Iran - Israel/US War: Israel-US declare war on Iran, Iran responds

[TallarnDesertRaider]

Weird how no real details of the Op have been released but somehow we know for certainty that the C-130s had "wheels stuck in mud", so that little snippet was released to be amplified by various people but no other real details. Funny heh?

This was not a defeat for Iran. If US had air superiority over say all of Baluchistan Pak Army would struggle to find a downed airmen before US could knowing their surveillence capabilities and the pilots tracking/emitting kit. No shame here.

Did US do a great job getting him out despite the massive man hunt? Yes. Both things can be true at the same time.

For me the big takeaway lesson know if the massive cost to rescue one airman. US will now have to rethink the bombing strategy as this could well happen again, and they simply cannot afford to do missions like this on a regular basis.

My guess is 2 C-130s got caught on the ground by heavy fire and were destroyed or even (ala Eagle Claw) a big ground accident.

For sure there will be US casualties we may not know about, but if 2 SF C-130s and 1 SF Blackhawk and 1 SF Littlebird were lost, that is a hell of a heavy price.

*stuck in sand, that's what that one twitter guy said. Either way the ground seems pretty well packed

 

[PakSword]

Im fine with the outcome

200+ soldiers used in the raid
12+ aircraft used in the raid

Allies Lost:
2 C-130
2 MH-6
At least 1 MQ-9

All for one injured pilot

If Iran had captured the pilot then I would have to hear Trump say: “if iran doesn’t release the pilot in 48 hours, I will nuke Tehran” every few days.

At this point how do they plan on doing the Isfahan raid if they waste this much resources on 1 pilot?

You are unable to assess the optics.

1 - Iran couldn't stop them from evacuating the pilot deep inside the country fighting against 200+ enemy soldiers.

2 - The US cares about its every single soldier and is ready to lose expensive equipment.

The American public will go drunk tonight. This operation will improve Trump's approval rating.

In a war, majorly of the times, the optics are equally important when evaluated against the physical wins.

 

[Persian Gulf]

Somehow the U.S. was able to land several large planes near Esfahan

Then had time to bring in new planes as well

What a disaster

 

[Yasser76]

*stuck in sand, that's what that one twitter guy said. Either way the ground seems pretty well packed

Well lets wait and see, initial first contact reports are often wrong. My bet is if there was a massive firefight as reported, 2 C-130s on the ground may have been hit. Even in complete darkness and under tactical lighting conditions the noise and size would have made them stand out

 

[Persian Gulf]

The U.S. set up a forward airbase here, deep in central Iran! Right next to Esfahan.

This is much, much worse than I thought.

 

[PakSword]

Off topic:

That's how Pakistanis felt after Osama Bin Laden raid, which on its own is unbelievable too without any insider help.

One difference:

Pakistan says it didn't know about the operation, so there was no fight between the two forces.

 

[Beijingwalker]

U.S. military aircraft losses in Iran war​

Source: Xinhua

2026-04-05 16:31:15

An extensive array of U.S. military aircraft, ranging from fighters, helicopters to unmanned systems, have been destroyed or damaged during the "Operation Epic Fury", multiple sources tracking the war have shown.

"Total losses are estimated to exceed $2 billion, with replacement costs potentially even higher," said Egypt's Intel Observer, an open-source intelligence account active on X.

An online update from the Pentagon indicated that 13 U.S. troops have been killed and 365 others wounded in the war as of April 3.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service■

Poster: U.S. military aircraft losses in Iran war

Poster: U.S. military aircraft losses in Iran war-

english.news.cn

 

[UberShock]

You have stupid and lousy military leaders since they couldn't produce manpads in large quantities and distribute throughout the country by mobile groups

 

[Hayabusa]

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Look at that mess to rescue two POW.

The American motto of "no man left behind" has resulted in an absolute mess here. Iran doesn't need to sweat the rescue here. The sheer chaos of it is a psychological win. While it is a good PR stunt, it is a huge blow that's going to live rent free in their planner head and force them to rethink before going into Iran's territory.

