Current early morning look at Gulf ins/outs from Paki

RAF NAG88XT Airbus A400M in with TORQUE12 USAF C-130Hercules also crossing into Paki

BLKWF13 USAF BACN GLEX at 35K ft heading in

MOOSE53 USAF C-17 Globemaster out

Spanish AF AME3157 Airbus A400m behind BLKWWF13

Royal Australian AF MAMBO61 C-130 Super Hercules on ground at Al Mihahd AB

RAF RRR6448 C-17 Globemaster inbound to Al Udeid AB from RAF Brize Norton wif RRR2843 Airbus A330 wn from Al Udeid

French AF FAF405 Airbus A330 with second trip to Al Dhafra in 24 hours outta Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport

Door Dash, Inc. sold by Softbank: $ 2.06B-Aug 19

filing showed up today

from Aug 19th

SoftBank sells 11.4 million shares of DoorDash - source

Aug 19 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) sold 11.4 million shares of food delivery company DoorDash Inc (DASH.N), marketed via Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. They were priced at around $182.95 each, a Bloomberg report said, valuing the sale at around $2.2 billion. The share sale comes a week after DoorDash, in its quarterly earnings report, predicted a seasonal decline in order rates and new customer addition in the current quarter.

https://www.reuters.com/business/softbank-sells-114-million-shares-doordash-source-2021-08-19/

DoorDash, Inc. operates logistics platform, DoorDash. The Company's DoorDash platform connects merchants, consumers and Dashers. It offers Pickup that allows consumers to place advance orders, skip lines and pick up their orders. DoorDash for Work provides merchants with group orders and catering orders for businesses and events. Its logistics service, Drive, enables merchants to fulfill consumer demand that they have already created through their channels. DoorDash handles payment acceptance from consumers through a third party payment processor that manages credit card transaction processing. Its merchant software portal allows merchants to track business performance on a number of metrics, including how long a Dasher waits for an order, order accuracy, and reports on incremental sales. It provides customer support for any orders placed through its local logistics platform. Its subscription product, DashPass, serves as a membership program and offers consumers access to merchants. Number of employees : 3 886 people.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/DOORDASH-INC-116169045/company/

SoftBank got its start in 1981 in Tokyo. Founded as a telecommunications company, SoftBank now has a hand in a number of different areas, including e-commerce, finance, broadband, marketing, and more. The company has a portfolio including SoftBank BB, GungHo Online Entertainment, IDC Frontier, and more. In recent years, it has gone on a spending spree, buying up numerous smaller companies and initiating investments in many others. In July of 2016, for instance, SoftBank purchased UK-based chip manufacturer ARM for £24 billion, with an eye toward continuing to develop the Internet of Things. In 2017, SoftBank announced that it would buy two additional robotics companies from Alphabet. First, it bought up Boston Dynamics, the developer of the iconic Big Dog robot, and then it bought Schaft, a less well-known robotics outfit. SoftBank is headed by chair and CEO Masayoshi Son. Son has established himself as an assertive and confident player in the international tech scene. With about $100 billion to invest on companies developing the technology of the future, Son has ample room to explore a variety of new areas. According to The Economic Times, Son has strong opinions about the future of SoftBank and has put forth a conception of a 300-year plan for the company, with the end goal being to build the most valuable firm in the world. The key to Son's future investments is SoftBank's Vision Fund, dedicated to M&A deals like those listed above.

https://www.investopedia.com/news/what-softbank/

https://finviz.com/insidertrading.ashx?oc=1835490&tc=7&b=2

US F-15 Jet Shot Down Iranian Drone After Getting 'Too Close' To US Bases In Syria

On Sunday a US military spokesman announced that an enemy drone had been shot down over eastern Syria as it flew near the vicinity of American troops. The incident happened Saturday, but with details slow to emerge by the next day which included a US F-15 fighter jet engaging the drone in the air.

US Army Colonel Wayne Marotto said, "Coalition aircraft successfully engaged and defeated a UAS through air-to-air engagement in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Green Village," while a Fox News journalist separately alleged it was an Iranian UAV based on US defense sources. Citing officials, Fox Pentagon correspondent Lucas Tomlinson reported Sunday: "U.S. Air Force F-15E shot down Iranian drone over eastern Syria yesterday after flying ‘too close’ to some of the 900 U.S. troops deployed there."

If accurate, this would be a rare moment of direct action between US troops in Syria and the Iranians - given typically such engagements typically happen via Iranian proxies, especially the Tehran-backed Iraqi popular mobilization units. Over the past year the Pentagon has said troops in the region have increasingly seen hostile Iraqi Shia paramilitary activity, so this latest incident likely could have involved these militias flying the drone across the border and near where US forces are occupying Syria. However, Iranian units are also known to have long been supporting the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria - so the drone could have possibly been sent from within Syrian territory.

Ostensibly the US forces are there as part of an ongoing 'counter-ISIS' mission, yet under President Trump it was made clear that America would "secure the oil" - a mission which by all appearances has definitely continued under Biden, with the President recently even suggesting more troops might be needed in eastern Syria.

