[PJMedia] I've been watching the developments in the government's case against Derek Chauvin. Another person who has also been watching and who has been rather vocal about it is a former law-enforcement, former-Marine type under the handle “Flopping Aces”. This morning, his newest post has some rather interesting info.
We'll get to that in a minute, but I want to first make clear my position: I have always been convinced that George Floyd killed himself, overdosing on the fentanyl he swallowed to hide from the police the fact that he was carrying the stuff with the intent to sell it.
I have also been convinced that the court had in mind not equal justice under the law, but racial justice by way of judicial fiat, which is a totally different thing.There was witness intimidation happening here as well, which was well documented. For example, I note with interest a column here at PJ Media by Victoria Taft:
One defense witness already had the bloody head of a pig left on what intimidators thought was his front porch in punishment for testifying on behalf of Derek Chauvin. Now, state-sponsored intimidators are targeting another defense witness in the trial of the police officer accused of killing George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. His offense? Wrong-think.
Dr. David Fowler, the former Maryland medical examiner and forensic pathologist, testified for defendant Derek Chauvin on day 13 of the trial that the former cop’s actions weren’t solely responsible for George Floyd’s death. And because of this opinion, Maryland will now investigate 17 years of his findings in state cases, which includes the case of Freddie Gray, Anton Black, and other high-profile perps who died in police custody. Fowler ruled Gray’s death several days after being in police custody a “homicide,” a medical term which means another contributed to his death. Police officers put on trial for his death were exonerated.
Specifically, Fowler testified that George Floyd died because he “had a sudden cardiac arrhythmia due to atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, during his restraint by the police,” as trial watcher attorney Andrew Branca put it.
Evidence presented at trial and acknowledged by both sides showed that Floyd suffered from an enlarged heart, 90% and 75% occlusions in his arteries going into and out of his heart, years of drug abuse and anxiety, skyrocketing blood pressure, had ingested an opioid and meth cocktail, smoked for years, was right by the police cruiser exhaust, and struggled for ten minutes against three cops, which necessitated the knee hold on Floyd in the prone position.
Victoria's piece also references the involvement of Keith Ellison, who was putting everything he had at his disposal. in total, there were 14 lawyers on the case, compared to Chauvin's one defense lawyer.
The American Spectator had a piece at the time that has since (I assume) cycled off between then and now. Thankfully, I managed to save a snippet of it:
I called Dr. Baker early that morning to tell him about the case and to ask him if he would perform the autopsy on Mr. Floyd,” said Sweasy under oath. “He called me later in the day on that Tuesday and he told me that there were no medical findings that showed any injury to the vital structures of Mr. Floyd’s neck. There were no medical indications of asphyxia or strangulation,” Sweasy added.
By day two, Baker knew the risks involved in telling the truth. Sweasy continued, “He said to me, ‘Amy, what happens when the actual evidence doesn’t match up with the public narrative that everyone’s already decided on?’ And then he said, ‘This is the kind of case that ends careers.’” Although Sweasy knows very well why Baker altered his diagnosis, Carlson may not. This story bears retelling in the light of Sweasy’s unwitting confirmation.
So, what is being done to overcome this injustice? Flopping Aces tells us:
Attorney Greg Joseph has filed a “Memorandum in support of petition for postconviction relief” on behalf of his client Derek Chauvin—the former Minneapolis police officer involved in the arrest and death of George Floyd.
In the 71-page petition (PDF) filed in Hennepin County District Court, Joseph stated that “this case simply never made sense.” Among several key arguments, he pointed out how few murders “take place before a crowd of witnesses” while officers are working with dispatchers and requesting an ambulance and emergency response.
In speaking about the case for the first time since it was filed on Thursday, Nov. 20, Joseph also pointed out key facts—and raised questions about how video evidence was used during the trial. He also underscored the “potential for misuse” of video evidence and the “devastating effect” that false testimony can have in court and the judicial process.
The petition states that the case involved two key issues: intent and causation. That is, one, whether the restraint of Floyd followed policies and procedures of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD); and two, if the restraint caused his death.
In seeking to vacate Chauvin’s conviction, or obtain a new trial, the petition argues that Chauvin “was deprived of his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I of the Minnesota Constitution.”
