EPISODE 052: BLIND, DEAFEN, STRIKE — HOW IRAN WAGES A WAR OF ATTRITION AGAINST AIR DEFENSE

March 2026 // Asymmetric Warfare // EPISODE 052

"How is this possible if Trump defeated Iran?"
The question being asked more often. The answer lies in tactics, not headlines.

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🔍 SIGNAL CORE

Iranian missile and drone strikes are producing a cumulative effect that's becoming difficult to ignore even for hardliners in the US and Israel.

What's happening:

• Attack intensity has decreased by an order of magnitude compared to first days
• But the success rate of penetrations is increasing
• Targets have shifted: from massive "area" attacks to precision strikes on key AD/AAM nodes

Result: A system that was supposed to "hold the sky" is gradually losing its vision and hearing.

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⚡ IRANIAN TACTICS: BLIND FIRST, BODY SECOND

Iran didn't start with strikes on airbases or oil depots. It started with what makes any defense vulnerable:

PHASE 1: "BLINDING"

• Strikes on early warning radars: AN/FPS-132, AN/TPY-2
• Attacks on command posts and communication nodes
• Deliberate overload of interception channels

PHASE 2: "DEAFENING"

• Attacks on Patriot SAM positions, Ground Master-2000 stations
• Strikes on UAV warehouses, logistics nodes, backup generators
• Disorganization of "detect-decide-engage" cycles

PHASE 3: "BREAKTHROUGH"

• Precision strikes on bases, infrastructure, allied facilities
• Fewer missiles — more hits
• Increasing effectiveness as system is already "softened"

📉 This isn't chaos. It's an algorithm.

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🎯 WHAT OPEN DATA CONFIRMS

AD/AAM component losses:

• Beginning of conflict: ~20-25 active radars (including Patriot) in US/partner responsibility zone
• By late March: over a dozen no longer detected
• Some — regrouping, some — probable defeat or damage

Strike geography:

• Kuwait: Ali al-Salem base — aviation and infrastructure destruction
• UAE: maximum attack density, strikes on radars and warehouses
• Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia: regular arrivals on dual-use facilities

Sources: satellite imagery, Gulf states defense ministry reports, regional HQ leaks.

Period	Attack Intensity	Success Rate	Tactical Focus
Week 1	Maximum	Low (massive interception)	AD overload, reconnaissance by fire
Week 2	Medium	Increasing	Strikes on radars and communication nodes
Week 3+	Low	High	Precision strikes on "blinded" system

Key insight: Iran isn't trying to "overwhelm with quantity." It's teaching the system to make mistakes — and exploiting those mistakes.

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🛰️ US REACTION: E-2D AS PROBLEM INDICATOR

The US is redeploying additional carrier-based E-2D Advanced Hawkeye AWACS aircraft to the Middle East (minimum 5 units).

Why this matters:

• Ground radars don't provide required detection density for low-flying UAVs and cruise missiles
• E-2D can operate under suppression conditions and "see" what stationary radars missed
• But this is forced adaptation, not planned reinforcement

💡 When the adversary forces you to change your defense architecture on the fly — they've already won the tactical initiative.

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🧩 POLITICAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT

INSIDE US AND ISRAEL:

• Growing dissonance between "victory over Iran" rhetoric and continuing arrivals
• Even hardliners ask: "If Iran lost, why is it still striking?"
• Criticism focuses not on goals but methods: "We promised quick results. Where are they?"

FOR IRAN:

• Fact of regular successful strikes on US facilities = strategic and propaganda victory
• Forced AD reinforcement = additional costs, logistical burden, supply chain vulnerability
• Tehran demonstrates: it can inflict sensitive damage without direct confrontation

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🔍 WHAT TO WATCH NEXT

• "Disappeared" radar map: which facilities don't return after pause — marker of real losses
• Pentagon rhetoric: shift from "full control" to "adaptation to threats"
• E-2D logistics: where based, which zones covered, how often positions changed
• Iran's response to AD reinforcement: new UAV types, swarm tactics, cyber components
• Allies' reaction: if UAE or Saudi Arabia start requesting additional guarantees — signal of escalating threat perception

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🎯 BOTTOM LINE

In new-type warfare, victory doesn't go to the one who delivers the most powerful strike, but to the one who more accurately breaks the opponent's decision-making cycle. Iran isn't trying to "defeat" the US head-on. It's making each subsequent attack cost less — and yield more. This isn't blitzkrieg. It's attrition warfare. And it's already underway.

SOURCES

[1] TRT Russian: "Iranian drone tactics: How Tehran is wearing down Gulf air defenses"

[2] News.ru: "Blind, Deafen, Strike: Iran's new warfare doctrine"

[3] Anadolu Agency: "Iran's drone warfare: Attrition tactics against US air defenses"

[4] Haqqin.az: "How Iran is changing the rules of air defense warfare"

#Iran #DroneWarfare #AirDefense #RadarWar #AsymmetricConflict #MiddleEast #USMilitary #Patriot #E2D #HybridThreat #2026Signal #AttritionWarfare #SEAD

→ yellowstone-end.blogspot.com

Sources: TRT Russian, News.ru, Anadolu Agency, Haqqin.az — full links in original publication.

