Valerie Insinna
@ValerieInsinna
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Covering Congress and the defense industry for @breakingdefense . Military plane meme aficionado. Mother of @ImpalerCat . She/her
Washington, DC
Joined June 2010
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محمد
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メイドの日
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メイドさん
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メイド服
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#ArvindKejriwal
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अरविंद केजरीवाल
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#それスノ
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सुप्रीम कोर्ट
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#दोगली_न्याय_व्यवस्था
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太陽フレア
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#يوم_الجمعه
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ラウール
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マスターソード
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チャージ
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#BACKSLIVEに油を注せ
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モバイルSuica
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Last Seen Profiles
Pinned Tweet
This is the greatest thing I've ever thought-engineered.
So
@ValerieInsinna
had a very..unique..video request last month in Asia after watching F-35B video. Please enjoy
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The thing about Damon Albarn's comments about Taylor Swift that makes me completely enraged is the fact that there are videos of her and Jack Antonoff working on songs together and there's literally nothing about it that looks different than how The Beatles' process in "Get Back"
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I have found my true soulmate and it is this twitter account that photoshops cats into photos of military technology but makes the cats large
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"Bezos heirs could face tax bill of more than $36 billion."
Oh no, that would leave them only $144 billion, aka enough to purchase 1,747 F-35As or almost the entire Air Force program of record.
Jeff Bezos' heirs would have to pay tens of billions of additional taxes on his ~$180B untaxed capital gain at death if Biden's tax plan becomes law
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Here is Turkish Aerospace Industries’ TF-X mock-up.
TAI’s president notes that it is one of the makers of the F-35’s center fuselage, which gives it the industrial strength to build this fighter.
This music is amazing lol.
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Ha-has Russia ever watched a full episode of Tom & Jerry?
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A friend just texted me: “Tell me the space force uniform isn’t a complete rip-off of battlestar galatica” and reader—
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Maybe you’ve seen “Elf” starring Will Farrell but have you watched it on the E-4B Doomsday plane?!?!?
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I would argue that the point of using Khinzal instead of Iskander is to induce western media outlets to write breathless news articles about Russia’s military might. This is the best propaganda the Russian military has gotten in more than a month.
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Some personal news: On Jan. 17, I will be starting a new adventure as the US aerospace correspondent for Reuters, covering commercial aviation (and mostly focused on the behemoth that is Boeing).
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My favorite
#thebachelor
subplot this season has been the recurring appearances of
@BarstoolTrent
. All I want is for him to continually show up in every Bachelor franchise installment in random roles (bartender, luggage guy, limo driver, dude watching a Chase Rice concert)
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Hard to see all of the posts from those who served in Afghanistan and not be struck by how invisible the war seems to be for most Americans. It’s like this one part of my generation carried an immense burden for 20 years while life went on normally for everyone else.
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Every time Fat Leonard reappears into the news cycle I think about how certain Navy officials just like...gave up classified information in return for money and visits to prostitutes. Like...that's all it took.
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Because US hasn't bought Stingers in 20 years and many components are obsolete, Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes says the company will have to redesign components in the missile and seeker head if it wants to replenish stocks given to Ukraine. "That’s going to take some time," he said.
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If everyone could just take a minute and say a prayer that
@JennyENicholson
's two hour video on The Vampire Diaries finally makes it through the YouTube copyright claims process, I'd really appreciate it.
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This graphic is as misleading as hell. These are the numbers for the Afghan military’s weapons inventory prior to the Taliban takeover. Unclear how much of this the Taliban was able to recoup—many aircraft were flown to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by Afghan pilots.
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If you were a tech bro starting a defense company, which Tolkien artifact would you name your business after?
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🚨🚨🚨The Air Force is going to award a contract for their sixth-Gen fighter in 2024!!!🚨🚨🚨
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Nothing but respect for
@leeferran
who, in a DVIDs search, found this piece of incredible Air Force/Space Force lore that sets specific parameters about how "Hotel California" can be performed at Thule AFB in Greenland:
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I wonder if Lloyd Austin's staff is looking at the Kate Middleton thing like, "ok it could be worse"
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I can't stop thinking about what it must feel like to be the airman in this photo, a 1st lieutenant who is helping develop maternity uniforms for pregnant servicemembers, and being openly mocked by Tucker Carlson for that work.
