Fightersweep

Editor’s Note: We’ve been talking a lot about budget woes across the Department of Defense recently. On the Air Force side of the house, F-35 and the A-10 have been hot topics of discussion, while the Navy side is dealing with some of its own JSF issues, as well as the UCLASS. Now, as part […]

Editor’s Note: We like to capitalize on every opportunity to extol the virtues of our mobility folks. It is absolutely the truth when they say “No one kicks ass without tanker gas…no one!” This is the perfect example of how combat airpower works in unison with support assets, where the tanker crew made the call […]

One of the classiest designs ever to emerge out of the 1950s, the Northrop F-5 is an head-turning, eye-catching fighter. Not only a winner in the good looks department, the nimble, supersonic fighter was relatively cheap to obtain and operate. A host of nations agreed, with over 2600 of the type built during the 25-year […]

Last year, I wrote an article in tribute to my friend, Lieutenant David “Jinxx” Mitchell, whose F-16 crashed after he lost consciousness during high-G maneuvering. It’s a phenomenon that has plagued high-G fighters: if the pilot becomes incapacitated, there’s nothing to stop the aircraft from crashing into the ground. Automated Ground Collision Avoidance Software (Auto […]

[Editor’s Note: This is such a tragedy. Two lives lost and a magnificent P-51 all gone in an instant. Big Beautiful Doll was one of the most beautiful Mustangs I’d ever seen, and she was once owned by a friend of ours–Ed Shipley. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the […]

[Editor’s Note: Just like her sister services, the USMC is not immune to the budget woes currently wreaking havoc on the Department of Defense. Arguably, the service has been hit just as hard as the Air Force and Navy, with the bulk of the Corps’ fleet of fighters and attack aircraft aging out at a […]

[Editor’s Note: This isn’t the first time hackers have claimed to take control of government-owned UAVs. The alleged victim in this instance is a GlobalHawk owned by NASA, and though the space agency denies the claim, it does make you wonder about how secure the communications are between the aircraft and its pilots on the […]

[Editor’s Note: We are grateful to hear Bill walked away from this crash unscathed. It’s also very nice to hear the Commemorative Air Force plans to restore the airplane and return her to airworthy condition! The CAF “Red Tails” Squadron does a fantastic job of educating the public and carrying on the legacy of the […]

[Editor’s Note: We ran across this story over the weekend and I was pretty amazed. I’d heard the Hellcat was a particularly robust and stubborn aircraft, and this story certainly seems to validate that statement. This is definitely one of those instances where the truth is stranger than fiction!] In August 1956, a drone went […]

[Editor’s Note: No one is a fan of BRAC, and here’s another example of why. Fortunately some forward-thinking folks at the 914th saw the writing on the wall and left the mechanisms in place to support a return to duty as an aerial refueling wing. The ramp at Niagara Falls will be back to what […]

[Editor’s Note: Sometimes the heroes in a particular story are those whose service is unsung. Fact is, none of the airplanes which we love to talk and write about would be anything except very large, ridiculously expensive paper-weights without fuel. We ran across this story and thought it would be fun to share a critical […]

[Editor’s Note: Both the Shadowhawks and Scorpions fly the Boeing EA-18G Growler, the Navy’s dedicated electronic attack and escort SEAD platform. An immensely-capable platform, the Growler is able to do with two crew members what it took four to do in the EA-6B. Not only that, but the Growler is able to defend itself with air-to-air […]