In speaking about the prosecution—and what he believes was the false testimony of MPD Inspector Katie Blackwell, Chief Medaria Arradondo, and others during Chauvin’s trial—Joseph told Alpha News, “you can only run from the truth for so long.”
Joseph explained in the petition how the prosecution relied on “video and still frames” to tell “a single story.” But now, long after the “hysteria of the day,” the court and the rest of the world may finally be able to look at the facts and evidence “through a clear lens.”
#1
Did he get railroaded? Undoubtedly. Did he contribute to Floyd's death by not following PD procedures after he was warned by fellow officers that Floyd was in danger of croaking? Ditto.
#2
Reasonable doubt should have been enough to prevent Chauvin's conviction. All the defense should have had to say was that Floyd had enough fentanyl in his system to kill three men. End of story.
I'll never forgive the likes of Gayle King on CBS showing that two or three second video of Floyd with Chauvin restraining him as if that was all there was to it. There was much, much more but she wasn't interested. She wanted riots and she got them. That racist, commie bitch wanted the white cop to go to jail and she got it.
Chauvin's conviction was one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice you will ever see.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/24/2025 13:13 Comments ||
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#3
His conviction by a jury that was certain that anything but guilty would be personally very dangerous was a foregone conclusion. It not clear if his prolonged restrain was in violation of established PD procedures, but murder was a ridiculous over-charge by a DA equally concerned about public and personal safety and his own career.
The chilling effect this case had on police rank-and-file nationwide can never be defined, but it was significant.
[FoxNews] San Pablo Bay Pipeline risks closure while California refineries lose capacity
As California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to Brazil touting his failed energy agenda in mid-November, the reality back home is unavoidable: because of his policies, Californians are paying some of the highest gas and electricity prices in the nation. We are being crushed by the Newsom energy affordability crisis — and it’s crippling our national security.
Since 2018, more than 360 energy companies have left California due to the state’s debilitating regulations and new oil drilling permits have fallen by 95% since Newsom assumed office in 2019.
As a result, California has produced nearly 128,000 fewer barrels of oil per day over the past five years — despite holding the fifth-largest petroleum reserves in the country. The undeniable consequence of Newsom’s refusal to support domestic production is a greater reliance on foreign oil.
In 1982, less than 6% of California’s crude oil came from outside the United States. Today, according to Newsom’s own California Energy Commission, that number has skyrocketed to over 60%. Brazil now accounts for 20% of our imported supply and 21% comes from Iraq.
Meanwhile, California’s refining capacity continues to collapse.
By early 2026, the state is projected to lose nearly 20% of its remaining refining capacity, and without urgent action, blackouts, price spikes and fuel shortages will become the new normal – not only for Californians, but for millions across the West Coast who depend on our energy supply.
This drastically impacts the viability of California’s pipelines, most of which require 90,000 barrels a day in production to remain financially solvent and operational. However, due to shortages, they are barely operating at 50,000 barrels a day, causing $2 million in losses a month for operators.
Currently, Crimson Midstream, the operator of California’s largest crude oil pipeline network, cannot sustain its operations because of Sacramento’s ineptness. California Democrats’ war on domestic energy production has created so much uncertainty that the San Pablo Bay Pipeline is now at risk of shutting down in the new year – further destabilizing California’s fragile energy supply chain and jeopardizing refinery capacity already hanging by a thread.
#1
How about rationing what CA can import from other states? Why should CA get away with it's worship of mother nature while dumping the environmental impact upon others?
[MelaniePhillips-Substack] Israel has allowed its enemies to defame victims of attack as perpetrators
Earlier in the week, an Israeli man was murdered and three other people were maimed in a stabbing and car-ramming attack at the Gush Etzion junction in central Israel.
This attack barely registered among Western media outlets. Gush Etzion is a major crossroads in the "West Bank," the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria. The West views the Jewish residents of these territories as illegal and violent mostly peaceful "settlers" rather than the victims of attack.
The Israeli government has allowed a situation to develop in which Israel’s enemies have been able to defame the Jewish residents of these territories, who are subjected every day to murderous Arab attacks or terrorist threats, by painting them instead as the perpetrators of violence.