Most likely they will further deplete their stand off weapons even more now.

 

[Immortals]

I am sure they would trade 100 empty c-130s for 2 POWs

This just shows that the U.S. has air superiority deep in Iran, the Iranian ground forces don’t exist, and we have very few MANPADs

200KM in Zargos mountains is not deep inside Iran. By such logic if Canada had a fighter jet get shot down 500KM inside Montana it would be “deep inside” the US.

The pilot had a satellite communication device and was in active communication with his rescue team. He had a distress beacon. He hid in a crevice in the mountains. The CIA activated its assets. Military satellites were overhead. Dozens of aircraft using thermal imaging looking for him. And bombing any Iranian convoy that got within 3 KM.

The hell you expect to happen? You act like the pilot fell in Tehran and hid inside a dumpster before escaping inside of an ice cream truck.

Iran had a 3-4 hour window after the crash to find a needle in a haystack before U.S. chain of command could mobilize and put a plan together. Intial pics of the crash was reported at 9:30 AM local time. 6 hours later they rescued the first pilot.

That’s impossible for Iran to react and find a person in that terrain before the Americans.

 

[ShapurII]

You are unable to assess the optics.

1 - Iran couldn't stop them from evacuating the pilot deep inside the country fighting against 200+ enemy soldiers.

2 - The US cares about its every single soldier and is ready to lose expensive equipment.

The American public will go drunk tonight. This operation will improve Trump's approval rating.

In a war, majorly of the times, the optics are equally important when evaluated against the physical wins.

3- Not even a single US soldier was killed in the rescue operation.

 

[Psyko70]

There was fob base inside iran. Very shocking.

 

[Persian Gulf]

200KM in Zargos mountains is not deep inside Iran. By such logic if Canada had a fighter jet get shot down 500KM inside Montana it would be “deep inside” the US.

The pilot had a satellite communication device and was in active communication with his rescue team. He had a distress beacon. He hid in a crevice in the mountains. The CIA activated its assets. Military satellites were overhead. Dozens of aircraft using thermal imaging looking for him. And bombing any Iranian convoy that got within 3 KM.

The hell you expect to happen? You act like the pilot fell in Tehran and hid inside a dumpster before escaping inside of an ice cream truck.

Iran had a 3-4 hour window after the crash to find a needle in a haystack before U.S. chain of command could mobilize and put a plan together. Intial pics of the crash was reported at 9:30 AM local time. 6 hours later they rescued the first pilot.

That’s impossible for Iran to react and find a person in that terrain before the Americans.

The U.S. set up a forward air base 400km into Iran, just south of Esfahan.

They landed several helicopters and large transport planes in this base, without being detected.

Even if we forget the pilots, this is bad news.

 

[Kharral]

You have to hand it, whatever the US admin does strategically put aside, the US military itself and US SOCOM in particular does have capabilities few, if any in the world have. Impressive op no matter which side you are on.

That “TACTICAL” excellence is due to Trillions upon Trillions of dollars & resources.

“Tactics” can win you battles but winning a war is an altogether different matter.

 

[Yasser76]

U.S. military aircraft losses in Iran war​

Source: Xinhua

2026-04-05 16:31:15

An extensive array of U.S. military aircraft, ranging from fighters, helicopters to unmanned systems, have been destroyed or damaged during the "Operation Epic Fury", multiple sources tracking the war have shown.

"Total losses are estimated to exceed $2 billion, with replacement costs potentially even higher," said Egypt's Intel Observer, an open-source intelligence account active on X.

An online update from the Pentagon indicated that 13 U.S. troops have been killed and 365 others wounded in the war as of April 3.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service■

Poster: U.S. military aircraft losses in Iran war

Poster: U.S. military aircraft losses in Iran war-

english.news.cn

Now add two SF C-130s and a MH-6. The weekly rate of US losses are becoming unsustainable, even for US.