U.S. Air Force F-15E shot down Iranian drone over eastern Syria yesterday after flying ‘too close’ to some of the 900 U.S. troops deployed there: officials — Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) August 22, 2021

Recall that so far President Biden has twice ordered airstrikes along the Iraq-Syria, with each time the rationale being that America's presence in Syria must be protected from cross border attacks. One US coalition operation in late June hit one militant facility in Iraq, and two in Syria, in what was seen as a significant escalation.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-shoots-down-alleged-iranian-drone-after-flying-too-close-us-bases-syria

>>85749

kek

Sunrise in a few hours -current look

RAF NAG84XR Airbus A400M leads out 58-0124 USAF KC-135 tanker and French AF CTM1573 Airbus A400M in the back

Spanish AF AME3157 and AME3167 Airbus A400M's headin' in wif MOOSE56 as the meat in da sammie

Hoser AF RACER24 C-17 Globemaster heading back to Kuwait

BLKWF12 USAF BACN GLEX back to Al Dhafra AB wif RAF RRR6448 C-17 already on ground at same

>>85765

been pretty quiet over CONUS today-usual Monday stuffs but nothing out of the ordinary

>>85675 pb

C101 US Coast Guard G5 departed Waterville, ME-LaFleur Airport after a ground stop and back to Reagan National Airport

RCH525 USAFSOC C-32B inbound from NB Rota-data has it arriving there on 0818 from a ground stop at Bragg then across da pond to Rota

As Pentagon's Afghan Debacle Unfolds, Russia Announces Joint War Drills With China & Iran In Gulf

At a moment much of the world sees the US in 'retreat' from central Asia amid the ongoing Afghan evacuation debacle, it increasingly looks like Russia and China are stepping in as the next great power influencers in the region. The timing of a Russian announcement detailing upcoming joint military exercises appears geared toward sending just such a message.

"Russia, Iran and China will hold joint maritime exercises in the Persian Gulf around late 2021 or early 2022, Russia's ambassador to Tehran said, the RIA news agency reported on Monday," according to Reuters. It's been no secret that the Russian and Chinese militaries have grown closer over the past years, but rarer still are major drills involving the superpowers plus Iran, and centered in the Persian Gulf - site of recent soaring tensions which lately included Iranian commandos briefly seizing a foreign tanker, as well as the drone attack of the Israeli-managed 'Mercer Street' tanker off the coast of Oman on July 30.

Russia's ambassador to Tehran, Levan Jagaryan, confirmed the games in Monday statements, saying "Russian, Iranian and Chinese warships are taking part in it." He added, "The main aim is to practice actions on ensuring international shipping safety, and combating sea pirates." The Russian official also addressed the recent tanker incidents of this summer: "There are tensions indeed, especially following the tanker incidents in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, but I would not be dramatic and say that the situation is more acute now than during previous crises. Neither Iran nor its Arab neighbors are interested in further escalation."

The Islamic Republic has of late seen growing military ties with Russia, given also just last month Iran sent a pair of warships all the way to Saint Petersburg to participate in a major naval parade at the invitation of Russia. As the Iranian ships - known to also have elite IRGC Quds force commandoes on board - traveled up Africa's West Coast, there was unfounded speculation in Western media that they were actually headed toward Venezuela.

Previously these three unlikely allies have held drills in the Indian Ocean, starting a couple years ago, which corresponded to all three countries coming under increasing Washington sanctions.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-afghan-debacle-unfolds-russia-announces-joint-war-drills-china-iran-gulf

Japan sends SDF aircraft to Afghanistan for evacuations

Japan on Monday dispatched Self-Defense Forces aircraft to Afghanistan to evacuate Japanese nationals and local staff working for the Japanese Embassy there and other organizations amid the political crisis after the Taliban militant group seized power in the country.

One C-2 transport aircraft left for a third country, which the government has declined to name, and two C-130 planes are expected to depart Tuesday. Up to several hundred people will be evacuated in the mission, a diplomatic source said. It will be the first time the SDF has evacuated foreign nationals from a country, according to the Defense Ministry. "Securing the safety of Japanese people (in Afghanistan) is our top priority, and we also deem it important to secure the safety of local staff of the embassy and JICA remaining there as they include those who wish to leave the country," the top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, said. It will be the first time the SDF has evacuated foreign nationals from a country, according to the Defense Ministry.

"Securing the safety of Japanese people (in Afghanistan) is our top priority, and we also deem it important to secure the safety of local staff of the embassy and JICA remaining there as they include those who wish to leave the country," the top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, said. The three SDF aircraft will initially stand by at an airport in a third country near Afghanistan, the ministry said. As soon as coordination is made with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, which have taken control of the airport, the two C-130s will make round trips for evacuations.

The C-2 plane is carrying equipment, supplies and hundreds of personnel from the Ground and Air Self-Defense forces. Most of the staff will be based in the third country, according to the ministry. As for the duration of the operation, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said he expects it to continue until the end of the month when the United States plans to pull its military out from Afghanistan. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will join a Group of Seven nations' online summit on Tuesday over the situation in Afghanistan, Kato added.

Japanese diplomats were evacuated to Dubai last Tuesday after the embassy in the capital Kabul was shut on Aug. 15

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/08/3019e8dcfeaf-breaking-news-japan-to-send-sdf-plane-to-afghanistan-for-evacuation-govt.html

This is a big deal for them to participate on this level.

Qatari AF LHOB242 and 257 C-17 Globemasters en from Al Udeid AB

Considering the sitch here wonder who/wut really gonna be on doze when they come back??