• US Air Force A-10 Warthogs were part of the rescue operation for downed airmen in Iran.
• The A-10s were in a "Sandy" role supporting search and rescue.
• The Air Force has pushed for the retirement of its A-10 fleet, deeming them obsolete.

US Air Force A-10 Warthogs, decades-old attack aircraft the service has been pushing into retirement, were part of the risky rescue missions to retrieve downed American airmen in Iran.

The Warthogs flew in their "Sandy" roles, supporting search and rescue while engaging in close-in battles at low altitudes. The rescue marks the latest involvement of the A-10 in the US war in Iran despite the Air Force's plans to imminently shelve its remaining fleet.

Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shared details on the aircraft used in the mission during a Monday briefing on the rescue of the pilot and weapon systems officer after an F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran last week.

Caine said that a task force including A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, commonly called Warthogs, "audaciously penetrated enemy territory in broad daylight" to rescue the F-15E pilot. "This was an incredibly dangerous mission," he added, sharing the task force faced Iranian fire while locating and retrieving the downed pilot.

In the operation, the A-10s, along with other aircraft, including drones, flew in so-called "Sandy" roles, "violently suppressing and engaging the enemy in a close-in gunfight" to draw attention away from the rescue activities, as well as keep the enemy at bay.

During the engagement, one A-10 aircraft was hit by enemy fire. The pilot flew it into friendly airspace but determined that they wouldn't be able to land it. The pilot ejected as the plane went down. They were recovered safely.

"A 'Sandy' has one mission: get to the survivor, bring the rescue force forward, and put themselves between that survivor on the ground and the enemy," Caine said.

The "Sandy" role originated during the Vietnam War as the call sign for A-1 Skyraiders leading combat search-and-rescue missions. These aircraft located downed airmen, coordinated rescue efforts, and suppressed enemy fire to protect helicopters.

As the A-1 retired, the Sandy role — a mission, not a platform — passed to aircraft like the A-10 Warthog.

These “Sandy" aircraft are part of the larger CSAR package, which includes HH-60 helicopters and highly trained rescue personnel, HC-130 refueling tankers, fighter escorts, and intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance assets.

"The A-10 force and the rescue force did a fantastic job," Caine said Monday. Earlier in the war, the top general highlighted the involvement of Warthogs in hunting down Iranian fast-attack boats in the Strait of Hormuz.

The A-10's days are, however, numbered. The Air Force is planning the aircraft's retirement, though it has run into roadblocks. Congressional intervention has repeatedly thrown the attack plane a lifeline and prevented the service from fully retiring the entire fleet. There are over 160 Warthogs in service.

Pushing for the retirement of the fleet, Air Force leadership has previously argued that "the aircraft does not deter or survive against our pacing challenge," a reference to China. The service has been looking into whether F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters can fulfill the A-10's missions, such as close-air support. Supporters of the A-10 argue no other aircraft can currently fulfill its missions.

The A-10 was introduced in the 1970s and intended to be a tank-killer capable of blunting a Soviet armored assault. It can carry rockets, missiles, and bombs, but is best known for its 30mm GAU-8 Avenger seven-barrel Gatling-style autocannon.

A US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II was shot down in Iran while attempting to rescue crew members from the downed F-15 Strike Eagle fighter jet. According to US officials, the pilot safely ejected over friendly territory and was unharmed.

Known as the Warthog, the A-10 has been in service since 1977… but the Air Force has been pushing to retire it from service, deeming the aircraft obsolete.

• The US Army's Bavaria base hosts over 16,000 troops ready for instant deployment.
• Its origins date back to pre-World War I. Later, it became a major training hub for the German Wehrmacht.
• Today, US troops train in trenches — rain or shine — honing skills for potential conflicts with Russia.

Just a couple of hours north of Munich, the US Army runs its largest training site outside the United States. Once a Nazi artillery training ground, the sprawling base is now home to more than 16,000 troops kept ready to fight at a moment's notice.

Soldiers train in trenches and with armored Stryker combat vehicles to maintain constant combat readiness "so they can answer America's call in an instant," said Hermes Acevedo, who was the command sergeant major and senior enlisted advisor to the garrison commander at US Army Garrison Bavaria when Business Insider's Graham Flanagan visited last April.

