Operation Midnight Hammer | Part 1: Before Iran, There Was Yemen
6/21/202614 min
This episode was designed for video. Watch this episode for text and graphical explanations: https://youtu.be/EDnLrP_45fk
Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the F-16 Wild Weasel pilots who flew it. This is the firsthand account of the 55th Fighter Squadron and the 20th Fighter Wing. These are the pilots who fly Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, known as SEAD, the crews who went in first to suppress Iranian air defenses, and the ground support teams who made the mission possible.
Part One covers Operation Rough Rider, the air campaign over Yemen in the spring of 2025 that put these pilots into combat months before Iran. What they learned there is the reason they were ready for what came next. Recorded between December 2025 and January 2026, this series preserves the experiences of the people who were there, in their own words.
This is Part 1 of a 3-part series.
Commonly used Acronyms: https://www.lowdownnews.us/p/operation-midnight-hammer
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Rain· Host1:00
I did not know if I'd actually be able to publish this project. This has been in the works for quite some time. You're about to hear from the F-16 pilots that flew in Operation Rough Rider and Operation Midnight Hammer, as well as the maintenance and logistics folks that made it all come together. Now, for context, this was recorded in December of 2025 and January of 2026, which I think is really important. Also of note, remember that bringing a camera and being interviewed about one of the most classified missions in military history that just occurred a few months