Tucker Carlson accuses Joe Biden of trying to feminize the military, argues China is ramping up it's military masculinity.
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How do you do, fellow men
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Reminder to self: Don’t ever mess with plane spotters.
I believe Trump just flew to the Middle East on VC-25A (Air Force One) using a disguise callsign of RCH358 and a disguise hex code which couldn't be traced back to any aircraft. Thanks to spotters in Europe, there is visual confirmation this is VC-25A 92-9000!
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Did you know that when Taylor Swift wrote "I'll meet you where the spirit meets the bones" she was talking about the majesty of the American bomber inventory?
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Asked about today's incident,
@PentagonPresSec
said this F-35B was Lockheed-owned (not transferred to US government yet) but was being flown by a US military pilot.
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America, what is your favorite tank?
SR-71
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A-10
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B-52
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DoD provides reporters a bit more info on Phoenix Ghost--it's a tactical drone similar to Switchblade rapidly developed by the Air Force specifically made for Ukrainian requirements. It's manufactured by AEVEX Aerospace.
In newest
#Ukraine
announcement, DoD says it is sending "Over 121 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems"
1) Anyone familiar with that system? Can't say I've heard of it.
2) Why in the world would they write "over 121." Just say "over 120." I am offended.
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So I guess you could believe the WaPo story with >30 sources, or the Breitbart story that says WaPo is lying bc Moore's office says so.
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This is a simple meme you would find on the internet but this meme is very real.
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BREAKING: Boeing has recorded a whopping $2.8 billion in losses today on fixed price defense programs, including KC-46A, VC-25B, MQ-25, T-7A and Commercial Crew programs, the company announced today as part of Q3 earnings.
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This episode literally ends with Tom getting dogwalked in both senses of the term. Meaning Tom is leashed, the dog is walking him and he's getting his ass beat.
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Happy birthday to the Marine Corps or as I call it, the Navy’s Space Force
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Good morning! Guess the news is out . 👀👀👀
I’m so stoked to announce that on Oct. 2, I’ll be working for Breaking Defense, where I’ll be covering the Air Force and Pentagon.
Breaking Defense Announces Significant Growth With Additions to Editorial Staff
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Everyone out here asking "what is the B-21" but no one asking "how is the B-21"
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I am begging news organizations to hire defense reporters
This is very unsettling. ‘Fox and Friends’ is saying that the Russians have developed a fighter jet that flies at twice the speed of light!
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@realDonaldTrump
@BoeingCEO
Oh FML. Trump says DoD will buy 24 F/A-18s that are the "latest and greatest" complete with stealth (THEY ARE NOT). He says if he can't buy them from Boeing, he'll buy them somewhere else (HE CANNOT BUY SUPER HORNETS ANYWHERE ELSE).
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All of the tweets I’m seeing calling Simone Biles a coward for not wanting to risk her actual life for another Olympic medal to add to her (huge) collection are absolutely insane, and if you feel that way about her you need to reassess how little value you put on human life.
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SOME👏 PERSONAL👏 NEWS👏: Next week will be my final one at
@defense_news
.
This job has been, without a doubt, the best gig I've had in my life. I love the team. I love the journalism we produce. I've grown so much in the 5 years I've worked here. I couldn't be more thankful.
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I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I can care about what is happening in Afghanistan and still take an hour during my weekend to watch a tv show that is unrelated to my job.
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Anyone who has ever been to a nerd convention will tell you that it is a giant cesspool in the best of circumstances.
