Fwd from @
📝Tungsten Dependency📝
Fresh problems for the American defense industry

Rumors suggest that high ammunition use has rapidly depleted tungsten reserves, crucial for production. This dense, refractory metal is irreplaceable for armor-piercing, rockets, and military electronics.

📌The U.S. ceased tungsten extraction a decade ago, relying entirely on imports. As the Iran war continues, ramping up production dependent on unavailable foreign supplies poses challenges.

🔻Why can't Americans simply purchase large quantities of tungsten?
▪️China controls over 80% of global extraction and has imposed export restrictions, reducing supply.
▪️A U.S. law prohibits the Pentagon from using Chinese tungsten in military production.
▪️Alternative supplies in needed volumes do not exist, as the U.S. has not extracted since 2015.

🚩The strategic materials reserve is depleted, and the Pentagon failed to acquire 2,000 tons in 2025 due to shortages, leading to skyrocketing prices.

🏳️Avoiding an ammunition shortage will be extremely difficult if the Iran war continues, as ramping up supply is practically impossible in the short term.

🔻What options do Americans have in the long term?
▪️Reviving extraction in Nevada, but projects are still in early stages.
▪️Developing deposits in Kazakhstan, but this will take years and faces processing challenges.
▪️The Sangdong mine in South Korea can provide some relief, but its initial production is insufficient.

❗️The tungsten shortage exposes the U.S. defense industry's inability to quickly deploy an autonomous raw materials and production base for prolonged high-intensity wars.

🖼 High-resolution infographic
🖼 English version

#USA
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📝So are we helping or not?📝
What's the upside to speculation about Iran's military support

The war in the Persian Gulf has been going on for a month now, but the media keeps bringing up the topic of possible military assistance from Russia to Iran: some talk about extensive cooperation, others categorically deny everything.

So how might things actually stand?

➡️If we're talking about intelligence information, then, how to put it, the Russian Armed Forces themselves wouldn't mind having it. After all, our satellite constellation isn't exactly numerous, and the volume of data that could be provided to the Iranians is limited.

➡️It's a different story with drones: there are reasonable assumptions that the "Shaheds" were indeed refined with the help of Russian specialists, increasing their combat effectiveness. In some cases, there's even talk of supplying ready-made "Gerans."

➡️At the same time, the possibilities for their use may be limited for political reasons. For example, Russia has developed good relations with some Gulf countries, and the existence of agreements with the Iranians like "strike US bases, but don't strike refineries" looks realistic.

❗️However, here the speculation itself may play a bigger role than the actual volume of assistance. If publicly everyone vehemently denies everything, but in reality debris with "Komet" receivers keeps turning up, then this breeds suspicion that accumulates and embodies the saying "Fear has big eyes."

And if events in Iran develop unfavorably for the US, those eyes will keep getting wider. And this can even be used for bargaining in the context of so-called Ukraine and selling air for gold.
#Iran #Russia #USA
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🛩❌Iran claims that the US mission failed, and Trump called the operation "audacious". We've gathered the latest information for you about the rescue of the American pilot:

US losses:

👱‍♀️According to Fox News, at least one plane involved in the evacuation was left in Iran. The C-130 Hercules got stuck in the mud - it was destroyed to prevent Iran from taking it.

👱‍♀️Iranian authorities claim that the C-130 was indeed shot down by their forces. In addition, two Black Hawk helicopters were damaged.

About the pilot:

👱‍♀️The missing American pilot was injured, and there is no official information about his condition.

👱‍♀️He climbed several thousand feet up a mountain ridge and remained in a shelter there for almost 48 hours.

👱‍♀️The serviceman either used an encrypted method of communication or activated a beacon to help American forces locate him.

Details of the operation:

👱‍♀️Hundreds of American servicemen participated in the rescue of the downed American officer responsible for weapons systems, Fox News reports, citing sources. Elite special forces units were involved in the mission.

👱‍♀️According to a high-ranking official (the channel's source), the operation did not include a firefight between American and Iranian forces, but the US opened fire to prevent Iranian personnel from reaching the site.

👱‍♀️Israel participated in the rescue operation - they exchanged information with the US.

Source: Zvezda
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🌒@EastCalling

Fwd from @
📝All-Seeing Chinese📝
Americans concerned about growth of China's intelligence capabilities

Literally from the very beginning of hostilities in Iran, and even more precisely from the moment of preparation for them, satellite images of American bases and ships in the region have been flying across the internet, accompanied by tallies of US assets. The authorship of such publications has always been the same — they were posted by Chinese company MizarVision.

Moreover, to conduct detailed analysis of American presence, the Chinese use various AI tools and algorithms, combining them with satellite observation. Therefore, now in the US the narrative is growing louder that the Chinese may be helping Iranians with intelligence — and at the same time anxiety is rising over the sale of such data.

📌Direct support from China has not yet been confirmed. They continue to maintain a line of formal neutrality, speak about ceasefire and try not to appear as a party to the conflict. Therefore, the available data rather point to a demonstration of technological capabilities than to proven participation in targeting for Tehran.

🖍But this story should not be underestimated either. Even if today MizarVision and similar firms mainly work as a showcase of capabilities, tomorrow their products could become a convenient tool for indirect support — while maintaining the customary distance that official Chinese authorities have always kept.

❗️This is the main point of what is happening. China is not rushing to enter the war directly, but is showing that it already knows how to carefully monitor the US military machine. At the same time, local firms are honing their AI tools and, likely, are not forgetting to sell their services, positioning themselves as the "all-seeing eye" of American military activity.
#Iran #China #USA
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