That readiness serves as deterrence. From Bavaria, troops can reach the Czech Republic within about an hour and Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, in roughly 18 hours by road. "By us being ready, by us being here in this location, [it] kind of sends a signal," Acevedo said.

He didn't name a specific adversary, but soldiers in the trenches know who they're preparing for.

As Russia's war in Ukraine continues, the US Army's presence in Germany is crucial. These soldiers could be the first ones in the fight, defending NATO's eastern flank.

From Nazi training ground to NATO backbone

US Army Garrison Bavaria's origins date back to pre-World War I, when the Royal Bavarian Army developed a training area for its own artillery forces.

That role expanded under Adolf Hitler, when the Third Reich used the same grounds as a major training hub for the German Wehrmacht — Nazi's unified armed forces.

At the end of World War II, US forces took control of the area. Today, it anchors US and NATO operations in Europe.

The installation spans four main areas, including Tower Barracks and Rose Barracks. It houses the 7th Army Training Command — which sets standards for US Army Europe and Africa — and the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, a forward-positioned ground force.

"We're not going to deploy to an incident in Europe," Acevedo said. "We are already here."

Training for a potential war with Russia

Troops can leave their barracks and reach live training ranges in less than two minutes, Acevedo said. Once there, they train in all conditions — snow, rain, heat, and cold — to build what he described as instinctive responses.

"It's all about readiness," Acevedo said.

The base also runs an opposing force, or OPFOR, that mimics enemy tactics. "We're basically supposed to act like Russians," Spc. Aaron Jude said, noting they study the war in Ukraine sometimes through open-source material like social media.

OPFOR units use AK-style rifles and train in trench warfare, reflecting the realities of the conflict.

"That's what's so awesome about this unit," said Staff Sgt. Daniel Johnson, an OPFOR soldier. "Not only are we being able to train to our standards, but we're also training to Russia's standards. Honestly, to me, that's like a really good way to understand our adversaries."

Sensors across the training area collect data, allowing commanders to analyze performance and refine strategy. That constant feedback loop is central to the base's role, allowing it to test equipment and decision-making under pressure.

A self-contained military ecosystem

The installation is designed to support both troops and their families. It includes more than 3,400 housing units, K—12 schools, childcare centers, and recreational facilities. Many families live both on and off base, integrated into nearby communities.

Acevedo said that these support systems help ease one of the biggest challenges for troops arriving from the US: uncertainty.

That environment is part of what keeps the base functioning at scale. Soldiers can focus on training and missions, while families have access to services designed to mirror life in the US.

The result is a well-oiled rapid-response war machine that turns a historically significant site into a modern military hub, readying troops for a hard fight.

• Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, says there are two "extreme" outcomes of the war in Iran.
• He said that if oil hits $150 a barrel, there will be a "stark and steep recession."
• But Fink said if Iran could be accepted by the international community, there would be growth.

Larry Fink laid out two outcomes from the Iran war: abundance and growth, or a global recession.

Speaking on the BBC's "Big Boss Interview" podcast on Wednesday, BlackRock CEO Fink said the outcome hinges on what happens next with Iran. If the country comes out of the war accepted by the global community and able to bring its oil back to market, that could boost supply and push prices lower.

But if Iran continues to pose a threat to trade, the Strait of Hormuz, and regional stability, oil prices could stay above $100 for the long term.

"Everybody has to recognize there's not going to be an outcome that's somewhere in the middle. It's going to either be two extremes," he said.

The US hasn't meaningfully imported crude or petroleum from Iran since 1979, according to the Energy Information Administration, after decades of sanctions.

Fink said a more open Iranian government could bring "Iranian oil back into the marketplace," helping drive prices back down to prewar levels and easing costs for consumers and businesses.

If that doesn't happen, though, and Iran doesn't move closer diplomatically to the US, Europe, and Gulf states, oil could climb toward $150 a barrel, with "profound implications" for the global economy.

"The $40 oil implication is one of abundance and growth. The other one is an outcome of probably a stark and steep recession," said Fink.

Rising energy prices are a 'regressive tax'

After the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran over three weeks ago, Iran has responded with strikes on Israel, Gulf states, US bases, and, crucially for oil markets, cargo vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

This has led to a significant drop in traffic through the strait, which transits 20% of the world's oil and LNG supply. Oil has spiked by as much as 60% since the start of the war and has fluctuated with the perceived likelihood of peace negotiations — jumping on escalations, and falling when a solution looks more likely.

