HTML Version <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"><head><title>Tanker Supporting Iran Ops Goes Down</title><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no"><meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=9; IE=8; IE=7; IE=EDGE" /><style type="text/css">body { margin: 0 !important; } #overall-container table { max-width: 680px !important; } @media only screen and (max-width: 480px) { body { width:100% !important; min-width:100% !important; } table, td { max-width: 100% !important; } table#email-container { width: 100% !important; } img { max-width: 100% !important; height: auto !important; } .bodytext, h2.article-title { margin: 0.8em !important; } .article-hr { margin: 1.0em 0.5em !important; } .footer-small p, .footer-small a { font-size: 0.4em !important; } .wp-post-image { margin: 0.3em 0 !important; } .editors-note { padding: 0.5em 0.8em !important; } }</style></head><body><div style="display: none; font-size: 1px; color: #333333; line-height: 1px; max-height: 0px; max-width: 0px; opacity: 0; overflow: hidden;">PLUS: B-1 Buildup Continues and Grading the Health of the Industrial Base</div><table id="overall-container" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center"><table id="email-container" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 680px;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://www.afa.org/doolittle-leadership-center/podcast/" target="_blank"><img width="680" height="90" src="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/02/DLC_Podcast_DR_680x90.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr class="logo"><td align="center"><img style="margin: 0;" alt="airforcemag daily report logo" height="92" width="450" src="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/Image/AFM_Daily_Report.jpg"></td></tr><tr class="date"><td align="center"><p class="bodytext" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #1E4A85; font-weight: bold; margin: 0 0 .8em !important;">March 13, 2026</p></td></tr><tr class="date"><td align="center"><p class="article-author" style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #666666; font-weight: normal; margin: 0 0 0.8em;">Edited by Greg Hadley with Courtney Albon, Chris Gordon, Stephen Losey and Todd South</p></td></tr><tr class="view-in-browser"><td align="center"><a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/daily-report/20260313/?src=dr" style="background: #3F6EB2; border-radius: 9px; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; padding: 0.8em 2em; display: inline-block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: .7em; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 1em;" target="_blank">View In Browser</a></td></tr><tr class="featured-image"><td align="center"><img width="680" height="453" src="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/03/9254353-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-680x9999 size-680x9999 wp-post-image" alt="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 0.8em 0 0.1em;" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/03/9254353-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/03/9254353-450x300.jpg 450w, https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/03/9254353-675x450.jpg 675w, https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/03/9254353-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/03/9254353-900x600.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /><em style='display: block; font-size: 0.8em; margin-bottom: 0.6em'>A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker flies over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, July 22, 2025. U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. John C.B. Ennis</em></td></tr><tr class="article"><td class="editors-note" style="background-color: #F4F5F9; padding: 0.8em 1.2em;"><h3 class="article-title" style="font-size: 1.1em; text-align: center; margin: 0; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #222222;">Editor’s Note</h2><p class="bodytext" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7;">As of this week, all Daily Report subscribers are now AFA Mission Members with access to a wide range of AFA benefits and programs. Please click here to log into your AFA account and/or set a password. For existing AFA Life Members and print magazine subscribers, rest assured your status remains unchanged. Thank you for reading, and welcome to AFA!</p></td></tr><tr class="spacer"><td> </td></tr><tr class="article"><td><h2 class="article-title" style="font-size: 1.1em; text-align: center; margin: 0; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0.8em 0; line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/kc-135-crashes-in-iraq-while-supporting-iran-ops/?src=dr" style="text-decoration: none; color: #222222;">KC-135 Crashes In Iraq While Supporting Iran Ops</a></h2><p class="article-author" style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #666666; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.8em 0;">By Stephen Losey and Chris Gordon</p><p class="bodytext" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7;">A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker supporting Operation Epic Fury against Iran crashed in western Iraq after an incident involving two aircraft March 12, U.S. Central Command announced. The aircraft were not shot down, CENTCOM added.</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr class="article-hr" style="border: none; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; margin: 1.6em 0;"></td></tr><tr class="article"><td><h2 class="article-title" style="font-size: 1.1em; text-align: center; margin: 0; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0.8em 0; line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/b-1-bombers-iran-british-base/?src=dr" style="text-decoration: none; color: #222222;">B-1 Bomber Buildup at UK Base Hits Unprecedented Levels</a></h2><p class="article-author" style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #666666; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.8em 0;">By Todd South and Chris Gordon</p><p class="bodytext" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7;">About a dozen B-1 bombers are now at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom as a base from which to launch strikes on Iran, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine—potentially representing more than half of the U.S. Air Force’s mission-capable Lancer fleet.