The "settler" attacks are actually being carried out by no more than 200 or 300 holy warrior Israeli delinquents out of a population of some 450,000 Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria. That violence, directed at Israeli soldiers and police as well as Arabs, is certainly serious and out of control.
On Monday, following the dismantling of an illegal Israeli outpost, dozens of Jewish snuffies attacked an Arab village and maimed several Israeli Border Police officers.
Last week, such snuffies torched and defaced a mosque in an Arab village. A day earlier, dozens of them set fire to vehicles and other property in two Arab villages and targeted factories and farmland.
These escalating attacks have drawn condemnation from Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces, and Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog.
Even the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a rare rebuke when he told the weekly cabinet meeting that Israel would "take very forceful action’" against such attacks "because we are a nation of laws, and a nation of laws acts in accordance with the law".
Netanyahu’s strictures were long overdue.
During October, the IDF recorded 86 incidents of "nationalistic crime" compared with 25 in the same period last year. Since the beginning of the year, Israeli defence authorities have recorded 704 incidents of "nationalistic crime" compared to 675 in the whole of 2024.
Most of those who are arrested are released within a short time. That might mean that in most of these incidents the suspects were blameless.
However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome... the ultra-nationalist Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister who’s been in charge of policing since 2022, is known for his hardline attitude towards the Paleostinian Arabs and instinct to excuse Jewish misdeeds. According to Israel’s Channel 12 news, there’s been a 73 per cent decline in the number of investigations opened into these "nationalistic" attacks since 2023.
The commander of the police division in Judea and Samaria is under investigation for ignoring such nationalist violence in order to curry favour with Ben-Gvir. This indolence, as well as the violence itself, is totally unacceptable. These thugs need to be arrested, prosecuted and enjugged Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! , and this violence has to be stopped.
This is not just because such criminality is a stain on Israel’s moral character, important as that undoubtedly is. It’s also because "settler violence" is being used to defame all Israeli residents of these territories — and thus to demonise Israel itself in the eyes of the rest of the world as irredeemably violent mostly peaceful and rapacious in its aim to steal "Paleostinian" land.
The truth is that reports of "settler violence" are overwhelmingly exaggerated and distorted. A report published in the summer by Regavim, the Israeli organization that monitors Judea and Samaria, found that some 90 per cent of incidents of violence attributed to Jewish residents by the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... in recent years were fabricated.
Such incidents were either misclassified as attacks by Jews on Arabs, whereas they were, in fact, Arab attacks on Jews, or they involved anti-Israel provocations orchestrated by Paleostinian and foreign left-wing activist groups.
Video footage has shown such incidents in which Arabs launch violent mostly peaceful attacks on Israelis who are being set up to react with force. That reaction is filmed by far-left activists and selectively edited to exclude the provocation, and then the video is made available to the United Nations or Western media outlets.
In any event, Arabs attack the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria an estimated 60 times more frequently than attacks upon them by Jews. Between 2019 and 2022, Israel’s Shin Bet security agency recorded 25,257 Paleostinian Arab attacks on Jewish residents in these territories.
In 2024, according to figures published by Rescuers Without Borders, Paleostinian Arab gunnies targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times, murdering 27 Israelis and wounding more than 300 others. These attacks included 3,668 instances of rock-throwing, 843 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 671 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers, 526 explosive charges, 364 cases of arson and 179 terrorist shootings.
According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre, following the ceasefire agreement in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... and Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... began to shift the centre of the "resistance" to Judea and Samaria, encouraging attacks on Israeli security forces and civilian residents.
Last month, according to Meir Amit, the Paleostinian Arab media centre Me’ata, which monitors the "struggle against the occupation," noted an attempt to escalate "resistance" actions against Israelis — galvanised by the release of Paleostinian prisoners from Israeli prisons as part of the ceasefire agreement.
Some 356 "popular resistance actions" were documented that month in Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, including planting and detonating bombs, shootings, an attempted vehicle-ramming attack, rock-throwing, and attacks with Molotov cocktails and fireworks. A further 302 such attacks were documented in September and 263 in August.
In May, a pregnant Israeli woman was shot and killed in Samaria on her way to give birth; the baby died the following day.