"Rising energy prices are a very regressive tax," Fink said. "It affects the poor more than the wealthy, because it's a larger component of their pocketbook."

The spike in oil prices is already being felt across the world — from the price of gas at the pump to flight tickets.

On Friday last week, the International Energy Agency outlined a range of measures that governments, businesses, and households could take to mitigate the impact of oil market disruptions.

These include working from home where possible and avoiding air travel.

Fink said countries, including the US, need to use the oil and gas that they have, but should "aggressively" lean into alternative energy sources, such as solar.

The BlackRock CEO said in the interview that he is a proponent of solar energy and that the US needs to "fully embrace solar."

Fink had said in his 2022 letter to CEOs said the next 1,000 unicorns will be companies making "the energy transition affordable for all consumers."

Business Insider got exclusive access to see how the US Army's Germany-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment is training for a possible war with Russia.

A group of soldiers known as OPFOR pretends to be the enemy, practicing the same style of trench warfare that has become commonplace in the Russia-Ukraine war.

An Army platoon must traverse mountainous terrain before finding the OPFOR's trench and attacking it.

• OpenAI has become a centerpiece in the AI talent wars, data reviewed by Business Insider shows.
• Workers often leave Big Tech for Sam Altman's venture and then move on to smaller startups.
• The average tenure for US-based OpenAI employees is around 16 months.

Workers leave Big Tech for OpenAI. They fan out across a growing ecosystem of startups. Rinse and repeat.

Since it launched ChatGPT, the Sam Altman-led company has quickly become a magnet for AI talent. It has pulled hundreds of researchers and engineers from competitors like Google, Meta, and Apple, according to data reviewed by Business Insider. After sticking around for a while, many of those employees go on to found or join rival startups of their own.

The company has nearly quadrupled in size since its chatbot took off in 2023, scaling from a small research lab of around 1,000 employees to a tech company with more than 4,000 workers.

To get a sense of how OpenAI is faring in the race for AI talent, Business Insider analyzed findings from workforce intelligence provider Live Data Technologies, which used LinkedIn to track the comings and goings of around 1,300 employees from January 2023 to March 2026.

Live Data Technologies analyzed publicly available professional profile data for OpenAI employees who had available information on previous employers. The roles analyzed ranged from engineering and research to product, human resources, and recruiting.

Representatives for OpenAI didn't respond to a request for comment.

The company's hiring pipeline is highly concentrated

OpenAI was originally founded by Altman and Elon Musk in 2015 to compete with Google's DeepMind AI lab.

Now, Google is the No. 1 source of talent for OpenAI, accounting for roughly a quarter of hires, according to the data.

Nearly half of OpenAI hires in the last three years came from either Google, Meta, Apple, or Microsoft.

Apple's Jony Ive joined OpenAI last summer to work on a new AI device. The project encompasses around 300 workers, many of whom came from Apple, The Information reported earlier this year.

The company has also made several high-profile hires over the past year, including Slack CEO Denise Dresser, OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger, and Instacart CEO Fidji Simo.

Since 2023, OpenAI has added roughly four times as many engineers as it has lost, highlighting the company's rapid expansion as the AI race intensifies.

The battle for AI talent has become one of Silicon Valley's fiercest. Big Tech companies are aggressively competing for a relatively small pool of researchers capable of building advanced AI systems.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly taken a hands-on role in recruiting top AI employees, while Meta and other companies have reportedly offered massive compensation packages, sometimes valued in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in stock.

OpenAI is known for its high compensation packages. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that its employees receive an average of $1.5 million in stock-based compensation. Public salary data from H-1B visa applications shows that research scientists at the AI venture have salaries ranging from $245,000 to $685,000, while engineering roles are listed with a range of $165,000 to $290,000.

Where employees go after OpenAI tells a different story

Departures are fragmented, spreading across more than 150 different companies, including competitors like Meta, Anthropic, and emerging labs such as Thinking Machines Lab, according to the data. The majority of OpenAI employees left for smaller startups, venture capital firms, or academia, according to the data.

The data suggests OpenAI has become a centerpiece in the AI talent network, pulling researchers from Big Tech and sending alumni across the startup and VC ecosystem.

