Ones Ready

Ops Brief 141: Daily Drop - 3 Apr 2026 - F-15 Shot Down, CSAR Ongoing

18 min
Apr 3, 2026about 2 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

This episode covers major military developments on April 3, 2026, including an F-15 fighter jet shot down over Iran with ongoing combat search and rescue operations, B-52 bombers conducting new overland missions, and multiple military branches reporting operational updates amid heightened tensions. The host discusses AI-enabled autonomous drones, Navy deployments, and new firearm policies for service members.

Insights
  • AI-enabled autonomous weapons systems are being rapidly integrated into military operations despite acknowledged limitations and bias concerns in AI decision-making
  • Multiple aircraft losses and damage (F-15 shot down, A-10 damaged, HC-60 shot) indicate significant Iranian air defense capabilities despite U.S. claims of air superiority
  • Military leadership changes and expanded firearm policies suggest administrative shifts in defense priorities, though implementation may face institutional resistance
  • Space Force capabilities are deeply integrated into combat operations, indicating a fundamental shift in how modern warfare depends on space-enabled systems
  • Extended carrier deployments (11 months) and heightened operational tempo across all branches signal sustained high-intensity conflict posture
Trends
Rapid deployment of autonomous and AI-enabled weapons systems into active combat zones with limited real-world validationIncreased integration of Space Force capabilities as critical enablers in traditional military operationsGrowing litigation and industry competition around military drone and unmanned systems contractsExtended operational deployments becoming standard as strategic environment remains contestedPolicy reversals on service member rights (firearms access) indicating ideological shifts in defense leadershipElectronic warfare and air defense suppression becoming primary focus in modern air campaignsMilitary readiness messaging emphasizing family preparation and personal affairs management amid combat deployment risk
Companies
Northrop Grumman
Developing Lumberjack autonomous strike drone being tested by 101st Airborne Division with AI-enabled target detection
Tasty Gains
Sponsor providing creatine gummies and supplements; promoted during episode ad read
People
General Randy George
Asked to step down and retire immediately by Secretary of Defense Pete Hexath
General Christopher Lanieve
Designated as acting Chief of Staff following General George's retirement
Admiral Darrell Caldy
Reported on USS Gerald R. Ford's unprecedented 11-month deployment record
General Chance Saltsman
Detailed Space Force integration and capabilities deployed in operations against Iran
Pete Hexath
Requested Army Chief of Staff retirement and signed directive on expanded firearm access for service members
Casey Campbell
Referenced as guest author with book about manual reversion landing during Iraq War combat incident
Aaron
Provides real-time updates on military operations; promoted for following on Instagram
Quotes
"I could have told you this was coming back in 1980s when Terminator came out. Like, you know, of course that's what we're going to do because, you know, let's hand things over to our AI overlords."
HostEarly segment on Northrop Grumman Lumberjack drone
"There is a lot of stuff going on in the world and if you thought that you missed your chance because GWAT is over... just wait, give it time because there's always stuff going on."
HostMid-episode transition
"If you're not familiar with manual reversion... it doesn't have a great track record. So usually you either decide to land it and you risk it... or you just go hey, I'm over friendly territory. I'm gonna do a controlled bailout."
HostA-10 incident discussion
"I see the irony, but I hope everybody's... [all right]"
HostCommenting on air superiority claims amid aircraft losses
"Secretary of Defense, I know you don't listen to me, but if you do... Great job. It's a step forward. But I'm telling you you got to go... anybody second amendment constitutional carry."
HostFirearm access policy discussion
Full Transcript
One's ready! One, two, three! Go! Team! Ready! Exercise! One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four! I'm too locked in I'm another bruh like God I get critics when I hate I'm a certified pop Bloods on a T's, that's 24 hours Back on my name, I'll trust you Coward, independent winner But I count my blessings I don't know about sex Like I learned my lesson Don't test them Let me go put it on record I'm in the top five of the top five network Way back when they ain't believe in me This took years, you know I ain't do it recently Tell me what they see in me Feel like a deed Ain't nobody better now I got them all feared Ain't nobody better when I'm done and that's peer My point, let you peer Can't rule this interior One shot, year left, I'm gon' take Love my, I made it Hey everybody, welcome back to the One's Ready podcast You're in the team room This is your daily drop for the 3rd of April And boy oh boy, what a day it's been I'm sure you've been following along on Instagram If not, if you guys aren't following Aaron loves America Where Aaron gives updates Especially on a day like today He's giving updates on what's going on downrange So be sure to check that out So shout out to Aaron Love And then obviously, Tasty Games Because shout out to them Why wouldn't you give a shout out to them? Because they got the best creatine gummies on the freaking market You guys can get some of those and their Nutropix And their creatine gummies for women And all that kind of good stuff Over at TastyGains.com Just like normal, we're gonna kick things off with the army We're not gonna change what we're doing Okay, we're, even though there's a lot of stuff going on right now And I missed yesterday So I'm gonna add in yesterday's stuff So we'll kick things off with the army, like I said Alright, the 101st Airborne Division Test Northrop Grumman Lumberjack Autonomous Strike Drone The Army's 101st Airborne Division is incorporating Northrop Grumman's new Lumberjack One-Way Attack Drone Into a recent training exercise The platform's autonomous target detection and strike capabilities After artificial intelligence Using artificial intelligence We're evaluated under realistic conditions And this test advances development of AI-enabled unmanned systems