</p></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="https://www.rtx.com/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=a-sf-daily-report&utm_campaign=rtx-brand&utm_content=connectprotect-C130"><img width="680" height="265" src="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/03/RTX_March2026_680x265_0007_C130-Protecting.jpg" style="margin: 1.1em 0;"></a></td></tr><tr class="article"><td><h2 class="article-title" style="font-size: 1.1em; text-align: center; margin: 0; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0.8em 0; line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/pentagon-industrial-base-reforms-report/?src=dr" style="text-decoration: none; color: #222222;">Pentagon’s Efforts to Boost Industrial Base Not Moving the Needle Yet: Report</a></h2><p class="article-author" style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #666666; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.8em 0;">By Courtney Albon</p><p class="bodytext" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7;">While the Pentagon has signaled its intent to scale technology, field new systems faster, and work more with nontraditional vendors, a new report identifies persistent manufacturing capacity, resourcing, workforce, and modernization challenges that could hinder its ability to deliver on those goals. </p></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="https://www.marvintest.com/landing/smartcan3"><img width="680" height="265" src="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/03/MTS_March2026_680x265.jpg" style="margin: 1.1em 0;"></a></td></tr><tr class="article"><td><h2 class="article-title" style="font-size: 1.1em; text-align: center; margin: 0; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0.8em 0; line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/beast-in-the-machine/?src=dr" style="text-decoration: none; color: #222222;">Beast in the Machine</a></h2><p class="bodytext" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7;">The first wave of the robotic revolution is underway: smart, precision-guided weapons are proliferating into every corner of war. The big cruise missiles and laser-guided smart bombs that revolutionized air campaigns in operation Desert Storm and thereafter were only a prelude. Today, precision is rapidly migrating to smaller, cheaper, and more plentiful classes of weapons and may soon be practically universal. The idea of “one shot, one kill” will become the standard for almost every class of weapon, large and small. By understanding the consequences of universal precision, we can see how this first wave of the robotic revolution will cause all the changes that follow.</p></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="https://www.usaa.com/military?txid=OTH:TX1:MBATHE7NE5"><img width="680" height="265" src="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2025/11/USAA_Dec2025_InsuranceCapability_A2792_680x265px_01.jpg" style="margin: 1.1em 0;"></a></td></tr><tr class="row-spacer" height="25"><td> </td></tr><tr><td align="center" class="radar-sweep" style="background-color: #F4F5F9;"><table id="radar-sweep" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" valign="top" width="90%"></tbody><tr class="row-spacer" height="24"><td> </td></tr><tr class="title""><td align="center"><h3 style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.3em; color: #222222; font-weight: bold;">Radar Sweep</h3></td></tr><tr class="row-spacer" height=12><td> </td></tr><tr><td align="left"><h2 style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.1em; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0;">Fighter Jets Are Downing Iranian Drones—a Dangerous, Expensive Mission</h2><p><a class="radar-link" href="https://www.defenseone.com/defense-systems/2026/03/fighter-jets-are-downing-iranian-drones-dangerous-expensive-mission/412097/?oref=d1-featured-river-top" style="color: #214a86; font-size: 1em; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Defense One</a> </p><p class="bodytext-radar" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0;">U.S. and allied militaries have turned to fighter jets in their struggle to ward off Iran’s cheap, plentiful drones, but former pilots say the mission is expensive, dangerous, and, ultimately, unsustainable with current tactics.</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr style="border: none; border-top: 1px solid #dddddd; margin: 1.6em 0;"></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><h2 style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.1em; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0;">NATO Rewriting Integrated Air Defense Plans for the First Time in Decades, SACEUR Says</h2><p><a class="radar-link" href="https://defensescoop.com/2026/03/12/nato-rewriting-integrated-air-defense-plans-gen-grynkewich/" style="color: #214a86; font-size: 1em; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">DefenseScoop</a> </p><p class="bodytext-radar" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0;">NATO is reshaping its integrated plans for defending alliance territory against drones, ballistic missiles, and other aerial threats, according to Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and commander of U.S. European Command.</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr style="border: none; border-top: 1px solid #dddddd; margin: 1.6em 0;"></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><h2 style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.1em; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0;">Iran Supplemental to Fund Mix of ‘New Things’ and Legacy Systems: Pentagon Comptroller</h2><p><a class="radar-link" href="https://breakingdefense.com/2026/03/iran-supplemental-to-fund-mix-of-new-things-and-legacy-systems-pentagon-comptroller/" style="color: #214a86; font-size: 1em; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Breaking Defense</a> </p><p class="bodytext-radar" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0;">The Pentagon’s supplemental funding request to replace weapons expended in Iran is expected to involve buying new types of equipment, not just legacy systems, the department’s chief financial officer said March 12.