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ttul 5 hours ago

Not to mention the multiple THAAD radars taken offline. Those are $500M assets - and only 8 exist in the world. 24,000 precise transceivers all liquid cooled… not available on Amazon for next day deliver either.

bijowo1676 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

a single AN/FPS-132 radar costs $1.1 bln, not $500m. And Iran stuck 17 of the CENCCOM sites hosting radars of all kinds across Qarar, Bahrain, Iraq, UAE, Saudi, Jordan, Israel, etc).

Total cost is so much bigger, it is staggering. The whole CENTCOM is blind basically, as well as Iron Dome which relied on these radars - all blind now, in addition to long-range early nuke detection to protect CONUS is also blind.

in addition to cost, they all require Rare Earth Minerals, and China has banned the export of these (they own like 99% of the market).

So not only CENTCOM is blind and incurred damage in high single digit billions, but also will be unable to repair the damage any time soon (probably for decades) even if the funding were made to be available

Government obviously pretty silent on all these failures and media doesn't want to dig and ask hard questions

Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/world/middleeast/iran-str...

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-radars-airstrikes/

schappim 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Iron Dome relied on these radars — all blind now.

Iron Dome’s primary fire-control radar is the Israeli EL/M-2084 Multi-Mission Radar, not the USA’s AN/FPS-132

bijowo1676 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

GCC radars are needed for early warning, not only fire control.

the evidence is Alert system may not even work for missiles, or give very short warning (seconds to 1 minute instead of the usual 10 minutes)

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-03-...

If we are speaking of interception/penetration, these are also solved by Iran using several strategies that Israel/CENTCOM did not expect:

  1. use of cluster munitions
  2. exhaustion of expensive interceptor inventory (exchanging $7000 shahed drone for $3-5 mln worth of PAC-3 interceptors)
  3. Use of penetration aids
  4. Changing trajectory at the terminal stage
  5. coordinating swarm attacks (let AD to intercept SRBMs, while the real damage is caused by abundant cheap Shaheds that fly too slow and low to be detected)

Sources: https://en.defence-ua.com/news/russia_likely_modified_irania...

https://www.csis.org/analysis/unpacking-irans-drone-campaign...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/23/iran-cluster-b...

trhway 13 minutes ago | parent [-]

>Israel/CENTCOM did not expect

that after 4 years of Ukraine war where those tactics have been widely used, in some cases by both sides, and where Russia has even been using the same Iranian drones

thisislife2 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I've read that NATO radars in Turkey were equally important to provide early warning to Israel. It's not far-fetched to assume that US radars in the middle-east did too. US THAAD in Israel would definitely be networked into those.

awesome_dude 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I think that there is a problem here - you're talking about the firing of the defense system at targets, whereas knowing that that radar needs to be readied because missiles have been detected is what the other radar system provided.

fsckboy 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

>So not only CENTCOM is blind and incurred damage in high single digit billions, but also will be unable to repair the damage any time soon (probably for decades) even if the funding were made to be available

not just what i quoted, but your source does not say any of what you are saying.

your source says: Satellite images show damage near vital equipment on sites in at least five countries https://archive.ph/QHNXW

3abiton 36 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Iran was known to have such capabilities, it's baffling the US wasn't more prepared in its gulf bases.

HarHarVeryFunny 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

No problem - Trump is asking for an FY 2027 1.5 TRILLION dollar military budget, and just said that Medicare and Medicare may need to be cut to afford it.

nashashmi 2 hours ago | parent [-]

A reminder that these losses will mean we all each lose something. And Israel gains a whole lot more.

What’s the next country we move to?

pstuart 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Cuba.

In a "rational" world the quagmire of Iran would make such a move unlikely, but with this administration the prospect of an "easy win" could have them just go for it.

After all, nobody's stopping them. The Constitution only remains so that the 2A fanatics can LARP at being patriots.