For future operations Yeah, I could have told you this was coming back in 1980s When Terminator came out Like, you know, of course that that's what we're going to do Because, you know, let's hand things over to our AI overlords But whatever Hey, listen, I use the hell out of AI too I'm an early adopter, so I like it But you also got to know there are limitations to it as well And there's biases, obviously, because that chatGPT came out And announced on, well, it wasn't chatGPT that announced it But a report came out on chatGPT that shows that it's biased Towards the user and it'll start to agree with you And lure you into a false sense of security And all that echo chamber kind of stuff So, alright, next Secretary of Defense requests immediate retirement of Army Chief of Staff Secretary of Defense Pete Hexath asked United States Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to step down and retire effective immediately Depending on confirmed the action with Army Vice Chief of Staff General Christopher Lanieve designated as the acting chief The change occurred as the Army supports ongoing operations and operation of Epic Fury I am sure that there's a lot more to this story than just Hey, I'm asking you to step down and retire There must be a history of, you know, incompetence, poor decisions Maybe even DEI and that kind of stuff Because we know that this administration is not about DEI And so maybe there's some of that involved as well But that's all I've got on that right now On to the Navy, the USS Gerald R. Ford Expected to set record deployment length The United States Navy's aircraft carrier The USS Ford, Gerald Ford Is likely to reach an unprecedented deployment of 11 months According to the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Darrell Caldy Currently at approximately 281 days The extended underway period reflects ongoing operational demands In a challenging strategic environment This generation would surpass recent carrier deployment records Dude, can you imagine being on a carrier as big as it is for 11 months straight? Bro, no thanks All right S-Saronic technologies Challenges Navy contract for small maritime drones And Latoral Combat Ship Mission Models Geez, say that freaking fast All right, S-Saronic technologies filed a lawsuit in the United States Court of Federal Claim seeking to halt a Navy solicitation That bundles operation and sustainment work for Latoral Combat Ship Mission Models And small unmanned surface vessels The January solicitation is contested on procedural grounds And the case highlights an industry competition in unmanned maritime systems and acquisitions Boring All right, let's see the USS Gerald R. Ford again Departs port call in Croatia and returns to sea The Navy aircraft carrier the USS Gerald Ford departed split Croatia After a five day port visit and returned to sea The stop followed earlier maintenance in a non-combat fire related incident The carrier part of the carrier strike group 12 Continues operations amid high tempo demands in current strategic environment Well, I mean, hey Five days in Croatia isn't bad But you still got a 11 month deployment potentially so Not great But I'm glad they got that at least All right, next partial evacuation of the USS Princeton crew Due to electrical fire The hell's going on with all these fires Small electrical fires aboard the United States Navy cruiser USS Princeton On March 12 prompted a partial crew evacuation While the ship was docked at Naval Station or Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach in California The vessel has since returned to sea and the Navy provided details of the incident and resolution as part of the routine safety report All right, on to the Marine Corps Marine Corps Reserve Commander issues war readiness safety brief The three star commander of the United States Marine Corps Reserve forces Delivered a weekend address urging the troops to prepare families and ensure personal readiness Amid potential combat deployments The briefing emphasized getting equipment and affairs in order and the message aligned with heightened operational tempo Reported in the news headlines Of course, as you can imagine But Listen Guys, there is a lot of stuff going on in the world And if you thought that you missed your chance because GWAT is over And we told you, yeah, there's not much going on, but just wait, give it time because there's always stuff going on And you guys are tracking what's going on today and if you're not, then I'm about to tell you But if you want to be among one of the best As in a periscope in a combat controller, a special reconnaissance attack P and Navy seal a Ranger a green beret a Mars operator You've got to come to one of our operator training summits. We have one coming up in Nashville at the beginning of May It's an amazing facility. We're going to close it about two weeks out And then you can't you're not going to be able to sign up So don't miss the opportunity to prepare yourself if you are wanting to be the person that gets called to go pick somebody up In their darkest hour because no one else is able to come get them. But you are Then you need to train for it and you need to prepare for it and you need to invest in yourself And join us at one of these operator training summits You can go to operator training summit com to register All right on to the Air Force combat search and rescue underway after the F-15 strike who will downed over Iran The United States Air Force F-15 was shot down over Iran on the 3rd of April with combat search and rescue efforts ongoing for the pilot and the weapons system officer Iranian media released unverified images of the wreckage one crew member has been rescued According to multiple reports in the status of second remains under active recovery operations. I am I'm not going to go into details the stuff that I'm tracking just because boy I would be busting some serious classification issues. However, what I can tell you because they're reporting it now is that there was also The 60 was shot but not shot down The there was you know, obviously when you have bullets flying and that kind of stuff There's people are definitely going to get hurt and then you also have they're showing reports now that an A-10 was also shot up However, it was able to limp its way back close to enemy or not enemy friendly territory and instead of Landing in a manual reversion Decided to punch out which is the right answer, right? If