These attacks are virtually never reported in Western media. The lives of "settlers" are deemed worthless. These Jewish victims of murderous violence have effectively been dehumanised by the so-called civilised West, which ignores any evidence that challenges the monstrous lie it tells itself of innate Israeli evil.
But Israel itself is also at fault here. It never tells the world about the scale and nature of these Arab attacks in the "West Bank" and their strategic purpose in the war to destroy the Jewish state.
It never tells the world about the manipulative stunts by anti-Israel activists and their UN accomplices to transform Israelis from victimised residents of the disputed territories into "violent mostly peaceful settlers".
It never publicly corrects the neuralgic and false belief fuelling this defamation — that Israel is in "illegal occupation" of the "West Bank".
It never explains that the most violent mostly peaceful parts of these territories are under Paleostinian Authority control. It never reveals that Israelis are forbidden under Israeli law to enter some of these areas because of the likelihood that the Paleostinian Arabs will lynch and murder them.
Israel never tells the world these things partly because it regards these disputed territories as a can of worms that it has no wish to pry open. That cowardly position feeds in turn into the broader problem that the Israeli government simply doesn’t take seriously enough the need to protect its reputation in the world.
And that’s largely because it sees little point in doing so on the grounds that the West, with antisemitism hardwired into its culture, is irredeemably hostile not just to Israel but to the Jewish people.
The result has been that lies have gone unchallenged, that many people of goodwill in the West have been persuaded that the "violent mostly peaceful settlers" are preventing peace in the Middle East — and that too many diaspora Jews have fallen for this lie, too.
Failing to deal with its violent mostly peacefulsnuffies is in itself a stain that besmirches Israeli society. It is also strategically stupid — by a country that doesn’t even have a strategy for defending its reputation against existential attack.
The result is that both the Israelis living in the "West Bank" and the beleaguered Jews living in a viciously hostile diaspora have been left high and dry in trying to cope with the onslaught of malicious lies. It’s high time that was changed.
[YouTube] What happens when science points to a beginning and possibly a Beginner? Discoveries by Edwin Hubble, Albert Einstein and others led to the groundbreaking conclusion that the universe had a starting point. At first, the idea was rejected not because of the science, but because of what it implied: a Creator.
Both theism and atheism are hypotheses, and as far as I can tell, untestable. That’s why it’s called faith. But quite a few scientists are quietly men and women of strong faith, while awaiting more data on one side or the other. We are still children in understanding, picking up pebbles on the seashore.
#1
Ask people who deny "a God" - "what was there before the Big Bang?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/24/2025 7:44 Comments ||
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#2
Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including the abundance of light elements, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, and large-scale structure.
During COVID days, I went to a presentation by its founder. He was noticeably humble, which convinced me he was not expressing his own opinions but rather the teachings of others. Grace gave me ears to hear; I was able to suspend my disbelief long enough to give him a fair hearing. Very heady, very Catholic.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/24/2025 13:28 Comments ||
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#5
When I was a child there were many things that I could not fully understand, or understand at all. The combustion engine befuddled me. Electricity was also a great mystery, as was human procreation. I simply accepted the fact that I would one day learn more or if curiosity got the best of me, I would ask my father to explain it. Procreation was the exception. He would only say that I was "too young and that one day I would discover it."
The knowledge of human procreation, I eventually mastered. I believe I am yet "too young" to understand the universe or eternity. Perhaps "one day I will discover it."
#6
Procreation is sort of a small ‘big bang’ if you think about it; from something very very small and a small ‘explosion’ something once unexplainable happens to grow and transform…..
#8
The only reason "science" works at all is that the universe, as created was made understandable. Oxford and Cambridge grew from monastic orders in the 14th century. Likewise, Copernicus was a Catholic priest. Science grew out of religion.
Posted by: Difar Dave ||
11/24/2025 20:58 Comments ||
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Via Clarice Feldman's Facebook page by Moran Vidislavski
October 2024: Israeli F-35I jets flew 2,000 km deep into Iran, destroyed Russian-made S-300 air-defense systems, and returned home without a scratch.
Pentagon officials watched it happen in real time.
June 2025: Suddenly, the U.S. defense budget includes funding to copy the Israeli modifications.
