2026 Iran War Strategy and Analysis

tokenanalyst · Mar 26, 2026

Michael90 said:
I’m very surprised Iran has performed so poorly in this war to be honest. US/israel almost have undisputed control of Iranian skies . Even Iraq performed far better by shooting down dozens of US/western fighters during the gulf wars . Vietnam shot down thousands of US fighters (granted it was with massive help and even undercover Chinese/soviet advisors/soldiers on the ground ), etc. I expected much more than this from Iran to be honest , especially with all the advertisement they were making about their bavar air defense system and others , saying they were even better than Russian air defense system (S-300) , seem most of their claims were just propaganda

So far, F-35 the second western stealth fighter loss in a war ever, 4 F-15 (don't come with that crap of "friendly fire", they were shot down), F-18, Numerous tankers, a large number of drones, I do think both Aircraft Carriers were hit. THAAD batteries destroyed, Radars destroyed, EVERY US military base in the Middle East destroyed. The reason that there aren't more aircraft losses is because the US and Israel have been forced to use mostly standoff weapons from a distance.
I don't believe the CENTCOM propaganda, they are taking a serious hit from Iran and they know it. They having serious trouble find launchers and other Iranian assets.

another505 · Mar 26, 2026

tokenanalyst said:
So far, F-35 the second western stealth fighter loss in a war ever, 4 F-15 (don't come with that crap of "friendly fire", they were shot down), F-18, Numerous tankers, a large number of drones, I do think both Aircraft Carriers were hit. THAAD batteries destroyed, Radars destroyed, EVERY US military base in the Middle East destroyed. The reason that there aren't more aircraft losses is because the US and Israel have been forced to use mostly standoff weapons from a distance.
I don't believe the CENTCOM propaganda, they are taking a serious hit from Iran and they know it. They having serious trouble find launchers and other Iranian assets.

There was an actual footage of a F-18 in visual range shooting down a F-15. And considering all pilots landed on friendly territory, it is very very likely to be friendly fire.

While I agree the F-35 to be actual hit with IR missile.

tokenanalyst · Mar 26, 2026

another505 said:
There was an actual footage of a F-18 in visual range shooting down a F-15. And considering all pilots landed on friendly territory, it is very very likely to be friendly fire.

While I agree the F-35 to be actual hit with IR missile.

Three times in a row? at 100km from the Iranian border? It could be they were expecting drones but drones and a F-15 have very different radar signature.

another505 · Mar 26, 2026

tokenanalyst said:
Three times in a row? at 100km from the Iranian border? It could be they were expecting drones but drones and a F-15 have very different radar signature.

That's the crazy part, people are thinking the kuwait F-18 pilot is sympathetic to Iran or Shia, it is an intentional friendly fire , not unintentional. But evidence point that this over Iran shooting them down that far away.

If i have time later, I would look for that footage of the visual range F-18 shooting down F-15.
edit: actually a very quick search found it

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2029736103339774181

FriedRiceNSpice · Mar 26, 2026

another505 said:
That's the crazy part, people are thinking the kuwait F-18 pilot is sympathetic to Iran or Shia, it is an intentional friendly fire , not unintentional. But evidence point that this over Iran shooting them down that far away.

If i have time later, I would look for that footage of the visual range F-18 shooting down F-15.
edit: actually a very quick search found it

From the video, it looks like the distance between the F-15 and F-18 was possibly within 1000m. Would the F-18 pilot be able to visually identify the F-15 at such close range?

another505 · Mar 26, 2026

FriedRiceNSpice said:
From the video, it looks like the distance between the F-15 and F-18 was possibly within 1000m. Would the F-18 pilot be able to visually identify the F-15 at such close range?

That's the thing! ! I already wrote about it. It seems to be INTENTIONAL friendly fire. The guy might be sympathetic to Iran/Shia. Some suggest that F-15 could look like a Mig-29, at a certain angle and distance it can be, but I doubt it.

siegecrossbow · Mar 26, 2026

tamsen_ikard said:
How can leaving be the best option when leaving means running away like a coward pretty much. The entire western empire would collapse if that happened. US cannot leave the Middle East and keep its reputation intact. They must die there fighting even if its not beneficial to do so.

US will keep fighting even if this war last 1 year or longer. They will hope that they can exhaust Iran eventually and Iran will seek a ceasefire.

That is better for US strategically than high oil price or economic fallout from the war.

It’s better to collapse humiliated than to collapse humiliated after 50,000 soldiers die in a hare brained land based assault on Iran.

Moonscape · Mar 26, 2026

Does any one have insight into how the war is affecting Iranians on the ground? From the limited reporting I've seen, it appears that life is going on as normal for the vast majority of the Iranian population -- Iran is big enough that US and Israeli airstrikes are only affecting a small part of the land area, plus Iran has land and inland sea trade routes with China and Russia which ensure a steady supply of imports. Which is completely different from the situation in the GCC countries, which is deteriorating by the day.

If so, then Iran can keep this up indefinitely.

Randomuser · Mar 26, 2026

another505 said:
There was an actual footage of a F-18 in visual range shooting down a F-15. And considering all pilots landed on friendly territory, it is very very likely to be friendly fire.

While I agree the F-35 to be actual hit with IR missile.

For some reason it's more comfortable to say we have incompetent idiots who shot down our own planes over admitting Iran might in fact be somewhat competent.

Nevermore · Mar 26, 2026

Moonscape said:
Does any one have insight into how the war is affecting Iranians on the ground? From the limited reporting I've seen, it appears that life is going on as normal for the vast majority of the Iranian population -- Iran is big enough that US and Israeli airstrikes are only affecting a small part of the land area, plus Iran has land and inland sea trade routes with China and Russia which ensure a steady supply of imports. Which is completely different from the situation in the GCC countries, which is deteriorating by the day.

If so, then Iran can keep this up indefinitely.

Of course, you must realize that Iran is a vast country with a large population; the United States could not possibly turn civilian areas into a sea of fire in such a short time. Iran’s geographical location and its social model, which is resilient to sanctions, are sufficient to keep the country functioning normally. Iran’s situation is far better than that of other Arab nations that rely on imports for fresh water and food. Although the Americans have bombed urban infrastructure, hospitals, and schools, their attacks have generally focused on military targets.

2026 Iran War Strategy and Analysis

tokenanalyst

Lieutenant General

another505

Junior Member

tokenanalyst

Lieutenant General

another505

Junior Member

FriedRiceNSpice

Major

another505

Junior Member

siegecrossbow

Field Marshall

Moonscape

Junior Member

Randomuser

Major

Nevermore

Junior Member