</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr style="border: none; border-top: 1px solid #dddddd; margin: 1.6em 0;"></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><h2 style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.1em; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0;">Europe Can Lead Its Conventional Defense ‘by 2035’, EUCOM Commander Says</h2><p><a class="radar-link" href="https://breakingdefense.com/2026/03/europe-can-lead-its-conventional-defense-by-2035-eucom-commander-says/" style="color: #214a86; font-size: 1em; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Breaking Defense</a> </p><p class="bodytext-radar" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0;">Efforts to ramp up military spending in Europe should culminate in the continent being able to take the lead role in defending itself in roughly a decade, America’s top military commander in the region said March 12.</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr style="border: none; border-top: 1px solid #dddddd; margin: 1.6em 0;"></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="https://www.uav.com/" target="_blank"><img width="300" height="250" src="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/02/300x250px.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td><hr style="border: none; border-top: 1px solid #dddddd; margin: 1.6em 0;"></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><h2 style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.1em; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0;">Hegseth Orders ‘Ruthless, No-Excuses’ Review of Military Legal Offices</h2><p><a class="radar-link" href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5780966-defense-secretary-overhauls-military-legal-offices/" style="color: #214a86; font-size: 1em; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">The Hill</a> </p><p class="bodytext-radar" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0;">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on March 11 announced a “ruthless” overhaul of the military’s legal offices. “For too long, over 20 years, legal shops across the services have grown bloated, duplicative, they’ve muddied lines of authority and pulled critical judge advocates away from what matters most—advising commanders in the fight on operations in deployed environments where seconds and minutes count,” Hegseth said in a video posted to social media.</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr style="border: none; border-top: 1px solid #dddddd; margin: 1.6em 0;"></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><h2 style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.1em; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0;">Energy Secretary Wright Says US ‘Not Ready’ to Escort Oil Tankers Through Strait of Hormuz Yet</h2><p><a class="radar-link" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/12/energy-secretary-wright-says-us-not-ready-to-escort-tankers-through-strait-of-hormuz-yet.html" style="color: #214a86; font-size: 1em; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">CNBC</a> </p><p class="bodytext-radar" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0;">The U.S. Navy is not ready to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC in an interview March 12. “It’ll happen relatively soon but it can’t happen now,” Wright said. “We’re simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies their offensive capabilities.”</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr style="border: none; border-top: 1px solid #dddddd; margin: 1.6em 0;"></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><h2 style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.1em; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0;">Pentagon: First Week of Iran War Cost About $11B</h2><p><a class="radar-link" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/12/iran-war-cost-pentagon-00825666" style="color: #214a86; font-size: 1em; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">POLITICO</a> </p><p class="bodytext-radar" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0;">The U.S. spent about $11 billion last week on the Iran war, a Pentagon official said March 12, offering the first public estimate of the conflict’s cost—and one Democratic lawmakers insist is much higher.</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr style="border: none; border-top: 1px solid #dddddd; margin: 1.6em 0;"></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><h2 style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.1em; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; margin: 0;">US Sailors Injured in Fire Aboard Aircraft Carrier Supporting Iran War</h2><p><a class="radar-link" href="https://wapo.st/46XxPtV" style="color: #214a86; font-size: 1em; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> <em style="font-size: 0.8em;">(Gift Link)</em></p><p class="bodytext-radar" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #555555; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0;">Two U.S. Sailors were treated for “non-life-threatening injuries” after a fire broke out March 12 on board the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, a centerpiece of Trump administration’s war against Iran, officials said.</p></td></tr><tr><td><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="dark-block" style="margin: 1em 0; background: #F4F5F9;" valign="top" width="100%"><tbody><tr class="row-spacer" height="25"><td style="background: #1f2a39; border-color: #1f2a39; border-top-right-radius: 9px; border-top-left-radius: 9px;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="background: #1f2a39;" align="center"><table width="90%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td align="left"><h3 style="font-size: 1em; color: #dddddd; margin: 0; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.8em; font-weight: normal">One More Thing</h3><h2 style="font-size: 1em; color: #eeeeee; margin: 0; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: 0.01em;">Military Families Face Waves of AI Videos Meant to Sow Discord and Tug at Heartstrings</h2><p class="bodytext-radar"><a style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; color: #dddddd; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.03em; text-decoration: underline #bbbbbb solid;" href="https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/iran-war-misinformation-military-families/" target="_blank">Task & Purpose</a> </p><p class="bodytext-radar" style="font-size: 1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0; color: #eeeeee; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01em;">The flood of misinformation, fake content, and dubious news sources online is causing uncertainty for military families waiting at home, according to multiple advocates who’ve seen the stress rise in the last two weeks.