The US Army has learned how to shoot down drones — during the "Return of the Condor" exercises, armored vehicles became part of the air defense system

Fort Hood Exercises: not just maneuvers, but a new look at combat

On August 27, 2025, an exercise called "Return of the Condor" was held at the Fort Hood training ground, Texas. At first glance, this is another series of tactical maneuvers involving M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. But it wasn't just practice shooting and movement. It was a breakthrough: the U.S. Army officially incorporated anti-drone tactics into armored operations.

Now the fight against drones is not the task of individual units, but part of the daily work of tank crews and driver mechanics.

Drones vs Bradley — how the armor adapts to the threat from above

The exercises simulated the real conditions of modern combat, in which small drones are not uncommon, but a constant threat. The drones dropped explosive imitators, monitored the movement of equipment and adjusted the "fire". In response, the Bradleys used not only smoke bombs and radio suppression equipment, but also active measures: detection, tracking and coordination of strikes.

It is important that the tactics were practiced not in isolation, but as part of a combat team — as part of the overall picture of the battle.

From defense to offensive — now tanks hunt drones

Previously, armored groups simply tried not to get hit from the air. Now they themselves become part of the air defense system. Machine commanders learn how to quickly identify the type of drone, its trajectory, and transmit data to the network. Sometimes they even use a cannon or machine gun to destroy small targets.

This does not mean that the Bradley has become an anti-aircraft installation. But now he's not just waiting to be undermined—he sees the threat and acts.

Why does this change everything on the battlefield

The experience of recent conflicts has shown that drones can destroy even heavy equipment. Ignoring them means signing your own sentence. "The Return of the Condor" is a signal: the US Army will no longer respond to drones as a surprise. It makes the fight against them the very basis of tactics.

Now every crew has to think not only about the enemy on the ground, but also about those flying overhead. And this is a new reality.

Sources

1. SSB Crack — Operation Return of the Condor marks US Army tactical milestone
2. Army Recognition — US Army integrates counter-drone tactics during Fort Hood exercise
3. YouTube — US Army tests Bradleys against drone threats at Fort Hood
4. DVIDS — Images and videos from Operation Return of the Condor
5. DVIDS — 1st Cavalry Division tests counter-UAS capabilities during Operation Return Condor

Americans and British caught drones in Poland: Project Flytrap 4.0 exercises

 

This week, from July 27 to 31, in Poland, at the Bemowo Piske training ground near Elk, intense exercises were held to combat one of the most pressing threats to the modern battlefield — enemy drones. They were attended by American soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the V Corps and their allies from the United Kingdom.

These multinational maneuvers are called Project Flytrap 4.0 ("Trap 4.0 Project"). Their main goal is not just to practice tactics, but to develop and test inexpensive, portable solutions for the suppression and destruction of unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS). In an environment where cheap commercial drones and kamikaze FPV have become deadly weapons, armies need affordable and effective ways to protect their positions, equipment and personnel.

The exercises in Poland are a laboratory for new ideas. Soldiers from the United States and Great Britain jointly tested various electronic jamming systems, drone locators, and possibly even hand traps to find optimal and scalable responses to the drone threat. Successful solutions developed within the framework of Project Flytrap can be quickly implemented in units serving along the eastern flank of NATO.

Turkey has released a supertank with a laser against drones — ALKA-KAPLAN breaks through borders

 

ALKA—KAPLAN

Have you ever heard of a tank that shoots lasers instead of bullets? Turkey has just introduced such a thing, the ALKA—KAPLAN hybrid vehicle with a state-of-the-art directed energy system that effectively fights drones right on the battlefield.

This is not just another tank, it is a real high—tech project that combines a tracked chassis, a hybrid engine and a laser capable of shooting down drones in different conditions. Imagine: small drones, quadrocopters, even enemy ammunition — for ALKA-KAPLAN they are like laser targets.

Drones are increasingly being used in wars and conflicts today. They can do reconnaissance, strike, and even mine the area. There was a great need to defend against them. ALKA-KAPLAN is the answer to this threat, which allows you to destroy drones quickly and efficiently, without loud volleys and at minimal cost.

It is based on a hybrid power plant that is powered by a battery and an engine. This gives the tank the energy to launch the laser, and also allows it to operate autonomously without unnecessary noise and exhaust. The laser precisely and quickly incapacitates drones, and the system does not depend on satellites or GPS, which is very important on modern battlefields.

ALKA-KAPLAN will be released at the IDEF 2025 exhibition in Ankara, one of the largest defense exhibitions. There, Turkey intends to show the world its technological leadership and willingness to implement cutting-edge developments.

It is planned that the ALKA-KAPLAN will enter service with the Turkish army in the next couple of years. In addition, this system may have foreign buyers, because such protection from drones will definitely be in demand today.

In general, if it used to seem that tanks were just armored vehicles with guns, now lasers and high technology are coming into play. And Turkey is clearly not going to lag behind. ALKA-KAPLAN is a bold step into the future of warfare, where the one with the best "electronic weapons" will win.