Bunker Talk: Let's Chat About All The Stories We Did And Didn't Report On This Week

We can talk about defecting Balugas, Venezuela on the brink, geopolitics, laser-equipped fighter jets—you know, no big whoop.

By Tyler Rogoway
DISPO BERLIN / Nuclear bunker Harnekop
Bernd Settnik/picture-alliance/d
Tyler Rogoway View Tyler Rogoway's Articles

This has been an amazingly strange week. I was running a fever through most of it and pitching stuff to Joe to knock out of the park. He did an awesome job keeping the gears turning, kudos to him. We definitely had some weird news. The defecting Beluga whale was my favorite, but quite honestly we had been keeping a very close eye on Venezuela as some sort of military action by the U.S. seems increasingly possible. We also got word that the USAF's F-35As have waded into combat for the first time. 

Yet the biggest rush of news came on Friday, started with exciting info that the Air Force's laser intended to one day equip its fighter aircraft is making real progress. And just as we predicted, Russia is circling Turkey with offers to sell their Su-57 fighter jets in place of embargoed F-35As. Then just before the day ended, news broke that North Korea had launched a number of short-range missiles, the first time in a year and a half, and an ominous sign of what may be to come. 

There was still a ton of stuff we just couldn't get to, but it's not too late!

Welcome to Bunker Talk.

The Air Force Just Shot Down Multiple Missiles With A Laser Destined For Fighter Aircraft By Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone
If The U.S. Isn't About To Intervene In Venezuela, It Sure Seems To Be Building The Case By Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone
Right On Cue, Russia Says It's Ready To Offer Turkey Su-57 Fighters In Place Of F-35s By Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone
Did This Beluga Whale Escape From A Russian Navy Training Program? By Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone
USAF F-35As Flew First-Ever Combat Strikes With Radar Reflectors And Sidewinders Fitted By Tyler Rogoway Posted in The War Zone

This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn't get to. In other words, literally an off-topic thread.

First off, these shots of the F-22 demo team Raptor and the Blue Angels flying in formation are just spectacular:

USAF
USAF
USAF
USAF

We can talk about this firefighting helicopter getting a scary surprise when it dunked its Bambi Bucket into a pool: 

We can also all dream of the happiest place on Earth as the Blue Angels execute a perfect fan break over Spaceship Earth at Epcot Center:

This composite formation shot is a classic. Sacré bleu!

 Finally, it looks like Turkey had some serious trouble with their LHD that's currently under construction: 

The Bunker doors are swinging open. 

Discuss!

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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