There’s even a phrase for getting sick after being at a convention all weekend: “con crud”
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The difference between me and you is that you see Will Smith in "Independence Day" and think "ah, a fighter pilot"
While I'm like, "oh an F/A-18 Hornet pilot with VMFA-314 aka the Black Knights, which last week became the first Marine Corps F-35C squadron to declare FOC"
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Not now honey, mommy has to tweet about Grimes's second baby with Elon Musk
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@SheRatesDogs
Like did he sleep with one woman, make a mental note of "I'm sure there is something wrong here and in the next one the placement will be more appealing" and then was like "oh no" the next time it happened
What would an appealing distance even look like to this man
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I flew in a
@LockheedMartin
T-50A on Tuesday. Check out the ride of my life (so far). My facial expressions don't capture my internal glee.
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I love when a PowerPoint slide is just four other PowerPoint slides placed on top of each other
@DefenseCharts
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EXCLUSIVE: The F-35 has 13 "category 1" deficiencies, the designation DoD gives to a program's most technical serious issues.
@defense_news
is exploring each in depth, becoming the first news outlet to obtain this information.
Not all will be fixed before full rate production.
The Pentagon is battling the clock to fix serious, unreported F-35 problems
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My very spicy DoD budget take is that Congress bears some of the blame for the services’ acquisition failures.
I wish I had a dollar for every time I went to a hearing and heard “General, please explain why [troubled program that benefits my district] is good, actually.”
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I just saw a tweet by a colleague that refers to a military aircraft by the wrong name and it’s been THREE HOURS and no one has corrected him
Is that what being a man is like? If so I DESIRE SUCH POWER.
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I hope Daniel Craig follows in Pierce Brosnan’s footsteps and just decides to take goofy comedic roles and star in movies for wine moms for the rest of his career
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Some personal news… I’ll be back on the defense beat next week. 😌
Breaking Defense opens a new dedicated news beat focused on both Congress and the business of defense.
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Boeing makes ground-launched Small Diameter Bombs and Joint Direct Attack Munitions for Ukraine and other customers in St. Charles, Missouri (my hometown).
Another $60 billion for Ukraine. Not a penny for Missouri. And they’re waiving Ukraine flags on the floor of the House. The politicians have failed this country
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One thing about Top Gun: Maverick that really pulled me out of the film was the lack of PowerPoint slides and printouts.
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Its dril. No other account so perfectly harnessed the chaotic id of Twitter. dril never stopped producing the absolute best trash content and never got milkshake duck'ed, thank GOD
if twitter goes down tomorrow, is there even any debate as to who was the greatest account in history
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I miss when Northrop Grumman would pay for out of pocket Super Bowl advertisements in the DC area for the B-21
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If you're a news reporter and your local police department got an MRAP, here are some questions to ask:
-How much will maintenance cost?
-Who will maintain it?
-How were officers trained to use/maintain it?
-In what circumstances will it be used?
-Why does the PD need it?
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fighters:
-sexy but dumb
-the pumpkin spice latte of military planes
-still not over their ex
bombers:
-intellectual and mysterious
-real Clark Kent energy
-down for watching anime with you
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I guess the headline "The A-10 Warthog Could Ravage North Korea After Bombers and Stealth Fighters Struck First and Knocked Out Its Air Defenses and Actually the F-15 and F-16 Could Also Be Vital Too" was too long.
The A-10 Warthog Could Ravage North Korea. So Why Does the Air Force Hate It?
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Reality check: Trump wants to cut 30,000 jobs from the Federal Aviation Administration in the 2018 budget.
Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news - it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!
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Ah yes, shitty F-35 hot takes are trending. My favorite.
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@AaronMehta
The heckling on this is insane. "He was trying to help us!" around 3 minutes in. "No they weren't" at around 7 minutes in after Modly said Crozier's letter had left some sailors demoralized.
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This is the funniest thing I have ever read in my life.
(No, the Taliban don’t have F-35s or F-22s.)
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Me: *hears knock on door*
Me: *opens door*
@LockheedMartin
: HI DO YOU HAVE A MINUTE TO TALK ABOUT OUR LORD AND SAVIOR THE F-35?
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@SheRatesDogs
For some reason the "Hi, I've been with a few women and one thing I've noticed is..." line is sending me
Can you even imagine what that realization must have been like for him...and that it occurred over multiple partners?!?!?