Only a handful of companies received more than 15 OpenAI alumni in the last three years: Anthropic, Meta, Google, and Thinking Machines Lab, the data shows.

Anthropic is perhaps the best-known example. It was founded by former OpenAI researchers, including siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei. VP of Research Max Schwarzer left OpenAI for Anthropic earlier this month.

Meanwhile, several OpenAI employees who left the company to help found Thinking Machine Labs in February, including Barret Zoph, rejoined OpenAI earlier this year.

Common roles at OpenAI include engineering and research, the data shows. The average tenure for US-based OpenAI employees is around 16 months.

Do you work for OpenAI or have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at gkay@businessinsider.com or Signal at 248-894-6012. Use a personal email address, a nonwork device, and nonwork WiFi; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• A Ukrainian corps has released a video of its troops using exoskeletons on the battlefield.
• Two soldiers can be seen loading artillery shells on a Howitzer with the help of the tech.
• The 7th Air Assault Corps said they reduce physical load by 30% and help troops move faster.

Ukrainian forces say they're testing exoskeletons in battle for the first time, deploying them in logistics and combat positions on the Pokrovsk front.

The 7th Air Assault Corps posted a video on Friday of its 147th Separate Artillery Brigade demonstrating the new tech.

The exoskeletons are designed to be buckled at the waist and legs, with the apparatus wrapping behind the user's back and weaving toward the front of their knees. It also features two actuators at the hip that serve as hinges.

Each exoskeleton, the corps said, is meant to reduce the load on leg muscles by 30%, helping troops move at up to 12 mph for about 10 miles.

Clips showed two soldiers using the exoskeletons to carry and load artillery shells on a French CAESAR self-propelled Howitzer.

"Every day, artillerymen endure heavy physical loads. They carry 15 to 30 shells daily, each weighing 50 kg," said Colonel Vitalii Serdiuk, the corps' deputy commander, in a statement attached to the video.

The exoskeleton appears to be foldable, allowing it to fit inside a briefcase; the corps said the device itself weighs about 4.4 pounds.

Captions on the video said the exoskeletons are equipped with artificial intelligence that adapts in real time to the load on the soldier's legs and spine, allowing them to function in 10 different modes.

The 7th Air Assault Corps said this was the first time that any Ukrainian unit had trialed such technology in combat, and that the exoskeletons it received were test samples.

The US has also been designing its own exoskeletons, such as the Army's SABER, a soft, wearable exosuit that is strapped to the back and around each leg to reduce spinal strain.

Another example is Lockheed Martin's ONYX, a lower-body exoskeleton with knee actuators that wraps around the legs, but it hasn't been made standard-issue for the US military.

• The International Energy Agency released new guidance for people and governments as oil prices soar.
• First on the list of recommendations: Work from home if you can.
• The IEA also suggests minimizing air travel and driving more slowly on the highway.

The International Energy Agency, one of the world's most important energy groups, has issued 10 measures for governments, businesses, and households to take immediately as oil prices soar.

First on the list: Work from home where possible. This will reduce the use of oil used on commutes, the IEA wrote on its website on Friday.

Other measures the IEA suggests include reducing highway speed limits by at least six miles per hour, car sharing, cutting air travel, and using public transport more.

The IEA said that cutting down on business flights "can quickly ease pressure on jet fuel markets."

The agency also suggests switching to electric cooking and shifting bi-fuel and converted vehicles from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to gasoline where possible.

The price of Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, is around $106 per barrel on Friday, having risen to nearly $120 a barrel on Thursday following an attack by Iran on a major liquefied natural gas complex in Qatar.

The war in the Middle East continues to disrupt global supply chains, sending oil prices above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022.

"The war in the Middle East is creating a major energy crisis, including the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. In the absence of a swift resolution, the impacts on energy markets and economies are set to become more and more severe," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement.

The IEA advises governments and businesses on how to ensure energy systems are stable, sustainable, and affordable. The agency comprises 32 member countries, including the US and the UK.

It warned that the new measures, while potentially effective, cannot completely offset the disruption to the energy markets caused by the war.

"They can play a meaningful role in lowering costs for consumers, reducing markets strains and preserving fuels for essential uses until normal flows resume," it said.

Some countries have already taken measures to reduce energy use, especially those reliant on oil from the Middle East. The Indian government said in early March that non-domestic supplies from imported LPG were being prioritized for essential sectors.

