Alarm Red: One Crew Chief Stood Up in the Bunker — F-15Es, Iran's Attack, April 13, 2024 #iran

On the night of April 13, 2024, the 494th Fighter Squadron, from RAF Lakenheath in England, was flying from an undisclosed Middle East base as Iranian drones and missiles came in. Maj. Benjamin Coffey and Capt. Lacie Hester fired every missile they could on their first sortie, but one failed to leave the jet and hung from the wing. When they landed, the base went to alarm red. The base still had one jet that could fly, and to get it airborne, the crew chief and the maintainers had to come out of the bunker. This short follows only the order the Air Force release and the crew's own recollections record for that second sortie. The whole of that night — more than 300 threats, the U.S. interceptions, and the argument over the score afterward — is in the full film (about 14 minutes): [link to the full film — add after upload] Sources · U.S. Air Force — 48th Fighter Wing release, DVIDS (November 12, 2024) — Silver Star citation (Coffey and Hester) · Air & Space Forces Magazine — "Silver Star Airpower" (November 2024); interviews with the 494th Fighter Squadron aircrew (November 18, 2024) · CNN — "American fighter pilots explain how they fought an overwhelming Iranian drone swarm in total darkness" (November 15, 2024) · DFC Society — Distinguished Flying Cross citation (reprint) The 3D scenes are a directed reconstruction built from the records with carved models, not footage. The location of the base is not public, and the layout is a diagram. The narration is a synthetic voice. #shorts #AlarmRed #F15E #USAirForce #Iran #Israel #DroneDefense #SilverStar #MilitaryHistory #SANDTABUL SANDTABUL · Warfare, set out on the sand table. Battles, operations and the machines of war, re-staged in carved 3D and placed in the world that shaped them.