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.
Get the defense stories behind the headlines every week in The Lowdown: https://lowdownnews.us

Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



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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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Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
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Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



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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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Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



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