The spike in crude has led to rising fuel costs for Americans. Although the US has not issued any guidance on how to lessen the impact, Business Insider's Sarah E. Needleman and Tim Paradis reported that some companies are allowing employees to work more from home.

• Elon Musk is about to unveil his most challenging project yet: a giant semiconductor factory.
• The billionaire has said Tesla needs to build a "Terafab" to churn out chips for its robotaxis and Optimus robot.
• One analyst said to never rule Musk out, but that building a Terafab could be harder than sending rockets to Mars.

Self-driving cars, cyborgs, and catching rockets in midair: Elon Musk can't resist the lure of the impossible.

The world's richest man has made a habit of taking on the world's most difficult engineering challenges at Tesla and SpaceX — and has often proved the doubters wrong. His latest target is a tall order even by his standards.

For several months, Musk has been talking about building a "Terafab," a mammoth factory that would churn out semiconductors critical for Tesla's ambitious rollout of robotaxis and humanoid robots.

On Saturday, he teased that an announcement was imminent. "Terafab Project launches in 7 days," Musk wrote in an X post, without providing further details.

In a January earnings call, the billionaire cited chip production as the major long-term headwind to the company's growth, suggesting that output from suppliers Samsung, TSMC, and Micron would be nowhere near enough to meet Tesla's targets as the EV giant scales its robotaxi and humanoid robot programs.

"This is definitely going to be sort of a controversial thing, but I think Tesla needs to build a Terafab," Musk told investors, adding that such a facility would also protect Tesla against geopolitical upheaval.

The Tesla CEO suggested that the company would pursue the hardest possible version of that vision, a "very big fab" that would produce and package logic and memory chips entirely in the US.

Speaking at Tesla's annual shareholder meeting last November, Musk estimated the Terafab would aim to initially produce 100,000 silicon wafers a month and could eventually grow to 1 million.

Ahead of the Terafab announcement, Tesla has begun laying the groundwork for Musk's grand plan. The tech giant is hiring a semiconductor infrastructure manager to oversee factory design and construction, per a recent job posting. The role is based in Austin, suggesting the Terafab could be built near Tesla's gigafactory on the outskirts of the city.

However, analysts told Business Insider that Tesla would face enormous challenges — and a huge bill — as it tries to master one of the most complex technologies on the planet.

"It's Musk, so I would never count it out. But I suspect this is actually harder than sending rockets to Mars," Stacy Rasgon, managing director and senior semiconductor analyst at Bernstein, told Business Insider.

Semi-impossible?

The global supply of semiconductors is almost entirely produced by a small handful of companies, many of them based in East Asia.

Manufacturing them is an expensive, complicated, and time-consuming process. Deep within hermetically sealed factories, chip designs are etched onto thin silicon wafers at the molecular level by specialist lithography machines, which are almost entirely made by one company in the Netherlands and can have a waitlist of over a year.

Rasgon said that procuring these in-demand ASML-built machines was a critical roadblock for any would-be chipmaker.

"If you're a brand new customer, you're probably waiting a couple of years before getting your hand on one of those," he said.

Rasgon added that chipmakers usually split up production of logic and memory chips and semiconductor packaging across different factories.

Musk's suggestion that Tesla could integrate them all into one facility would make scaling the Terafab even more complicated, Rasgon said, as each product has wildly different processes and economics.

Musk is not alone in fearing geopolitical disruption. The threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which would plunge global chip supply into chaos, has prompted companies, including TSMC, to build new chip fabs in the US.

But the road to US-produced semiconductors has been far from smooth. TSMC's Arizona expansion has faced years of delays and a total price tag of around $165 billion across multiple facilities.

The industry runs on technical knowledge that is deeply embedded within leading companies. TSMC flew employees out from Taiwan to help the Arizona facility ramp production and brought US workers to its home country to train them.

The need for specialized knowledge will make recruitment critical for Tesla's Terafab hopes, Rasgon said, adding that the semiconductor industry is already facing a worker shortage.

"These guys don't grow on trees," he said.

A 'Herculean' challenge

Analysts warned that overcoming these challenges would add to the severe cash burn Tesla is set to face in the coming years.

The company said in January it would spend $20 billion on building out its robotaxi and Optimus production lines this year, a figure which does not include the Terafab project.

