How Do You Hide Massive Engine Thrust?

When I need a good boost of energy, I watch a short clip of the lighting of the J58 engines on the SR-71 (volume up!). I have written about the plane that is one of the greatest wonders of human imagination and creativity. Its primary designer, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, once said that every plane needs a miracle and that the SR-71 was all miracles. Its fuel, JP7, was relatively inert; one could throw lit cigarettes into it, and nothing would happen. In order to get it to light, one had to employ Chevy engines to get the engines spinning and then release triethylborane (TEB), which explodes in air — and ignites the fuel. Any time pilots of the Blackbird needed to turn on the afterburners after a refueling, they would spritz some of the TEB to fire up the engines. They had 18 shots of TEB, and a pilot told me that he never ran out on a mission.

The other night we heard an hour of endless plane engine sound. We checked a flight radar app, and there were no commercial flights anywhere near Jerusalem. We concluded it was the IAF and it was a serious drill or a renewed attack on Iran. The last time we heard such sustained engine noise above was the first day of the presently on pause war. We couldn’t put all the pieces together until we learned that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was in the country visiting American servicemen at a base in the south of Israel. The Israelis ran their planes through Iraq up to the Iranian border while Hegseth was in town. No doubt, they looked for radars coming online and various reactions of air defense systems. The planes returned home, and the expected renewed attack on Iran did not start that night. Due to the noise, I arranged my clothes for a fast exit should the alarms have gone off.

During the intense fighting earlier this year, hundreds of Israeli and American planes were engaged in attacking targets in Iran, from IRGC sites to missile launching systems. While the Americans and Israelis had total surprise to start the war — to the point of wiping out the Ayatollah and four dozen of his top people — as the war went on, it became harder to hide the approaching armada. Videos showed Israeli planes in formation flying through Iraq. Both the U.S. and Israel have to approach Iran from afar. Whereas naval assets can approach from the sea, Israel must travel over some combination of Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and possibly Saudi Arabia. Israel is not letting Turkey set up shop in Syria so as not to give Iran any advantage as Israeli fighters fly back and forth through the country for Iranian bombing.

There was a story told of Kelly Johnson’s handpicked successor, Ben Rich. He showed Johnson his first baby, which was the F-117. It was a stealth fighter but looked like a LEGO factory had exploded inside of Lockheed Skunk Works. Rich said that Johnson was so angry about the new plane that he literally kicked him in the butt. In the end, he explained to Johnson the need for stealth in order to get close to targets. The F-35 was called by critics underpowered for its weight and a weak successor to the F-22. But since its use by Israel and the U.S., it has shown its stealth and amazing electronics capabilities as being extremely powerful in damaging Iranian targets. To date, only a handful of U.S. planes and drones have been successfully hit by the Iranians for thousands of sorties over every part of the country. Chinese and Russian defense systems have been mostly ineffective against American and Israeli attacks. The B-2 attacks in the previous round were the zenith of the air attacks, with the bunker-buster bombs dropped with the greatest of precision.

Everyone is waiting for the next intense round of bombing. Not moving prior to an election is not a new strategy. Sherman decided after taking Atlanta that he would sit tight until the presidential election was finished. He reasoned that any minor setback in leaving the big city would be blown up into a major setback for the Union and, more importantly, Abe Lincoln. After the elections, he ventured out and continued his march to the sea. The U.S. and Israel seem content to sit tight until after both sets of elections. Bibi Netanyahu would benefit from a strong, successful bombing campaign, but any loss of life or destruction of property might be considered a failure of leadership just as people go to the polls. Donald Trump does not want any further increases in oil prices. Once the U.S. election is over, I expect that we will hear lots of plane engines over our house.

One major difference between the U.S. and Israel is timing. Donald Trump still has two years left on his term. Even if this were 2028, he would have two months before vacating the White House. In Israel, if somebody not named Bibi Netanyahu formed a government the day after Tuesday's elections, Bibi would be out at the same moment. In practice, it will take weeks to months to either form a new government or order new elections. During that time, Bibi and his government will continue to be in charge, though very little gets done in the Knesset with a lame duck government. Neither side of the electoral divide appears to have a slam dunk 61 seats in the next Knesset. As such, it will take time to put together a minority government or conclude that new elections must be run. During that time — and after November 3 — Bibi Netanyahu and Donald Trump might conclude that the time has come to finish off the Iranian regime. Its military and economic infrastructure has been badly damaged. It has no more oil to sell, and its economic situation is so bad that anyone reporting the value of the rial versus the dollar will be arrested.

A friend claims that Israel often runs planes up to Iran for two purposes: to record responses by Iran and its associates and also to give the Iranians no feeling for when the real attack will arrive. So far, it’s been all recall; at some point, the fighters and bombers will get through, and Iran will be crushed. We hope that it will be the first pin in the Islamic supremacist movement to fall. It was music to my ears to hear that Qatar has signed a contract to buy American liquefied natural gas until 2054! Qatar, the other major driver of Islamic violence in the West, must be put out of the Muslim Brotherhood business. Maybe Iran will blow up the rest of its gas fields when the U.S. and Israel resume their bombing campaign. What is going on in Paris and New York starts in Doha and Tehran. Put them out of business and maybe the West can regain its bearings.

I saw Pete Hegseth standing in front of an A-10 parked in Israel. When it flies over my house, I will gladly come out in my pajamas to give its pilot a heartfelt salute.