Fightersweep

NASA’s single-seat F-16XL on a research flight over the desert near the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The aircraft was most recently used in the Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project (CAWAP) to test boundary layer pressures and distribution. Previously it had been used in a program to investigate the characteristics of sonic booms for NASA’s […]

For the first time since the Cold War, Russia has announced plans to begin flying regular fighter patrols over the North Pole with an eye toward intercepting American military aircraft. According to sources within the Russian Ministry of Defense, two squadrons of MiG-31BM intercept fighters will be tasked with conducting routine patrol operations over the […]

Russia’s slew of ongoing missile initiatives have seen mixed success during the past few years. Some platforms, like the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, have apparently performed well enough to soon enter service. Others, like their nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, have failed at every turn. But even the programs that have met some level of success […]

Nasty Staggs is the premiere Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) for the US Air Force.  His awards include–9th Air Force Tactical Journeyman of the Year, Jacob Fraser JTAC of the year, Fighter Wing Lance Sijan Award, and the David Gray WIC instructor of the Year Award. Nasty’s an expert in calling in airstrikes.  Whether he’s […]

A collection of NASA’s research aircraft on the ramp at the Dryden Flight Research Center in July 1997: X-31, F-15 ACTIVE, SR-71, F-106, F-16XL Ship #2, X-38, Radio Controlled Mothership and X-36. July 16, 1997   NASA Photo / Tony Landis

With the terrorism danger perpetually high in both the United States and Europe, Special Operations Forces (SOF) are always honing their counter-terrorism (CT) capabilities, whether in a ground or maritime environment. To respond to a terrorist incident, however, SOF units need to get there first. And that’s where elite aviation units come in. American SOF […]

A U-2 Dragon Lady takes off as a chase car driver watches the successful launch Dec. 19, 2017, at Beale Air Force Base, California. Due to a limited range of view, the chase car driver’s job is to communicate and assist the pilot as they take off and land.   U.S. Air Force photo/ Senior […]

Earlier this week, footage began to surface online of blacked-out military helicopters flying low over the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Unnerving as an MH-6 Little Bird clad in special operators wearing full “battle rattle” zooming over your local grocer may seem, the citizens of L.A. have no need to fret: these low flying birds […]

The U.S. Navy made history this past Saturday, as four F/A-18 Super Hornets piloted by female aviators flew over a quiet cemetery in Tennessee. Once they closed with a group of mourners below, one of the four fighters abruptly pulled up out of the formation in an aviation tradition meant to honor a fallen pilot […]

Although the military threat posed by China’s growing and rapidly re-organizing armed forces remains a largely regional one, no facet of the People’s Liberation Army is developing as quickly or adding more combat capabilities than its navy. It’s difficult to say how many new vessels the Chinese navy has launched in recent years, particularly because […]

A U.S. Air Force F-16CM Fighting Falcon sits in the 20th Maintenance Group weapons standardization hangar prior to a monthly qualification load at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., Jan. 10, 2019. Load crews across the 55th, 77th and 79th Aircraft Maintenance Units are required to perform monthly qualifications to remain proficient in various munitions.   […]

When Russia first set to work on what would become the Sukhoi Su-57 (internally the T-50 at the time), it had a singular aim: utilizing 21st century stealth characteristics to produce a fighter capable of standing toe to toe with the best the United States had to offer, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and F-22 […]