Ben Kallo, a senior research analyst at Baird, told Business Insider that investors would have questions about how Tesla plans to fund such an ambitious project — especially considering Musk has also said Tesla will build around 100 gigawatts of solar panel manufacturing.

"Where's the money coming from? I think that's going to be a question," said Kallo, who added that he wouldn't rule out Tesla raising outside capital for the first time since 2020 to fulfill Musk's ambitious targets.

Musk hasn't given a specific timeline for building the Terafab and producing chips, but he said in the January earnings call that he was building it to "remove a probable constraint in three or four years."

In a Tuesday note, Morgan Stanley analysts led by Andrew Percoco pointed to Micron's factory in Boise — which began construction in late 2022 but isn't expected to begin shipping chips until mid-2027 — as evidence of how long it can take to build semiconductor infrastructure in the US.

They estimated that building a factory capable of producing 100,000 wafers for cutting-edge logic chips a month could cost as much as $45 billion. A note from UBS analysts in January estimated that just getting to Musk's initial production target of 100,000 silicon wafers a month would cost $30 billion.

"Even understanding Elon Musk's history of doing difficult things, this seems like a Herculean task," the Morgan Stanley analysts wrote.

• Nations across the world are taking steps to mitigate the impact of oil price spikes.
• These include flexible working arrangements and reducing non-essential journeys.
• Countries heavily reliant on Middle Eastern oil are particularly vulnerable to the war's impact.

Governments around the world are urging people to cut back on energy use amid surging oil prices.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, has climbed above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 and has held there for nearly two weeks.

The spike follows violent attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the Iran war and strikes on gas-related infrastructure, raising fears of prolonged disruptions to a route that carries roughly 20% of the world's supply chain.

In response, countries are rolling out measures to conserve fuel and protect domestic supplies. Thailand, for example, has said it will halt fuel exports to maintain its own energy demands, while other countries are asking citizens to pare back their consumption.

Here are some of the steps governments and international organizations are telling people to take.

International Energy Agency

The International Energy Agency, one of the world's most important energy groups, has issued 10 measures it says governments, businesses, and consumers can take immediately to help ease the impact of disruptions in oil markets.

These include working from home, avoiding air travel, and encouraging the use of electric cooking equipment.

Other steps include reducing highway speed limits by at least six miles per hour, car sharing, cutting air travel, and using public transport more.

The IEA said in the report that "the demand-side measures highlighted in the report cannot match the scale of disrupted supply."

However, it said "they can play a meaningful role in lowering costs for consumers, reducing markets strains and preserving fuels for essential uses until normal flows resume."

Philippines

The Philippines has taken several measures in order to bring down energy use, including a four-day workweek for government staff and orders to cut the use of electricity and fuel costs in government agencies.

Government offices were told in early March to implement flexible working arrangements where practical, turn off lights and computers during lunch breaks, and adjust air conditioning unit thermostats to no lower than 75 degrees.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a video message that the four-day workweek would be temporary and does not include emergency services.

"With the expected global oil price increase, the government is preparing measures to reduce its impact on Filipino families," the Facebook caption for the video said.

The Philippines is vulnerable to disruptions caused by the conflict, as it "relies on the Middle East for almost 90% of its oil supply," according to ING Think.

On March 18, Marcos said that the country is seeking alternative sources of petroleum products and asked the public not to worry.

"We are trying to find different methods to provide subsidies to give assistance," said Marcos in a press address. "The problem is that oil prices are very volatile. We can't anticipate them. So we are still adjusting right now."

Australia

While no official rationing has been implemented in Australia, local media in at least two of the country's states reported that some fuel stations had begun limiting the amount of fuel customers can buy.

In comments to the media on Monday, March 9, Australia's energy minister Chris Bowen said that there is no shortage of fuel in Australia, but there are "some supply chain issues which are really being caused by a spike in demand of people seeking to buy extra diesel."

United Kingdom

The president of the AA, the UK's largest motoring organization, advised drivers on Monday, March 9, that although they "should not change their refuelling habits," they could "consider cutting out some non-essential journeys and changing their driving style to conserve fuel."

Edmund King, AA's president, added: "Any time Brent Crude passes 100 dollars per barrel raises concern across the markets, for the haulage industry and drivers.