The FY2026 budget now allocates money to study the installation of external fuel tanks on American F-35s – the exact same technology Israel has been using for years.
America abandoned that idea decades ago. After watching Israeli jets dominate, the Pentagon changed course and started copying. The timeline tells the story.
Between 2004 and 2007, Lockheed Martin conducted studies on adding external fuel tanks to the F-35. They designed a 480-gallon system, later refined to 460 gallons. Engineers solved aerodynamic issues. They tested separation mechanisms. Then, in 2007, the program was canceled.
Pentagon officials decided the F-35’s range was “good enough” compared to 4th-generation fighters and gave up.
Israel disagreed. Starting in 2016, Israeli Air Force engineers began developing their own external and conformal fuel tank systems for the F-35I Adir. They didn’t ask permission – they solved a problem the American designers insisted didn’t exist.
Israel needed the ability to strike Iran without air-to-air refueling. That means round-trip missions of 2,000 km through hostile airspace.
The standard U.S. F-35 had a combat radius of only ~670 nautical miles – not enough. Driving distance from Helsinki Finland to Moscow is 675 miles for you IFR guys.
What’s that in elephants?
The Israeli solution consisted of two separate systems:
1. Elbit Systems developed a 425-gallon droppable under-wing tank. It hurts stealth, but provides extended range during portions of the mission where detection isn’t critical. The tanks jettison cleanly, and the pylons are designed to minimize radar signature after release.
2. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), in cooperation with Lockheed Martin, developed conformal fuel tanks. These hug the fuselage, are coated with RAM (radar-absorbent material), and preserve stealth. The 800-gallon conformal system enables the long-range missions Israel required.
The engineering challenge was massive. Any change to the airframe’s shape risked ruining stealth. Israel solved problems American engineers had abandoned years earlier.
The modification process required surgical precision. Every attachment point needed radar-absorbent coating. Fuel lines had to integrate without creating radar returns. The aerodynamic profile could not change significantly.
Israel spent years solving challenges the Americans claimed were too difficult or too expensive.
October 26, 2024 proved everything.
The attack on Iran involved over 100 Israeli aircraft striking 20 military targets inside Iran. The mission required F-35I jets to fly more than 1,100 miles each way – through Syria and Iraq. Not a single aircraft used aerial refueling. None landed at a foreign base. Every jet flew to Iran, hit its targets, and returned home on internal + external fuel alone.
Pentagon officials watched. They knew U.S. F-35s could not execute that mission profile. American jets remain dependent on vulnerable tanker aircraft.
In contested environments against peers like China, tankers are prime targets. The vast distances of Asia make the Middle East look small. China’s counter-strategy specifically targets U.S. refueling tankers.
The Israeli strikes didn’t just demonstrate greater range – they proved the modifications do not degrade combat capability. F-35Is used their electronic-warfare suites to blind Iranian radars while still carrying external tanks. They penetrated airspace protected by Russian S-300s, struck their targets, and exited without losses. The technology worked exactly as Israel promised.
June 2025 brought an even larger operation. Over 200 Israeli aircraft struck Iranian nuclear facilities in “Operation Rising Lion.” Once again, F-35Is flew over 2,000 km without refueling. They destroyed several S-300 batteries and neutralized air defenses that were supposed to protect Iran’s most sensitive sites. The Pentagon could no longer look away.
The 2026 budget request revealed America’s response: the U.S. Air Force included funding to study adding external fuel tanks to its own F-35s. Documents explicitly mention exploring conformal tanks as part of the Block 4 upgrade.
This is a complete reversal of the 2007 decision to abandon external tanks. The document states clearly: “Assess feasibility and decompose requirements for integration of external fuel tanks to support extended-range missions.”
American engineers will now study how Israel solved the stealth and aerodynamic challenges that defeated Lockheed Martin a decade earlier.
The strategic driver: China. The Pentagon understands a potential Pacific war requires enormous range.
The copying goes beyond just fuel tanks. Pentagon officials have openly said they are learning from Israel’s overall approach to the F-35I.