PearlRiver 25 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

If the US is allowed to annex Cuba the PRC has a right to take back Taiwan.

mukmuk 26 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

Our country is currently enforcing a blockade that is murdering children in Cuba. It is all so sickening.

dzonga an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

a war end up being a war about information.

hence the first department that goes into full throttle mode in any war - is the department of propaganda | press corps (as modernly called).

so we gonna see lies on both sides - Iranians | US / Israel. with the truth in between.

ignoramous 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Government obviously pretty silent on all these failures and media doesn't want to dig and ask hard questions

Some analysts are sure drumming up the severity [0]. In the fog of war, it is hard to tell what's exaggerated and what's not. The proposal by the current US Admin to increase defence spending by 40% to $1.5t is not a welcome sign for those opposed to heavy spending, for any number of reasons.

[0] https://shanakaanslemperera.substack.com/p/the-last-molecule... / https://archive.vn/5H0L5

grafmax 3 hours ago | parent [-]

> In the fog of war, it is hard to tell what's exaggerated and what's not.

Honestly it's more than that. Propaganda and lies put out by ALL actors in this conflict. If you want to understand what's going on I think you have the expose yourself to as many competing sources as you can find. And still you're going to end up with a very shoddy picture. The term for this is epistemic collapse.

roenxi 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The multiple sources don't know either, the reason the picture is shoddy is it is necessarily composed of the primary information that is coming from ... people with the strongest incentive to lie. There aren't a lot of independent ways to assess the situation. And of course that is part of the fog of war - even the militairy struggles to put together a picture of what is going on. I'd imagine that defining where the front-line is presents a complex and uncertain exercise for the commanders involved.

The only thing I think can be said reliably is that this has been going on for weeks, the Strait seems to be more closed than open, Trump is clearly out of his depth and the US is sending more units to the area. All of those point to a serious problem for the US military.

awesome_dude 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

This.

One of the things I have disliked about the Iranian conflict is that their propaganda/messaging has been, by quite a margin, more reliable than what the US/Israel have been putting out.

I like to think that I live in a free/liberal democratic portion of the world, but seeing the "other side" being more honest really puts a dent in things.

oa335 2 hours ago | parent [-]

> One of the things I have disliked about the Iranian conflict is that their propaganda/messaging has been, by quite a margin, more reliable than what the US/Israel have been putting out.

Can you please expand on this with some examples?

awesome_dude 2 hours ago | parent [-]

The most recent example - I have been seeing reels/tik toks fronted by young women, that push Iranian talking points, they were saying that Trump's announcements on the conflict were timed to manipulate markets, and to "watch tomorrow"

They were referring to a Sunday before the Markets opened, and right on cue President Trump started making announcements that had a massive effect on market movements

Previously the USA government were downplaying (then retaliatory) Iranian drone attacks on bases in the middle east, claiming zero damage, and laughing at the attackers, the Iranians provided footage that showed real damage, and the US military released statement(s) that agreed with the Iranian claims.

Now, I'm not going to pretend that the Iranian regime is anything but a steaming pile of ew, but the lesson we were supposed to learn from the Vietnam war, and the Iraq war (II), was that hearts and minds are the key to "winning", and that's built on trust, which is built on transparency and honesty.

edit: and the Afghanistan invasion

outside2344 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

And running out of Patriots

trhway 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Looks like Iran is doing what i suggested Ukraine should have done to Russia https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42529638

Rotdhizon 38 minutes ago | parent [-]

Absolutely. A big part of the western Ukrainian defense was solely to drain the Russian military apparatus and drain they have. It will take Russia decades to rebuild their fighting force. Now Russia and China are doing it right back to us and the intelligence gained from this conflict is extremely valuable. Come to find out the US has been sitting on ego in its military more than actual might. The previously untouchable machines of war in the sky are now very much touchable. All that's left is for them to sink a battle ship. If Iran can shoot them down, you can bet China can inflict exponentially more harm. Drain our intercept missiles, destroy radars, corrode relationships, etc. At this point, China has the world on a silver platter if they want it.

ericd 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Fact check on this brand new account?

fsckboy 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I read the source he listed and it doesn't say any of that

ericd 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Ah thanks, I think that was added after I commented.

Ms-J 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

If you spend a moment to verify the info that is the fact check.

No one can do the thinking for you.

ericd 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Did a quick search, didn’t see confirmation that they’re blind/that all radars had been knocked out. Was asking whether others who know more about this topic than me would confirm.

Ms-J 3 hours ago | parent [-]

You did a reasonable check in my opinion. Perhaps if you had said that you already did search I wouldn't have written the last part.