"There will be gradual increases in pump prices, but this shouldn't happen overnight as fuel has been purchased at previous prices."

Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister, said that the government would support citizens during the oil price spike.

"No matter the headwinds, supporting working people and their families with the cost of living is always top of my mind," he said.

Thailand

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul urged citizens not to stockpile fuel. His comments came after long lines formed at gas stations across the country last week.

In early March, Anutin and the country's energy minister gave assurances that the diesel price would be capped for at least 15 days. He said that the Commerce Ministry was closely monitoring oil prices to prevent customer exploitation.

"Stockpiling fuel is dangerous. If you store it at home, it could accidentally cause fire — it could lead to all sorts of problems," he said. "There is no need to do that today."

India

The Indian government invoked emergency powers on March 10 to divert liquefied petroleum gas supplies away from industrial users and toward households.

This was an expansion of previous measures. On March 9, India had ordered oil refineries to produce more LPG and said it was prioritizing that supply for households.

India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in a tweet on Monday that non-domestic supplies from imported LPG were being prioritized for essential sectors, such as hospitals and educational institutions.

Vietnam

Vietnam has urged local businesses to encourage employees to work from home in order to save fuel.

This comes after the country said it would remove tariffs on fuel imports.

Pakistan

Pakistan has ordered measures to conserve fuel and reduce government spending, including implementing a four-day work week, having half of public sector employees work from home, and closing schools for two weeks.

Other measures include a pause on salaries for cabinet ministers and cutting government spending by 20%, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on March 10.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has made Wednesdays a public holiday to conserve fuel as the country braces for potential fuel shortages, according to the BBC.

"We must prepare for the worst, but hope for the best," President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on March 9.

The shortened workweek will apply to schools and universities, but "essential" services like hospitals will keep the lights on.

Denmark

Denmark is urging citizens to reduce fuel.

"What the Danes should please, please, please do is that if there is any energy consumption that you can do without, if it is not strictly necessary to drive the car, then don't do it," Lars Aagaard, Denmark's energy and utilities minister, said during an interview with a local broadcaster on Wednesday.

"Firstly, it can be felt in the private wallet, and secondly, it can help stretch our reserves so that they last longer," Aagaard added.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh's university students just got an early start to their Ramadan holidays, thanks to fuel conservation measures.

The country announced by mid-March that main colleges could cancel classes until later in the month. The government has shut down campuses completely to save electricity and has started imposing temporary blackouts for other facilities.

Egypt

Egypt is enforcing some lifestyle changes to conserve gas and oil.

For a country that is used to shopping and dining well into the night, malls, restaurants, and retailers are being asked to shut down at 9 p.m. on weekdays starting on March 28.

The country also announced plans to turn off illuminated billboards and reduce public lighting, and to close government buildings by 6 p.m.

Spain

Spain's government has approved a $5.8 billion aid package to ease the economic effects of the war in the Middle East, Bloomberg reported.

The plan includes reducing VAT on electricity and gas from 21% to 10%, slashing the special electricity tax from 5% to 0.5%, and suspending the tax on electricity production, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said.

A subsidy of 20 cents per liter of fuel is being introduced for transport operators, farmers, and fishmongers, while the government will cover 80% of the electricity-grid charges for energy-intensive industries.

• The US Air Force deployed F-15E Strike Eagles during Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
• The fighter jets are designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat in all weather, day or night.
• Kuwait mistakenly shot down three F-15E Strike Eagles in a "friendly fire" incident, CENTCOM said.

F-15E Strike Eagles, fighter jets designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, are usually a dominating force in the skies.

When three F-15E Strike Eagles were mistakenly shot down by Kuwait during Operation Epic Fury, it brought renewed attention to one of the Air Force's fastest, most versatile aircraft.

Here's a closer look at the F-15E Strike Eagle, an advanced aircraft the US is using to destroy Iran's missile arsenal and drone bases from the skies above Iran.

The F-15E Strike Eagle has been in service in the US Air Force for nearly 40 years.

The first F-15A model flew in 1972, and the first F-15Es were produced in 1988, according to the US Air Force.

It's the fastest crewed aircraft in the US Air Force.

The air-to-air and air-to-ground attack aircraft can fly at 1,875 miles per hour, or 2.5 times the speed of sound.

