US military drone strike on drug 'submersible' in Caribbean leaves survivors, official confirms

Fox News ^ | 10/16/25 | Jasmine Baehr, Lucas Y. Tomlinson

[arthurus]

Okay! I have been waiting for the semisubs to become targets. They have become evermore advanced boats and move a lot of product.

[arthurus]

Provied and attorney?

[phormer phrog phlyer]

Thanks.

[atomic_dog]

Interesting fact about that message. The US Navy used to use a simple encryption/decryption booklet. I trained on them in SWOS in the mid-80's but no idea if they still use them.

There were pages of military terms in alphabetical order with an random 4 digit number to encrypt it. That was followed by pages of numbers 001-999 for decryption. The person who encrypted the message was kind of lazy and managed to write the message without ever leaving the S page.

[GenXPolymath]

“They need bigger bombs. None of that 250 lb SDB crap. 2,000 lbs or bust.”

This was a drone strike most likely a Reaper from Porto Rico certainly has the range and loiter time.

Given there is USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) off shore the new STOL MQ-9B kit would let the Navy launch a Reaper directly from the Two more than doubling the loiter time. Either way it’s not dropping bombs it’s launching Hellfire missiles which are the perfect size to smash a 50+ mph go fast boat. SDB and 500-2000# JDAMs are GPS guided and would not be a good choice for a 50+ mph speeding target. There is a couple of Gucci expensive seeker head versions for the SDB and JDAM but why spend half a million on a narco boat use a much cheaper Hellfire or better 70mm laser guided APKW rocket at half the cost of a Hellfire or less. The Ukrainians are using the APKW to shoot drones down so you know it has at least 10G maneuverability more than enough for fast moving surface targets.

https://www.ga-asi.com/remotely-piloted-aircraft/mq-9b-stol

[GenXPolymath]

The Navy and Marine’s also got the STOL kits for amphibious ship launched Reapers too.

https://www.ga-asi.com/remotely-piloted-aircraft/mq-9b-stol

[Fledermaus]

Dang, missed some by “that much”!

[Zhang Fei]

[This was a drone strike most likely a Reaper from Porto Rico certainly has the range and loiter time.

Given there is USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) off shore the new STOL MQ-9B kit would let the Navy launch a Reaper directly from the Two more than doubling the loiter time. Either way it’s not dropping bombs it’s launching Hellfire missiles which are the perfect size to smash a 50+ mph go fast boat. SDB and 500-2000# JDAMs are GPS guided and would not be a good choice for a 50+ mph speeding target. There is a couple of Gucci expensive seeker head versions for the SDB and JDAM but why spend half a million on a narco boat use a much cheaper Hellfire or better 70mm laser guided APKW rocket at half the cost of a Hellfire or less. The Ukrainians are using the APKW to shoot drones down so you know it has at least 10G maneuverability more than enough for fast moving surface targets.]

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Thanks. The SDB-II, which can hit moving targets, is said to be $200K. Given that go fast boats are in the same range, the exchange ratio, cost-wise, seems reasonable. Having to treat injured dope peddlers gratis really throws off the cost-benefit ratio. Hence the need for a 2000 lb. It’s the only way to be sure.

[nikos1121]

Damn autocorrect

[GenXPolymath]

Quicksink is expected to be $50,000 in serial production it has a MMW & IIR seeker head for the JDAM line so you could put it on a 2000# or a 500# the Reaper can carry 500s and 1000# too. The Hellfire is being replaced with a dual or triple seeker missile of the same size but not $70,000 it’s $350,000 in pure MIC crony capitalism bloat. Look up the AGM-179 JAGM its a shameful level of the MIC at work.

As for treating narcos these are enemy combatants they are going to GITMO not coming to the courts here so patch them up enough to stand military tribunal before execution as pirates and/or noncoms.

We really need to capture one of those boats or subs with full 4K video and body cams showing the world the drugs just to shut the commies argument down. Then resume shock and awe. The goal is not smashing narcos that’s cover for the regime change we are about to do to Venezuela. SOCOM is already in Panama and Rico it’s when not if at this point. They sent at least one AC-130J that’s SOCOM’s brother in the sky on overwatch. We took out the leader of Panama we are going to take out Venezuela too. Drugs was the excuse for both.