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr class="row-spacer" height="25"><td style="background: #1f2a39; border-color: #1f2a39; border-bottom-left-radius: 9px; border-bottom-right-radius: 9px;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="https://www.saic.com/what-we-do/decision-advantage?utm_source=airandspaceforces&utm_content=decisionadvantage-faster-bannerad-680x265&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=saic-decision-advantage-fy27" target="_blank"><img width="680" height="265" style="margin: 0.8em 0;" src="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2026/02/SAIC_27-0051-DecisionAdvantage-Faster_BannerAd_680x265_F.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 1.1em 0 1em; text-align: center; background: #2d3d44;"><table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0><tbody><tr class="footer-logo"><td align="center"><img width="171" style="margin-bottom: 0.8em;" src="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/Image/ASF_mag_logo_white.png"></td></tr><tr class="footer-nav"><td align="center" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: 0.9em;"><a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/daily-report/?src=dr" style="font-size: 0.9em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #fff; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Daily Report</a> | <a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/contact-us/?src=dr" style="font-size: 0.9em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #fff; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Contact Us</a> | <a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/advertise/?src=dr" style="font-size: 0.9em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #fff; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Advertise</a> | <a href="https://www.afa.org/join/?src=dr" style="font-size: 0.9em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #fff; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Join AFA</a> | <a href="https://www.afa.org/?src=dr" style="font-size: 0.9em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #fff; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Air & Space Forces Association</a> | <a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/reprint-permission/?src=dr" style="font-size: 0.9em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #fff; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Reprints</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><p style="margin: 0.8em 0 0;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ASForcesMag" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn2.iconfinder.com/data/icons/social-icons-33/128/Facebook-512.png" width="33"></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ASForcesMag" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn0.iconfinder.com/data/icons/social-network-7/50/4-512.png" width="35"></a></p></td></tr><tr class="footer-small"><td align="center"><p style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #555555; font-size: 0.6em; margin: 0.8em 0">Published by the Air & Space Forces Association.<br/><a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/?src=dr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #214a86; font-size: 1em;" target="_blank">airandspaceforces.com</a> material is under copyright by the Air & Space Forces Association. 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Plaintext Version Air & Space Forces Magazine Daily Report for March 13, 2026 View in your Web Browser: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/daily-report/20260313/?src=dr Edited by Greg Hadley with Courtney Albon, Chris Gordon, Stephen Losey and Todd South -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Advertisement ] https://www.afa.org/doolittle-leadership-center/podcast/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor’s Note As of this week, all Daily Report subscribers are now AFA Mission Members with access to a wide range of AFA benefits and programs. Please click here to log into your AFA account and/or set a password. For existing AFA Life Members and print magazine subscribers, rest assured your status remains unchanged. Thank you for reading, and welcome to AFA! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KC-135 Crashes In Iraq While Supporting Iran Ops By Stephen Losey and Chris Gordon A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker supporting Operation Epic Fury against Iran crashed in western Iraq after an incident involving two aircraft March 12, U.S. Central Command announced. The aircraft were not shot down, CENTCOM added. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/kc-135-crashes-in-iraq-while-supporting-iran-ops/?src=dr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B-1 Bomber Buildup at UK Base Hits Unprecedented Levels By Todd South and Chris Gordon About a dozen B-1 bombers are now at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom as a base from which to launch strikes on Iran, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine—potentially representing more than half of the U.S. Air Force’s mission-capable Lancer fleet. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/b-1-bombers-iran-british-base/?src=dr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Advertisement ] https://www.rtx.com/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=a-sf-daily-report&utm_campaign=rtx-brand&utm_content=connectprotect-C130 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pentagon’s Efforts to Boost Industrial Base Not Moving the Needle Yet: Report By Courtney Albon While the Pentagon has signaled its intent to scale technology, field new systems faster, and work more with nontraditional vendors, a new report identifies persistent manufacturing capacity, resourcing, workforce, and modernization challenges that could hinder its ability to deliver on those goals. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/pentagon-industrial-base-reforms-report/?src=dr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Advertisement ] https://www.marvintest.com/landing/smartcan3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beast in the Machine The first wave of the robotic revolution is underway: smart, precision-guided weapons are proliferating into every corner of war. The big cruise missiles and laser-guided smart bombs that revolutionized air campaigns in operation Desert Storm and thereafter were only a prelude. Today, precision is rapidly migrating to smaller, cheaper, and more plentiful classes of weapons and may soon be practically universal. The idea of “one shot, one kill” will become the standard for almost every class of weapon, large and small. By understanding the consequences of universal precision, we can see how this first wave of the robotic revolution will cause all the changes that follow. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/beast-in-the-machine/?src=dr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Advertisement ] https://www.usaa.com/military?txid=OTH:TX1:MBATHE7NE5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Radar Sweep -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fighter Jets Are Downing Iranian Drones—a Dangerous, Expensive Mission U.S. and allied militaries have turned to fighter jets in their struggle to ward off Iran’s cheap, plentiful drones, but former pilots say the mission is expensive, dangerous, and, ultimately, unsustainable with current tactics. https://www.defenseone.com/defense-systems/2026/03/fighter-jets-are-downing-iranian-drones-dangerous-expensive-mission/412097/?oref=d1-featured-river-top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NATO Rewriting Integrated Air Defense Plans for the First Time in Decades, SACEUR Says NATO is reshaping its integrated plans for defending alliance territory against drones, ballistic missiles, and other aerial threats, according to Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and commander of U.S. European Command. https://defensescoop.com/2026/03/12/nato-rewriting-integrated-air-defense-plans-gen-grynkewich/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iran Supplemental to Fund Mix of ‘New Things’ and Legacy Systems: Pentagon Comptroller The Pentagon’s supplemental funding request to replace weapons expended in Iran is expected to involve buying new types of equipment, not just legacy systems, the department’s chief financial officer said March 12. https://breakingdefense.com/2026/03/iran-supplemental-to-fund-mix-of-new-things-and-legacy-systems-pentagon-comptroller/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Europe Can Lead Its Conventional Defense ‘by 2035’, EUCOM Commander Says Efforts to ramp up military spending in Europe should culminate in the continent being able to take the lead role in defending itself in roughly a decade, America’s top military commander in the region said March 12. https://breakingdefense.com/2026/03/europe-can-lead-its-conventional-defense-by-2035-eucom-commander-says/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Advertisement ] https://www.uav.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hegseth Orders ‘Ruthless, No-Excuses’ Review of Military Legal Offices Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on March 11 announced a “ruthless” overhaul of the military’s legal offices. “For too long, over 20 years, legal shops across the services have grown bloated, duplicative, they’ve muddied lines of authority and pulled critical judge advocates away from what matters most—advising commanders in the fight on operations in deployed environments where seconds and minutes count,” Hegseth said in a video posted to social media. https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5780966-defense-secretary-overhauls-military-legal-offices/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy Secretary Wright Says US ‘Not Ready’ to Escort Oil Tankers Through Strait of Hormuz Yet The U.S. Navy is not ready to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC in an interview March 12. “It’ll happen relatively soon but it can’t happen now,” Wright said. “We’re simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies their offensive capabilities.” https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/12/energy-secretary-wright-says-us-not-ready-to-escort-tankers-through-strait-of-hormuz-yet.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pentagon: First Week of Iran War Cost About $11B The U.S. spent about $11 billion last week on the Iran war, a Pentagon official said March 12, offering the first public estimate of the conflict’s cost—and one Democratic lawmakers insist is much higher. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/12/iran-war-cost-pentagon-00825666 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- US Sailors Injured in Fire Aboard Aircraft Carrier Supporting Iran War Two U.S. Sailors were treated for “non-life-threatening injuries” after a fire broke out March 12 on board the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, a centerpiece of Trump administration’s war against Iran, officials said. https://wapo.st/46XxPtV (Gift Link) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One More Thing... Military Families Face Waves of AI Videos Meant to Sow Discord and Tug at Heartstrings The flood of misinformation, fake content, and dubious news sources online is causing uncertainty for military families waiting at home, according to multiple advocates who’ve seen the stress rise in the last two weeks. https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/iran-war-misinformation-military-families/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Advertisement ] https://www.saic.com/what-we-do/decision-advantage?utm_source=airandspaceforces&utm_content=decisionadvantage-faster-bannerad-680x265&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=saic-decision-advantage-fy27 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Daily Report: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/daily-report/ - Contact Us: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/contact-us/ - Advertise With Us: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/advertise/ - Purchase/Reprint: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/reprint-permission/ - Air & Space Forces Assoc.: https://www.afa.org - Join AFA: https://www.afa.org/join/ - A&SF Mag on Facebook: https://facebook.com/ASForcesMag - A&SF Mag on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ASForcesMag -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Published by the Air & Space Forces Association All airandspaceforces.com material is under copyright of the Air & Space Forces Association. 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