Major drone attack cripples Saudi oil production

[Bitek]

A drone attack against a major Aramco refinery has cut SA output in half. Currently there is also a major fire raging at the refinery.

Yemeni rebels proxies for Iran are being blamed.

This leaves the US as the top exporter of oil in the world.

Wapo link

Obvious question will be what will Trump do. If this was a move by Iran, it comes as an obvious consequence of the broken nuke deal and a
chaotic natsec posture that has left us weak.
Bolton must be pulling his mustache out.

 

[Jaskalas]

How much will we blame Iran for the actions of a proxy?
Will there be consequences / retaliation if any?

Unknown.

 

[Fenixgoon]

A drone with weapons capabilities is rather sophisticated isn't it? Didn't think anyone else had fully integrated all those technologies into a fielded system (outside of the US obviously).

 

[Bitek]

How much will we blame Iran for the actions of a proxy?
Will there be consequences / retaliation if any?

Unknown.

Well Graham is calling for air strikes against oil refineries in Iran.

Great thing we have a crack NatSec team to carefully navigate is through another ME bombing campaign without spiraling into a larger war....

 

[Jhhnn]

A drone attack against a major Aramco refinery has cut SA output in half. Currently there is also a major fire raging at the refinery.

Yemeni rebels proxies for Iran are being blamed.

This leaves the US as the top exporter of oil in the world.

Wapo link

Obvious question will be what will Trump do. If this was a move by Iran, it comes as an obvious consequence of the broken nuke deal and a
chaotic natsec posture that has left us weak.
Bolton must be pulling his mustache out.

They just want the Saudis, Al Qaeda & Isis out of their country. There is no evidence at all linking these drones to Iran, either, no matter what Pompeo insinuates.

 

[IronWing]

If anybody but a Bush had been President on 9/11, this would have been an American action on 9/12. Good for the Houthis for standing against the font of Islamic terrorism.

 

[NostaSeronx]

I guess it is time for the "fake news" 120,000 troops to become "true news." Cuz, Trump will absolutely do that.

https://twitter.com/x/status/141604554855825408

https://twitter.com/x/status/260421157201784832

What Obama can't do Trump can do in his mind.

 

[UglyCasanova]

What kind of drone are we talking about? I’m assuming this is more than something I can go buy at Best Buy?

 

[feralkid]

What kind of drone are we talking about? I’m assuming this is more than something I can go buy at Best Buy?

No shit, Sherlock.

 

[feralkid]

They just want the Saudis, Al Qaeda & Isis out of their country. There is no evidence at all linking these drones to Iran, either, no matter what Pompeo insinuates.

"Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply. There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen," Pompeo continued, providing no evidence that Iran was behind the attacks.

He's not really trying very hard, is he?

 

[Jhhnn]

What kind of drone are we talking about? I’m assuming this is more than something I can go buy at Best Buy?

I'm sure it is, probably a rather large RC airplane with some internal guidance & a cell phone camera link to guide it in at the end. Add a bit of plastic explosive & a contact detonator.

 

[UglyCasanova]

No shit, Sherlock.

Just asking, there’s no reason to be like that.

What kind would it be? I don’t imagine Yemenese rebels have access to predator drones. It would seem like tracing the tech back should be fairly easy so that if it was Iran ultimately behind it that’ll be easy to determine. And if it is Iran, well, that’s the Saudi's problem. Not ours.

 

[Jhhnn]

"Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply. There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen," Pompeo continued, providing no evidence that Iran was behind the attacks.

He's not really trying very hard, is he?

No evidence other than the Houthis claiming they did it. Must be fake news.

 

[NostaSeronx]

Long range is Samad-3 and short range is Qasef-2K, both are for loitering munitions. As well as both are manufactured in Iran(re-branded for Yemen) with Chinese parts, apparently.

 

[Jhhnn]

Long range is Samad-3 and short range is Qasef-2K, both are for loitering munitions. As well as both are manufactured in Iran(re-branded for Yemen) with Chinese parts, apparently.