The F-15E Strike Eagle's high thrust-to-weight ratio enables it to accelerate during vertical climb.

The high thrust-to-weight ratio also allows the F-15E Strike Eagle to execute tight turns without sacrificing speed. It has two Pratt & Whitney F100 engines, each producing over 23,000 pounds of thrust.

Another distinguishing capability is the plane's head-up display, which projects flight and tactical information directly on the windscreen.

Pilots can track and attack targets, check the status of weapons, and see other tactical and flight information without taking their eyes off the windscreen.

The fighter jet also includes a low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night (LANTIRN) system.

The LANTIRN system allows the planes to fly in any weather and attack ground targets at low altitudes. The system consists of two pods, a navigation pod and a targeting pod, mounted under the plane.

F-15E Strike Eagles can carry both nuclear and conventional weapons.

Its armament includes an internally mounted 20-millimeter gun with 500 rounds of ammunition, AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, and AIM-120 AMRAAMs, an acronym for the radar-guided Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles.

The F-15 also regularly carries ground attack weapons like the Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, a kit that adapts an unguided munition into a "smart" bomb with fins and GPS guidance.

F-15E Strike Eagles are flown by a pilot and a weapons systems officer.

The weapon system officer sits directly behind the pilot, and closely manages the plane's sensors and weapons.

Two variants of the F-15 are single-seaters: the F-15A and F-15C.

The planes can fly 2,400 miles without refueling, and can be refueled in flight.

F-15E Strike Eagles have a fuel capacity of 35,550 pounds.

The fighter jets can be refueled in flight by KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft, which Boeing developed from its "Dash 80" prototype in the 1950s.

KC-135s were also deployed to Israel as part of Operation Epic Fury. One crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, killing six US service members. United States Central Command said the circumstances of the crash were under investigation, but it "was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire."

Each F-15E cost $31.1 million to produce in 1998, according to US Air Force figures. That would be around $62.3 million when adjusted for inflation.

Newer F-15 models cost around $100 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The newest version of the aircraft is the F-15EX Eagle II, which features more advanced controls and upgraded engines.

On March 1, Kuwait's air defenses mistakenly shot down three American F-15Es during Operation Epic Fury in what US Central Command described as a "friendly fire incident."

All six crew members ejected safely. The incident is under investigation.

"Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation," CENTCOM said.

• Oil climbed on Sunday as the US and Israel's war with Iran entered its third week.
• The near closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to disrupt the global oil supply chain.
• Higher oil prices mean higher prices for Americans at the pump and in other goods.

Oil futures climbed in early trading on Sunday as the US and Israel's war with Iran entered its third week, disrupting the global supply chain.

Brent oil reached $106.33, up nearly $3 from when the market closed on Friday. West Texas Intermediate hit $101.19 on Sunday.

For Americans, surging oil prices mean spending more at the pump. The national average price for gasoline hit $3.69 on Sunday. Gas prices have surpassed $3 in all 50 US states for the first time since 2023.

The International Energy Agency said last week the war has caused the largest oil market disruption in history, and that global oil supply will drop by 8 million barrels per day in March.

Kevin Hassett, the US director of the National Economic Council and a top aide to President Donald Trump, said Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that the US is working to minimize the fallout for American consumers.

"The big problem right now would be energy prices, and we're watching and monitoring closely," Hassett said.

Much of the instability in the oil market stems from the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran controls and through which about 20% of the world's petroleum passes. Trump has called on other nations to help secure the strait, but has so far received either lukewarm replies or none at all.

Attacks on major oil hubs are also likely driving up prices. Trump said late Friday that the US had "totally obliterated" military targets on Iran's Kharg Island, where refineries process almost all of the nation's oil exports.

The president threatened to target oil infrastructure on the island if Iran continued to prevent ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. An attack on the key Iranian oil center would further destabilize the global oil market.

In response, Iran said that ports, docks, and "American hideouts" in the United Arab Emirates could be targeted. Fire later broke out near the Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, the only multipurpose maritime facility on the UAE's east coast and a major oil depot, on Saturday. The local government said an intercepted drone caused the fire.

Any end to the conflict, meanwhile, appears to be a long way off. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Sunday that there has been no discussion of a ceasefire.

"We are only defending our people from this act of aggression," Araghchi said on "Face the Nation."We don't see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us, and that was for the second time."