Missile found near Tuz Khurmatu Air Base in Iraq is a pristine Iranian 358, the hybrid surface-to-air munition/drone first ID'ed by Centcom from a seizure in Yemen.
In Yemen we've seen this launched at U.S. drones. Per NYT, those infrared lenses on the side are designed as to defeat infrared countermeasures on helicopters. So yeah, sure looks like someone tried to take down a helicopter or drone or (insert here) last night.
One mystery that's still unsolved: what this thing is and whether it has a relationship to the 358. Seen in an attack in Idlib about a year or so ago. Social media chatter (take with huge bags of salt) claimed it was Iranian.
Has the same "overgrown ATGM with wings" vibe as the 358. We don't have wreckage, seizures, or much of anything to say what it is or who it belongs to but it's a tantalizing mystery (at least for nerds like me).
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Our good friend Mohajer-4 A041-65 does not appear to have seen much action outside of the occasional expo appearance over the last eight years. 2013 vs 2021. Few scratches but still good enough for dog and pony shows.
Same cannot be said for A041-65's buddy, A041-66. A041-66 had a very Forrest Gump like existence.
See, A041-66 was seen at that same 2013 delivery ceremony for the Yasir drone. Only unlike his number neighbor, 66 was in a bucket of parts and not fully assembled like 65.
Watching the 60 Minutes segment on the Oath Keepers and it occurs to me that, while we have breakdowns of Jan 6 rioters veteran status and patchy numbers on service background, we don’t know a lot about MOS. Specifically infantry vs not infantry.
Lots of references to why the Oath Keepers and other militia recruit veterans for tactical experience but it’d be nice to know if that’s actually born out by the data instead of just assumed.
“Are these people falling back on and passing along firsthand combat experience or are they trying to get it” seems like an important question from a recruitment & radicalization POV.
Kidding aside, this illustrates the asymmetry of sanctions power between the US/EU and Russia. US/EU zillionaires and officials don’t care about being unable to visit Russia or park their money there because, well, they don’t anyway.
On the other hand, whole lotta rich guys in Russia that would like to visit their pricey homes in London, the French Riviera, etc. and send their kids to schools there.
Since targeted harassment of reporters, particularly women reporters, is a topic today I'll offer my two cents since.
I spend a lot of time thinking about privacy and its online attack surface because of my background in open source investigations. I make lots of slides and memos about how to use the latest tools to pull more information off the Internet and prevent creeps from pulling it on you
The thing that bothers me the most about providing advice to reporters on how to button up their privacy & security is the inherent tradeoff that harassment forces. There's lots of things, small and large, you can do to mitigate & blunt it.
Hey, remember that guy Rob Minuta we wrote about who did security for Roger Stone on 1/6? The one we found doing security for Mike Flynn and Alex Jones? He's just been arrested by the FBI on riot-related charges according to local news. thedailybeast.com/this-far-right…