You have no evidence to support that claim. It's also perfectly obvious that we're arming the aggressor here, the Saudis.

Secret Report Reveals Saudi Incompetence and Widespread Use of U.S. Weapons in Yemen

Donald Trump says Saudi Arabia could turn to Russia or China for arms, but the French intelligence report emphasizes its dependence on the West.

theintercept.com

 

[Paratus]

What kind of drone are we talking about? I’m assuming this is more than something I can go buy at Best Buy?

I'm sure it is, probably a rather large RC airplane with some internal guidance & a cell phone camera link to guide it in at the end. Add a bit of plastic explosive & a contact detonator.

Well maybe not from Best Buy but at B&H Photo you can buy a hybrid gas electric multi rotor drone with 12mile / 20km range and 1.5 hour flight time for $80,000.

Walkera who makes it supposedly has a bigger brother that ups the flight time 2 hours and 72km each with a couple of Kg of payload.

As you said Jhhnn add some high explosive and you’ve got a pretty formidable weapon to use against something already prone to exploding like a refinery.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...500_20km_range_gas_electric_hybrid_drone.html

 

[Bitek]

They just want the Saudis, Al Qaeda & Isis out of their country. There is no evidence at all linking these drones to Iran, either, no matter what Pompeo insinuates.

The only facts I know about it at this point is whatever Pres. Sharpie or his administration says happened won't be believed as they are sycophants and serial liars.

 

[trenchfoot]

The only facts I know about it at this point is whatever Pres. Sharpie or his administration says happened won't be believed as they are sycophants and serial liars.

Agreed. It's amazing how blatantly obvious it is that Trump will lie every chance he gets yet for some odd reason so many folks still think his words have credibility, that he speaks the truth more often than not and that those sycophant stooges he hires are "just doing their jobs" by incredulously "clarifying" their boss' lies into lies that are somehow more believable.

If only the media would refrain from broadcasting Trump's incessant lies he'd have about zero air time to confuse and confound a public who still believe that because Trump is the president he should be given the benefit of the doubt to every single alarming WTF? thing that comes out of that sourpuss face of his.

 

[K1052]

Since refineries and oil storage aren't exactly hardened targets I really doubt the level of sophistication was high here. Commercial drones and some explosives would certainly seem sufficient.

 

[WHAMPOM]

What kind of drone are we talking about? I’m assuming this is more than something I can go buy at Best Buy?

Tec from the US drone the Iranians reverse engineered?

 

[amenx]

Since refineries and oil storage aren't exactly hardened targets I really doubt the level of sophistication was high here. Commercial drones and some explosives would certainly seem sufficient.

Still, drones shouldnt get through. Many anti-drone systems developed over the years and should have prevented this from happening.

Drone Defense Systems

https://www.droneshield.com/

Anti Drone UAV Detection Defense Systems - SPI Corp

1 day ago - A new Anti Drone UAV detection system is available. The M7 Anti Drone Defense Camera System is ready to protect you. Find out how today!

www.x20.org

Counter UAS | Controp Precision Technologies

www.controp.com

I guess that should be a wake up call not just for the Saudis, but for any country seeking to protect its vital economic facilities and infrastructure.

 

[Jhhnn]

Since refineries and oil storage aren't exactly hardened targets I really doubt the level of sophistication was high here. Commercial drones and some explosives would certainly seem sufficient.

Maybe. They'd need to be launched not too far from the target because they depend on line of sight communication. That's a long way over some truly forbidding desert from Houthi controlled Yemen. Hundreds of miles.

 

[balloonshark]

This leaves the US as the top exporter of oil in the world.

Things that make you go hmmm.

 

[IronWing]

Maybe. They'd need to be launched not too far from the target because they depend on line of sight communication. That's a long way over some truly forbidding desert from Houthi controlled Yemen. Hundreds of miles.

Line of sight is only needed to change instructions. A drone programmed to fly to a specific GPS point, drop a bomb, and return to a specific GPS point doesn't require line of sight.

 

[pcgeek11]

A question for all that don't think Iran had anything to do with this attack.

Who did it and who masterminded it and why?