this post was submitted on 18 May 2025
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The Houthis Almost Shot Down an F-35—and Washington Is Panicked (nationalinterest.org)
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml
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According to new reporting from the New York Times, a Houthi surface-to-air (SAM) missile barely missed an American F-35 fifth-generation fighter, the crown jewel of the U.S. fighter inventory. The F-35, participating in Operation Rough Rider against the Houthis, was forced to take evasive action to avoid the missile.

The incident raises questions about the survivability of one of America’s most advanced fighters, and raises concerns over how effective the relatively unsophisticated Houthi air defense system has been at hampering U.S. action.

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[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Answer is that weapons are largely sold to NATO countries as part of a protection racket by the US. Until the war in Ukraine started, nobody was willing to test the idea that US weapons were superior, and it was taken as given that NATO was the strongest fighting force on the planet. This worked as great marketing for US weapons industry. Now the illusion of superiority is starting to crack, and I'm sure weapons sales will take a hit as a result.

[–] LH0ezVT@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

More the illusion of being dependable. The deal, at least as I can imagine it, was like this: you buy our stuff, and if shit happens, we come and save the day. Now, with the unpredictability of certain people, this whole deal seems to be up in the air.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 days ago

Sure, that's how empire work, vassals get protection as long as it's expedient for the empire to do so. It's also important to note that, it's not like Trump just appeared out of thin air. Trump is a product of the declining material conditions and internal contradictions within the imperial core. The reason the US is pulling back from Europe is because the burden of the empire is becoming too much for the US to bear, not simply because an orange bad man was elected.