you're not familiar with manual reversion famously During the beginning of the Iraq war Casey Campbell, she's been a guest before she's got a book out She got shot up pretty bad and landed back at whatever base it was Think it might have been now. I wouldn't bag dad. I don't remember where it was But she landed in a manual reversion, right? It's it doesn't have a great track record So usually you either decide to land it and you risk it and it's you know It's a 50-50 shot on whether or not you kill yourself by crashing or you land or You just go hey, I'm over friendly territory. I'm gonna do a controlled bailout. So Yeah, that's what we got going on right now And I'm sure Aaron like I said follow Aaron loves America He will definitely be providing updates as this goes on All right B-52 bombers conduct first overland mission over Iran with J-Dams Excuse me Air Force B-52 bombers flew over Iran carrying joint direct attack munitions or J-Dams Guided gravity bombs marking a new phase in operation epic fury the mission signal significant degradation of Iranian air defenses and bombers previously relied on standoff munitions This shift reflects growing United States air superiority in the campaign Which I realized saying that and it's a little bit of an irony considering we've gotten a 15 down and lost an 810 and Obviously 60 got shot up too. So I See the irony, but I hope everybody's All right Next 15 Fairchild Air Force Base airmen awarded for refueling in contested airspace 15 Air Force airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base received the distinguished flying cross and bronze star medal for aerial Refueling missions in contested airspace during recent combat operations The awards recognized sustained performance under threat and the ceremony highlighted critical enabler roles in ongoing air campaigns Iranian next Iranian strikes damage infrastructure supporting United States air power And you know what that's an old that's an old one Next EA 37 B compass call electronic attack aircraft join Iranian operations a pair of the United States Air Force EA 37 Bravo compass call electronic Attack aircraft were observed at Royal Air Force Base Milton Hall in the United Kingdom The platforms are supporting operations against Iran and this deployment extends electronic warfare capabilities into the theater next Air Force material commands in T 43 alpha supports NASA Artemis to preparations If you guys didn't see the launch was that yesterday, right? Or was that on the first? Man, I'm lost. I don't I don't remember now. I think it was two days ago Anyway, those guys are on the way to the moon. It's pretty freaking awesome And I love the kid that got pinged on CNN that guy's great because we're going to the fucking moon. That's why great All right space force stuff chiefess chief of space operations details guardians integration and Iranian operations Chief of the chief of space operations or CSO general chance Saltsman stated that the United States Space Force capabilities are deployed inside the threat zone and deeply integrated into joint operations against Iran, of course Like we know that and if you didn't know that dude our space force guardians are a bunch of gangsters Guardians contribute across full spectrum of space-enabled support in operation epic fury Disintegration underscores the services role in high-intensity conflict Next the space force seeks additional Testers and potential dedicated test center the United States Space Force officials indicated that new testing approaches are accelerating equipment Delivery to operators, but the service requires more testers and is considering its own space-focused test center The tenant general Douglas she's I'm probably saying that wrong Shai's Deputy chief of space operations highlighted these needs on the 1st of April Enhanced testing infrastructure aims to maintain rapid fielding of new technology Got nothing for the coasties And then let's see secretary of defense You got hold yeah, this is a good one because this came out I saw this this morning Secretary of Defense directs expanded firearm access for off-duty service members Secretary of Defense Phexas signed a directive Allowing service members to request permission to carry privately owned firearms on military installations while off-duty installation commanders must apply a presumption of approval with any denial requiring written justification the policy reverses prior Restrictions described as making personal firearms carry virtually impossible for most troops Now the this is this to me in my opinion does not go far enough like I love that he did that But I can tell you right now what what some of these commanders are going to do or Their staff is going are going to do is make this approval process as painful as it can possibly be I Mean There's gonna be so much paperwork involved. They're gonna go. Oh, this is her. Here's a typo. Here's a typo We don't like the formatting. They're going to make this extremely painful to try and deter anybody from actually Putting in paperwork and trying to get this approval Which is complete bullshit Secretary of Defense, I know you don't listen to me, but if you do Great job. It's a step forward But I'm telling you you got to go Anybody second amendment constitutional carry you're allowed whether you're on duty or off duty You should be allowed to carry Next Secretary of Defense appears to reverse army pilot suspension Secretary of Defense p. Hexeth announced the lifting of the suspensions of the United States Army helicopter crews involved in the flyby near Kid Rocks house Hexeth stated there would be no punishment or ongoing investigation The action followed initial army grounding of the personnel So says that he reversed it, but it didn't really talk about him reversing it. Oh Oh, oh, yeah, I never mind. I see what they're saying. He didn't go back on it. He this is old news and my bad All right, um, let's see what's next No space for stuff. That's talking about the test range. We've already talked about that You know what that's probably enough news for the day Need to go out for a walk touch and grass, right? Anyway, I do appreciate you guys being here Love that you guys are subscribed would love to see you guys to head over to ones ready calm pick yourself up peach and merge Check out any of our partners that we have over there and then Sign up to better yourself at operator training summit dot com. All right. We're out here You