In 2023, Under Secretary of Defense William LaPlante testified to Congress that Israel’s experience provides “critical insights” for sustaining F-35 operational readiness in high-intensity combat. He specifically highlighted that Israel kept 35 of its 39 jets mission-capable during wartime – a decisive metric for the Pacific theater.
F-35 program manager Michael Schmidt has said the Pentagon is learning “a great deal” from Israel’s F-35I operations. He called Israeli readiness rates “excellent” – far higher than U.S. rates. Schmidt emphasized that Israel’s modifications and maintenance approaches serve as an important model.
Even in electronic warfare, America is copying Israeli innovation.
Israel replaced the standard AN/ASQ-239 EW suite with home-grown Elbit systems. The Israeli modification proved highly effective against Russian systems in Iran. The Pentagon now admits the Israeli EW suite directly contributed to the destruction of S-300 batteries.
British Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Tony Radakin, publicly stated that Israeli F-35s “effectively took down almost the entire Iranian air-defense network.”
What a pity Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer angered Israel so badly with that Palestine thing that Britain’s been cut off from the source.
The maintenance model is another innovation the U.S. is studying. Israel achieved independence from the burdensome central F-35 logistics system. While U.S. jets wait for parts, Israel manufactures its own and maintains full capability at Nevatim Airbase. That independence gives Israel ~90% mission-capable rates vs. 51.5% for the U.S.
In weapons carriage: Israel routinely operates the F-35I in “Beast Mode” with heavy external loads – something the U.S. long avoided. Combat experience proved the advantages sometimes outweigh the stealth penalty.
Israel also led the world’s first operational use of the F-35 in combat (Syria 2018), the first air-to-air kills of Iranian drones (2021), and the first integration with systems like Iron Dome and David’s Sling. All because of operational requirements the Americans never faced.
The F-35I + F-15I teaming concept is another model the U.S. is copying – using the F-35I as an airborne sensor network to empower legacy fighters. The Pentagon has called this a core principle for the Pacific theater.
The budgetary impact is enormous: Israeli modifications created capabilities the U.S. thought would require a 6th-generation fighter. Israel spent millions – America saved billions.
Pentagon officials have admitted: “Israel’s combat experience is saving the United States billions of dollars.”
Israel has become a real-world combat laboratory providing actual data for American development.
The relationship has flipped: once the U.S. taught Israel about the F-35. Today the U.S. learns from Israel.
Restrictions on modifications have been gradually lifted, and American engineers now study Israeli solutions.
June 2025 was the final proof. F-35Is struck the enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow – among the best-defended sites on earth. They penetrated, hit their targets, and exited unscathed. The S-300s failed.
Israeli EW paralyzed Russian radars. Conformal tanks provided the range. Israeli maintenance ensured 100% availability.
The Pentagon understood immediately: if Israel can penetrate Russian systems in Iran, the U.S. can penetrate Chinese systems.
The Israeli solution is exactly what America needs.
The 2026 budget funding fuel-tank research is the official admission: America is copying Israel’s F-35 modifications – because they simply work better than the original American spec.
Approximately $432 million has been allocated for ongoing F-35 upgrades – including capabilities Israel has operated for years.
Reality: America is now relying on innovations developed by Israel in actual combat.
Israel built what the Americans said was “too hard.” October 2024 and June 2025 proved Israel was right.
F-35I jets destroyed Russian defenses, struck targets 2,000 km from home, and demonstrated capabilities America didn’t have.
The world’s most powerful military is copying innovations from a country the size of New Jersey – because the Israeli innovations simply work.
The next war will be decided by those who learned the right lessons from real combat. Israel taught those lessons.
#3
^#2: Seeking, Israel has in the past with the IAI Kfir and the IAI Lavi. The basic problem is that maintaining an aerospace industry without significant foreign customers is simply too expensive with all of Israel's other military needs. Israel has done well, very well in the after market modification business as the article attests.
#4
The US Air Force wanted an air-superiority fighter. The Israelis needed a long-range strike fighter. Two different creatures with different roles and requirements.
The bean counters love one-size-fits-all, but in the real world, purpose-built solutions win. It all depends on what kind of war you plan on fighting.
#5
My father would stop whatever mechanic work he was engaged on, clean up, and head to Sears or elsewhere to purchase the....."correct tool for the job."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
