The Afterburn Podcast

Today we discuss Operation Tidal Wave, the 1 August 1943 low-level B-24 raid on the Ploesti oil refineries, with author Adam Makos, whose new book follows a rookie Liberator crew shot down over Romania.

Operation Tidal Wave: https://link.amazon/B07tn9TK9
Adam Makos, out November 3rd -- Signed and personalized copies: https://valorstudios.com

In the summer of 1943, every B-24 Liberator on the Atlantic side of the war was
gathered at a dirt strip near Benghazi for a 2,000 mile round trip against the
refineries feeding roughly a third of Hitler's oil. The Norden bombsights came
out of the aircraft. Crews trained so low they came home with bomb bay doors
caved in, and one of them hit a camel.

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Today we discuss 300 combat missions in the F-4 Phantom with Ron Cooper, who flew with the 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron out of Udorn in 1971 and 1972, including the flight that launched as a four-ship and recovered as three.

Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/HUzq7kZ6PXk

Ron Cooper: https://thecooperculture.com/speaker/

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Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/o-iTT80CTJY

Today we discuss the Geran-4, Russia's turbojet version of the Iranian Shahed one-way attack drone, after an overnight raid of 280 drones on Ukraine. Jet drone launches jumped from about 350 in June to about 2,800 in August, and F-16s are filling the gap.

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Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/VGoBPpVbPNo

Today we discuss the AIM-424 Malice, the US Navy's new long range air-to-air missile revealed in August 2026, credited with reaching targets beyond 250 nautical miles and shown fitting inside the internal weapons bay of the F-35C.

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Watch on Afterburn Defense Youtube: https://youtu.be/GGiXPeV1iJE

The incident occurred while aircraft from the 86th Air Base in Borsia were conducting routine patrols. We break down the details behind the drone interception of these two Russian drones, identified as Nugran-4s, and what this means for current regional stability.

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Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/TT-9woSmEu8

Saudi Arabia fields Patriot batteries and one of the most capable air forces in the Middle East, and a Houthi barrage still reached King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10, killing 13 people and wounding more than 300.

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Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off

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Boeing won the Navy’s F/A-XX sixth-generation carrier fighter on September 29, which means one company now builds both American sixth-gen fighters, the Navy’s F/A-XX and the Air Force’s F-47.

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Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off

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Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/sJdOot0ti2E

Taiwan’s first two F-16 Block 70 fighters have landed at their new home, plus the US Air Force is weighing new-build F-16s for the first time since 2005. Today we discuss the Block 70, the proposed F-16G, Viper Shield, and the fighter shortfall driving it.

Sources:
The War Zone: https://www.twz.com/air/new-build-f-16s-for-the-usaf-is-an-idea-that-wont-go-away-for-good-reason
Air and Space Forces: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-eyes-new-build-f-16s-to-boost-fighter-force/

The first two of 66 F-16 Block 70s ordered by Taiwan in 2019 touched down at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung on October 2, 2026, after a ferry flight from Lockheed Martin’s Greenville, South Carolina line that stalled in Hawaii for more than a month. Today we discuss what that roughly $8 billion package actually contains, from the APG-83 AESA radar and Link 16 to smart bomb tail kits, towed decoys, and the integrated offensive and defensive electronic warfare suite that L3Harris Viper Shield answers.

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Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off

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Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/4Er8ciSvT84

KC-135 battle damage repair: Air Mobility Command commander Lt Gen Daniel
Tulley revealed how maintainers saved a Stratotanker loaded with 200,000
pounds of fuel after an enemy attack during Operation Epic Fury.

Ogden Air Logistics Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUDBQ8fmr8Ek

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Watch on Afterburn Defense YouTube: https://youtu.be/F21BnqlbCow

Today we discuss the Air Force naming its first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the FQ-42A Vengeance from General Atomics and the FQ-44A Fury from Anduril, plus the plan for 1,000 drones by 2032.

On 14 September 2026, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink announced a target of roughly 1,000 autonomous combat aircraft by 2032: 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft and 500 Massed Modular Aircraft. The F in FQ-42 and FQ-44 is deliberate. These are being designated as fighters, not surveillance drones.

Vengeance has been delivered to Creech Air Force Base and has already flown in formation with the F-35 and the F-15E Strike Eagle. Fury fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM at a digital target in July with a human retaining oversight of the shot. Contract award to first flight ran about 18 months, a pace almost unheard of in defense acquisition.

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