify from China and that require long-endurance, low-acoustic-signature platforms.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
03/24/2026 00:00 ||
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[1774 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[NY Post] If the paranoid IRGC doesn't kill them first
Iranian officials fear that US cease-fire talks are a trap — an attempt to lure the regime’s last surviving leaders into an ambush where they can be assassinated, according to a report.
Leaders in Tehran worry that any face-to-face negotiations with the US and Israel to end the war would be a ruse to draw out Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Ghalibaf, a former paramilitary commander and one of the few senior Iranian leaders to escape the airstrikes, is wanted by the US to take part in any peace discussions.
Officials in Iran also claim that President Trump’s announced postponement of strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure is just an attempt to bring oil prices under control before resuming strikes, Iranian officials and their Arab counterparts who speak with them told the Journal.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] While thousands of Marines are arriving in the Middle East, senior military officials are considering deploying an Army paratrooper division to the region as the Iran war stretches into week four.
Top officials are weighing whether the Army's 82nd Airborne Division should be deployed, the New York Times reported on Monday. "Shhhh it's a secret"
That would provide the military with 3,000 soldiers for a possible invasion of Kharg Island - where 90 percent of Iran's oil exports are processed.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
03/24/2026 00:05 ||
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[1821 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
AIRBORNE! Although, given the proliferation of automatic weapons around the world, the drop zone will have to have been secured to minimize casualties. Sucks but true. Might as well just land the troops on a runway. Less drama, less trauma.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
03/24/2026 3:26 Comments ||
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#2
Perhaps President Trump can attend the MACO briefing.
#4
Although, given the proliferation of automatic weapons around the world, the drop zone will have to have been secured to minimize casualties.
BLU-82, where are you?
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
03/24/2026 7:36 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Is the NYT's, in its haste to kill US Troops and blame Trump, Accidentally helping Trump at misdirection to get Iranian Military into guarding the wrong location?
But let us say for Sh%ts and giggles someone leaked the plans to the NYT's. Which the NYT's published.
Doesn't that carry a dead penalty for treason for aiding an abetting the Enemy?
#6
Probably going to be an amphibious invasion by the MEU. They'll bring their own dedicated CAS with attack helicopters and maybe F-35B's as well as on call air support from AC-130U's and A-10's.
If they decide to drop a brigade from the 82nd Airborne, there will on call air support from AC-130U's and A-10's and I would expect both of those platforms to start making attacks roughly 5-7 days before any drop. That might be the same for the MEU. I wouldn't want to be on a boat, helicopter or plane going to Kharg Island.
Alternatively the Marines seize a bunch of islands in the Hormuz Strait and set up anti air/missile batteries to help the convoy's.
Or as P2K suggests, we do neither of the above and the PTB have a better idea.
#7
Be a good show but I think a simple strafing run on the tanks would send the message.
Though woodland camo and 10 round strippers suggests something else.
Seizing a coastal Zone of Control deeper than the range-fan of most Iranian indirect-fire weapons. to buffer any Kharg Island seizure is a fundamental requirement. Misdirection about Kharg first may allow the Schwartzkopf USMC/USN head-fake maneuver or a variant to be in play. The MEU, CAs, Airborn, Rangers, are all components of a secure seizure of the money spout that runs the Iranian government. Once the seizure of the island and the beachhead is established, the Iranian movement of reinforcements and indirect fire elements should make the first gulf war images of the "highway of death" look like amateur hour as our joint air forces enjoy the endless target buffet. Rapid decimation of the regular and IRGC forces will topple the already shaky remnants in Tehran quicker than hotel-room conferences between skilled prevaricators!
#10
"Fox News has learned that the Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division Maj Gen Brandon Tegtmeier and his “command element,” members of his headquarters staff, have been ordered to deploy to the Middle East as the Pentagon and White House weigh whether to send the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East for possible land operations."
#11
I still wonder why simply blowing every piece of machinery on Kharg Island to bits wouldn't work as well or better than putting troops there. What the IR can't ship, it can't sell.
[Rudaw] Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... has created a new regime governing the strategic choke point in the Persian Gulf forcing ships to pay a two million dollars levy as President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... deploys Marine Expeditionary units and amphibious assault ships to the region.
"For some ships which cross, for whatever reasons, Iran is charging them $2 million for the crossing," Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the National Security Committee of the Iranian parliament, told state TV on Saturday. "In practice we have established a new regime governing the Strait of Hormuz after 47 years."
Boroujerdi smirked and said that Iran somehow needed to fund the war it is waging against the US, Israel and its allies. Iranian officials have appeared on state TV in recent weeks and released statements proclaiming Tehran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran appears to have prepared for this scenario for years to deprive the world of vital energy supplies. "We are ready for a long war; we have made preparations for a long war. Do not be upset - the enemy has sustained heavy blows," an officer from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Command, wearing a black mask, said on state TV. "We were not taken by surprise... in less than half an hour we managed to set the whole region on fire."
Iran has said that it has practically shut the Strait, allowing only a limited number of ships that are not from hostile countries to pass through the narrow chokepoint. Around 3,000 vessels pass through the strait each month in peace time, carrying roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies to international markets.
Oil prices have skyrocketed since February 28, when the US and Israel launched an extensive aerial bombing campaign across Iran, striking thousands of mostly military targets. Iran responded by closing the Strait, hitting around 21 ships, in the process according to an AFP tally published on March 18.
President Trump on Saturday gave an ultimatum to Tehran to open the Strait. He threatened that the US "will hit and obliterate" their power plants - starting with the largest - if Tehran does not fully open the chokepoint within 48 hours.
Iran's military spokesperson hit back within hours of Trump’s remarks, threatening to strike all the US energy infrastructure in the region. "If Iran's fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked by the enemy, " the spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Military Headquarters, which coordinates Iran’s military response, said. "All energy infrastructure, information technology facilities, and desalination plants belonging to the United States and the regimes in the region will be targeted."
Iranian officials, in statements to state TV, appear to believe they are winning the war and are prepared to escalate further, demanding war reparations from the US as a condition for ending the conflict.
The IRGC fired several barrages of ballistic missiles at Israel only on Sunday morning. The Iranian regular army (Artesh) also said that it fired its infamous Aresh-2 Kamikhazi drones at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/24/2026 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
I wonder how the peninsula would stand to a series of big boomers.
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...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