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HUGE NEWS: The Air Force has built and flown a full-scale flight demonstrator of its next generation fighter jet, its top acquisition official announces.
@WILLROP3R
spoke exclusively with Defense News about this massive development:
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Good evening friends! I spend the day in Middletown, CT learning about the F-35’s engine—the F135 built by Pratt & Whitney.
Couldn’t take any photos on the production floor but then I went to the New England Aviation museum…
So here, have a Tomcat!
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No one is allowed to be mean to me today because it's my last day at Defense News and I'm feeling very emotional about it.
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Since a bunch of people are posting about this... I'm honored to be a finalist for the Aerospace Media Awards in three categories:
-Aerospace Reporter of the Year
-Technology Writer of the Year
-Best Military Aviation Submission
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Harriet Quimby got her pilot's license in 1911.
More than 100 years later, some idiot still has the audacity to question if women can fly airplanes.
Yes, women can fly commerical planes. We can fly combat planes. And we write about planes too.
And we're fucking good at it.
When
@adepstein1
professed a preference for male pilots, we asked her to explain herself... ✈️
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I’ve gotten some good emails today but this is my favorite. (A reminder that the Taliban don’t have F-35s, I PROMISE YOU)
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Here it is, folks, your latest lesson in mansplaining:
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I don't read books anymore, I just watch hourlong YouTube videos about how the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame has changed throughout time and media, or about how TS Eliot was a fascist and how that ideology influences/is subverted in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats."
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Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman reading the solicitation like
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Dear diary,
Yesterday I met Brig. Gen. Jeanne Leavitt, USAF’s first female fighter pilot.
I told her that she should watch “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Black Panther” god why am i such a loser
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Writing a story about F-35 and F-22 connectivity. Considering the following headline:
"F-35 to F-22: u up?"
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Heartbreaking interview with an Afghan air force pilot.
(It's shattering to see the US political establishment frame the breakdown of Afghan military forces as a crisis of willpower rather than a crisis of logistics enabled by political corruption.)
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My husband: I know that lasers don’t actually make sound
Me: …yes
My husband: but some defense contractor should add a mechanism to a laser so that when you fire it it goes “pew pew pew”
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Horoscopes as operational U.S. Air Force aircraft:
Aries: F-22
Taurus: C-130
Gemini: F-35
Cancer: JSTARS or AWACs
Leo: F-15
Virgo: KC-135
Libra: C-37A
Scorpio: B-2 or B-1
Sagittarius: B-52
Capricorn: VC-25A
Aquarius: U-2
Pieces: C-5
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Everyone should go read
@AlexHollings52
piece about why not all “hypersonic” missiles are made equal:
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i love how completely unhinged military aviation twitter is, a new bomber flies and all of us are acting like old timey cartoon wolves screaming awooga awooga
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Ah yes. The well-known side effect of smoking weed, where one hallucinates Defense Department financial documents.
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Hi my name is Valerie, and my hobbies include knitting, baking, cycling, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and removing all references to the F-35 as the "Lightning II" because it makes me cringe and I hate it
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Dear men, what’s preventing you from looking like this?
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Bruh I'm a woman, I'm not about to show any sign of clairvoyance that's gonna get me tied to a stake and lit up.
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Can’t believe this was how I learned about the raid 😩
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Omg you guys are going to make me ask Air Force leadership about that “give A-10s to Ukraine” idea just so I can get you all to shut up about it.
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Begging mainstream media reporters to understand that the difference between a fighter and a bomber isn’t “one uses bombs”
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Lockheed Martin could draw a triangle with sunglasses on it and label it “sixth generation fighter” and some of you losers would be dissecting what the shape of the shades means in terms of low observability
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“Whose name I have forgotten, is now dead.” Omg this is legendary shade.
"There was a senator, I think it was after my pancreatic cancer, who announced with great glee that I was going to be dead within six months. That senator, whose name I have forgotten, is now dead himself, and I am very much alive." - Justice Ginsburg
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Name a more iconic trio I’ll wait
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Idk who needs to hear this but the problem with the F-35 program isn’t that women sometimes fly it
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