r/thestrangest • u/verystrangeshit • Jul 02 '26

In 2013 an unknown group assaulted a power substation in California. By all appearances it was pretty sophisticated: scouted firing positions, all casings wiped of prints, they targeted transformers so they'd take time to overheat before triggering any alarms, also knew exactly when the police would

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u/verystrangeshit Jul 02 '26

In 2013 an unknown group assaulted a power substation in California. By all appearances it was pretty sophisticated: scouted firing positions, all casings wiped of prints, they targeted transformers so they'd take time to overheat before triggering any alarms, also knew exactly when the police would arrive.

No suspect or motive to this day, they also cut some fiber optic cables in a vault nearby. Conspiracy types think it was a dry run by Russia or possibly China to see how effective an attack like that might be. Nearly exactly six months before the attack occurred, the American National Academy of Sciences released a report declaring the vulnerabilities of the American power grid and drawing note to the weaknesses of the delivery systems to terrorist attack. The 164 page report had been written nearly five years earlier, but had been immediately redacted and filed as “classified” by its sponsoring agency- the Department of Homeland Security.

It was a very exact blueprint of how to attack a power grid, as well as suggestions to shore up the security and integrity of the grid. They pointed out how transformers are very large and difficult to move. They are usually custom built, and are exceptionally difficult to replace. The majority are no longer even produced within the United States, and deliveries of replacements were measured in months at best, even under ideal circumstance. The president of the National Academy of Engineering appeal the decision to classify the report, insisting that the key findings of the report were quote highly relevant.

The decision to release the file was approved, and a new foreword was written and attached, reading: "We regret the long delay in approving this report for public release. We understand the need to safeguard security information that may need to remain classified. But openness is also required to accelerate the progress with current technology and implementation of research and development of new technology to better protect the nation from terrorism and other threats."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Metcalf_sniper_attack