Post

More from @RealAirPower1

Air Power

@RealAirPower1

Oct 11

China may not have an Air Force as big or battle-tested as the U.S., but it has something the U.S. does not - a network of super-hardened underground air bases carved into mountains. Here’s a thread on these hidden fortresses, and why they matter. 1/6

From Datangshan near Beijing to Luliang, Anshan, and Lintong in the northwest, OSINT has identified around 40 underground air bases across China. Some are designed to conceal a handful of fighters, while others can handle aircraft as large as H-6 bombers. Collectively, it is estimated that these bases could shelter around 1,500 aircraft. 2/6

The idea took shape in the 1950s and 1960s when China’s young air force faced the threat of American and Soviet (nuclear) strikes. Unable to protect aircraft on open tarmacs, China went underground. Drawing inspiration from Yugoslavia’s Željava complex, the PLA buried its survival under hundreds of meters of rock. 3/6

Read 7 tweets

Air Power

@RealAirPower1

Sep 11

In March 2025, the U.S. ran a wargame simulating the defence of air bases against drones. As the Pentagon digested the results, Ukraine’s "Operation Spiderweb" in June made that scenario real. 117 FPV drones destroyed or damaged up to 40 Russian aircraft. Here's a 🧵 on the growing drone threat. 1/5

Ukraine’s "Operation Spiderweb" showed how small, inexpensive drones can destroy high-value targets worth millions. If Russia’s hardened airfields, thousands of miles from the front, were vulnerable, so are U.S. bases, both domestic and abroad. 2/5

Since 2022, the USArmy and RAND have run six wargames on countering drone threats, highlighting Pentagon concerns about asymmetric warfare. The March 2025 exercise tested electronic jammers, directed-energy weapons, and a critical policy gap: who has authority to act when drones enter U.S. airspace - military, law enforcement, or FAA? The lack of clarity, plus the speed of drone swarms, exposes major vulnerabilities. 3/5

Read 5 tweets

Air Power

@RealAirPower1

Sep 4

In Vietnam, the USArmy ran into an old problem, one that had bled the French before them: guerrillas hidden under jungle canopy, striking then vanishing. The answer was bold and colourful - and the colour was the hunter-killer pink! 1/4

The “hunter” was the OH-6 Loach. Tiny, fast, and agile, it skimmed the treetops looking for trails, bunkers, or sudden muzzle flashes. Loach crews often flew low enough to draw enemy fire - sometimes the only way to spot a hidden threat. 2/4

Overhead waited the “killer”: the AH-1 Cobra. Armed with 2.75-inch rockets, M134 miniguns, and 40 mm grenade launchers, it dived in the moment the scout marked a target. The Cobra turned fleeting ambushes into quick destruction. 3/4

Read 4 tweets

Air Power

@RealAirPower1

Sep 1

The Fairchild A-10 Warthog was born out of a Cold War problem: NATO faced thousands of Warsaw Pact tanks in Central Europe, but had no dedicated aircraft to stop them. Fighters were too fast, bombers too costly, and close support was left to outdated types. Something new was needed. So here's a 🧵 on the wondrous Warthog. 1/7

By the mid-1960s, the Pentagon wanted an aircraft that could loiter near the front, absorb punishment, and kill tanks, and kill them by the dozen. An aircraft that was better than the piston-engined A-1, but cheaper and tougher than the A-7. Requirements emphasized survivability, simplicity, and the ability to fight from rough forward fields. 2/7

In 1967, the USAF launched the A-X program, receiving 21 proposals. By 1970, the specs were clear: a 16,000 lb warload, heavy armour, redundancy to survive severe damage, and short takeoff ability from meadows or improvised strips. In the end, two finalists remained: Northrop’s A-9 and Fairchild’s A-10. 3/6

Read 7 tweets

Air Power

@RealAirPower1

Aug 22

Everyone knows Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. But fewer remember the bomber and crew who carried out the second, and last, atomic strike in history. Here's a short thread on Bockscar. 1/6

Bockscar (B-29-36-MO, Sr. No. 44-27297) was built in 1944 and named after its original commander, Capt. Frederick Bock. Assigned to the 393rd BS, it arrived on Tinian in the summer of 1945 - just in time for the mission that would seal its place in history. 2/6

On August 9, 1945, Bockscar took off from Tinian, piloted by Maj. Charles W. Sweeney. Its payload: Fat Man, a plutonium bomb 30% more powerful than Little Boy. The assigned target? Kokura. Yes, Nagasaki was only the backup. 3/6

Read 6 tweets

Air Power

@RealAirPower1

Jul 28

In 1944, Japan faced a new kind of war: the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Flying at 30,000 ft, doing 350 mph, bristling with remote-controlled .50 cal guns, and carrying 20,000 lbs of bombs, it was a fortress in the sky. And now hundreds were coming for Japan’s cities. 1/5

Japan was caught off guard. Defending the homeland had never been a priority. But as B-29s began taking off from the Marianas, Tokyo rushed to build a “metropolitan air defense zone.” Radar stations went up. Fighters were reassigned. Flak guns were installed. Even suicide ramming squadrons were formed. 2/5

The first clashes were brutal. The Ki-44 and Ki-61 fighters struggled to reach the bombers, while flak bursts exploded too low to do real damage. Many B-29s returned with only scratches. As the raids intensified, new fighters like the Ki-84 were thrown in - fast, well-armed, and capable at high altitude. But there were too few of them, flown by pilots with too little training and too little fuel. 3/5

Read 6 tweets

Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

Air Power

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @RealAirPower1

Air Power

Air Power

Air Power

Air Power

Air Power

Air Power

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Send Email!