Also if I had an answer to your question I would say it. Hope you are able to find the answer.

refulgentis 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This is the second time in 2 weeks I’ve seen a comment like this on HN. 37 years old. Been on here 16 years. Incredibly odd to me. Just announce “can someone else tell me if this is true?”

ericd 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That’s what I was doing, because I don’t think assertions like “CENTCOM is blind” should just sit out there without evidence.

refulgentis 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Then go get some! It adds nothing but spam when you to take time from your busy day to tell us what to do

ericd 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Usually it’s on the person posting assertions to justify them, and looks like they’ve edited in a NYT link since then.

squeaky-clean 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

And it's worse than spam when someone is posting incorrect things and people are downvoting people questioning it. As another user has already posted, the Iron Dome does not use the same radar they are talking about and is not "blind"

sethev 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

IMHO, people making claims should provide the evidence for them. One link is behind a paywall and the other clearly states that it is making informed speculations.

I could make all sorts of claims on the spot here. It doesn't create a duty for people reading this thread to go investigate them.

refulgentis 3 hours ago | parent [-]

You're so close, just one more step, and it's easy, just have to step away from keeping it hypothetical.

<SPOILER> Then it certainly does not create a duty for people to go investigate, when the only difference is "someone replied telling someone to fact check" </SPOILER>

ericd 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Relax, I was mostly asking whether someone else who already knew about this stuff could comment on its veracity. There’s obviously no obligation.

refulgentis an hour ago | parent [-]

Right (c.f. the thing I am replying to)

sethev 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

You're the one in this thread claiming people are responsible for "going and finding the evidence" of other people's unsourced claims. You could have just not replied since you didn't have something to contribute.

refulgentis 5 minutes ago | parent [-]

None of the words you have in quotes are in this thread. :/ Not a single one. Nor did I advance this position.

I'd wait for your apology, but I'm old enough to know I won't get one.

nujabe 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Are you asking someone to fact check publicly available information for you ? Even NYT reported this

ericd 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Traveling with kids on spring break, I don’t have time to read all war related news, and it tends to set off my propaganda account alarm when someone registers a new account to drop a bunch of assertions on such a politically divisive topic. So I was asking whether someone could confirm things like “The whole CENTCOM is blind basically, as well as Iron Dome which relied on these radars - all blind now, in addition to long-range early nuke detection to protect CONUS is also blind.”

There’s a good reason new accounts are colored green.

the__alchemist 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

New account that only has politics-adjacent posts; worth being skeptical.

juliusceasar 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This is good news. Actually not for those whom chose to start the 2nd Epstein war.

I really hope that Israeli and Iranian governments both go to hell. May both destroy each other.

iwontberude 4 hours ago | parent [-]

For the United States, the government doesn't have the capability to extricate Israel from its political system, but the feds can create blowback for Israel which makes them less capable to influence the US in the future while achieving other strategic aims in the region. US war planners know plenty about blow back and I think this is being done on purpose. I am terrified for innocent Israelis, Iranians and Gulf state residents that have been led into this. Most of the states and peoples in the Middle East who have been destroyed used to be allies with the US. That isn't on accident.

readitalready 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Government could sanction Israel like they did to Iran.

4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]
[deleted]
jckrichabdkejdb 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

[dead]

blitzar an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> not available on Amazon for next day deliver either

Available on aliexpress - but has longer shipping times and of course those tariffs, that you don't have to pay, that you have to pay.

hokkos 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Is this story even true ? There has been fake AI photo about destructed THAAD radars : https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.A2B239E

daemonologist 4 hours ago | parent [-]

If you scroll to the bottom of that page, they discuss possible evidence of damage to the radar from satellite imagery.

HaloZero 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I thought all the US ones existed in US states/territories? The ones in the middle east could be potentially destroyed true though.

reliabilityguy 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

AFAIK, the one in Qatar was paid by Qatar and operated by US.

FlyingBears 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

we have likely moved on from this to satellite as a stop gap.

nradov 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Moved on how? Satellites are useful for launch detection and cueing but as far as we know there isn't a satellite constellation capable of tracking airborne targets with enough precision for targeting. And the military couldn't really keep such satellites secret: the emissions would be impossible to hide.

motbus3 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Cmon. At least it is all justified with good reasons!