Fightersweep

FighterSweep Fans,  tens of thousands of people, maybe even hundreds of thousands, have dreamed of flying in a fighter of some type or other. It is an experience difficult to describe with words, and the feeling it leaves you with echoes each and every time you see or hear another pointy-nosed military aircraft ripping through […]

FighterSweep Fans, we have new but not expected news coming out of Headquarters Marine Corps. As we’ve anticipated, since the F-35B reached Initial Operational Capability last summer, the Corps’ newest aircraft is gearing up for a deployment in the fall of 2017. The full scope of the movement hasn’t been released, by early indications the […]

We at FighterSweep understand what it’s like to jump through all the hoops necessary to get an anniversary paint scheme approved for a U.S. Air Force aircraft. So when we learned the Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing was embarking on a similar task, we knew it would probably be a difficult sell to […]

We can’t say we’re too surprised, but this is still a move that does nothing to alleviate the strain in relations between China and the U.S. Next week, a US Navy aircraft carrier strike group was due to make a port call in Hong Kong, but the Chinese government has decided to keep that from […]

John McCain is ragging on the F-35 again? Say it isn’t so, FighterSweep Fans. It appears as though the good Senator, despite the staggering amount of DoD money pouring into his state–thanks to the Air Force and Marine Corps Joint Strike Fighter units at Luke AFB and MCAS Yuma, has more unkind things to say […]

On April 20th, the United States (US) House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) panel on tactical aviation received considerable attention and mainstream press coverage when they directed the US Air Force to examine and provide a report by 1 January 2017 on the cost of restarting the F-22 Raptor production line. Since the premature halting of […]

Ummm….didn’t we just report on this? Oh, wait, yes…we did. Apparently one incident involving a Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker  of Russia’s Aerospace Forces doing a barrel roll over the top of an RC-135 Rivet Joint wasn’t enough because–yep, you guessed it–it happened again today. It was over the Baltic Sea…and in international airspace…again. Understandably, some hackles […]

Happy Friday, FighterSweep Fans! Since it’s the end of yet another very productive day, we wanted to send you into your weekend with this image sizzling in your minds. Jonathan Derden captured this stunning shot of a Block 40 F-16CM from one of our favorite groups of Viper Drivers, the “Flying Fiends!” This photograph was […]

FighterSweep Fans, the Sukhoi T-50, also known as the PAK-FA, is entering a new phase of flight test. It was seen recently taxiing out for a flight equipped with both anti-ship missiles and free-fall bombs. Russia’s Aerospace Forces (RuAF) are expected to field the aircraft, which doesn’t have an official designation yet, sometime later this […]

During the recent FighterSweep trip to the Land of No Slack, “Stitch” was instrumental in arranging for a 142nd Fighter Wing jet to take part in our Oregon Air National Guard 75th Anniversary photo shoot. The “Redhawks” are a unit loaded with incredibly talented and experienced Eagle Drivers, and Stitch can trace his family’s proud […]

FighterSweep Fans, the Air Force is re-examining the number of new B-21 Long Range Strike Bombers (LRS-B) it will need to fulfill combatant commander requirements going into the next three decades. While the initial call was for anywhere between 80-100 of these aircraft, some are calling for 175-200. It’s a pretty impressive number and, undoubtedly, […]

Dear Fightersweep,  What’s it like going supersonic? That has to be an awesome feeling.  Thanks,  Need4Speed You’re not the first person to ask this, Mr. Speed, Need4. This is probably one of the most common questions people ask when I tell them I fly fighters (How do you know you’re talking to a fighter pilot? […]