Happy Birthday To The Swamp Fox!

Sixty-nine years ago today, the National Guard Bureau handed down the charter formally recognizing the 157th Fighter Squadron as a unit of the South Carolina Air National Guard. The Swamp Fox was born. From the beginning, the 157FS was based at Congaree Air Station east of Columbia, a Joint National Guard base now named McEntire […]

Happy Birthday To The Swamp Fox!

Sixty-nine years ago today, the National Guard Bureau handed down the charter formally recognizing the 157th Fighter Squadron as a unit of the South Carolina Air National Guard. The Swamp Fox was born. From the beginning, the 157FS was based at Congaree Air Station east of Columbia, a Joint National Guard base now named McEntire […]

Dragon Lady Makeover: U-2S Depot-Level Maintenance

Happy Sunday, FighterSweep Faithful! We ran across this video of one of our favorite aircraft, the Lockheed-Martin U-2S “Dragon Lady” intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. This is a really badass airplane and we wanted to show you something pretty unique: a Dragon Lady being taken apart for what is known as “Depot Level Maintenance.” […]

Dragon Lady Makeover: U-2S Depot-Level Maintenance

Happy Sunday, FighterSweep Faithful! We ran across this video of one of our favorite aircraft, the Lockheed-Martin U-2S “Dragon Lady” intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. This is a really badass airplane and we wanted to show you something pretty unique: a Dragon Lady being taken apart for what is known as “Depot Level Maintenance.” […]

From The Cockpit: 162nd Fighter Wing F-16Ds

In the latest issue of Popular Mechanics magazine, there is a nicely-done article about the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Fighter Wing, based at Tucson International Airport. The wing performs several different functions, not the least of which is its status as an F-16 Formal Training Unit (FTU) for the Air National Guard, as well […]

From The Cockpit: 162nd Fighter Wing F-16Ds

In the latest issue of Popular Mechanics magazine, there is a nicely-done article about the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Fighter Wing, based at Tucson International Airport. The wing performs several different functions, not the least of which is its status as an F-16 Formal Training Unit (FTU) for the Air National Guard, as well […]

From The Cockpit: A-10C Warthog Flying RESCORT

Happy Sunday to you all, FighterSweep Fans! We’re having a pretty relaxing weekend thus far, so we thought it might be the appropriate time to share with you some video of an A-10C Warthog enjoying a leisurely stroll through the airspace over Arizona. This aircraft was conducting a joint Combat Search and Rescue exercise with […]

Wild Weasel 50th Anniversary Roundup!

Happy Thursday, FighterSweep Fans! We wanted to take the opportunity to catch you up on a few happenings in a community we’ve been working with a lot this year. As you all know, we have very strong ties to the Wild Weasel community. Although we were not able to attend the event in person, we […]

Rachelle Goes Inside The Globemaster III

Hello, FighterSweep fans!  I hope you’ve having a great week and I’m so happy to share my latest aviation adventure with all of you. Since my first article, I have been quite busy with all of my travels, making new friends within the aviation community, and deciding what will be my next challenge on the […]

From The Cockpit: 69 FS Werewolves

Good evening, FighterSweep Fans! What better way to start off the week than with a spectacular in-cockpit experience with the 69th Fighter Squadron “Werewolves” at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The Werewolves are the flying unit in the 944th Operations Group, a component of the U.S. Air Force Reserve. All of the pilots at the […]

Wrenches to Wings: A Thunderbird’s Story

Good evening, FighterSweep Fans! I am beyond excited to start sharing my hopes, dreams, and aviation experiences with you. Not only that, but I’m eager to grow, learn, and pay forward the inspiration and opportunity I’ve been blessed with thus far in my career. As for my current job, it’s a pretty awesome one: I […]

Northrop Grumman Awarded LRS-B Contract

Earlier this evening at a Pentagon press conference, the United States Air Force announced the result of the long-awaited Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B) competition. The Air Force has awarded the LRS-B contract to Northrop Grumman, manufacturer of the Air Force Global Strike Command‘s B-2 Spirit bomber. The service is expected to procure 100 airframes with a tentative target […]