U.S. Air Force Spec Ops U-28 Aircraft Crashes – No Survivors

U.S. Air Force Spec Ops U-28 Aircraft Crashes – No Survivors

A US Air Force U-28 aircraft crashed on a training flight in New Mexico on Tuesday killing three special operations personnel. The U-28 is a single engine turboprop and was assigned to the 318th Special Operations Squadron. Today the Air Force released the names of the three heroes that were lost in the accident. Capt. Andrew […]

Aerial Application; Flying Fast and Low for a Noble Cause

Aerial Application; Flying Fast and Low for a Noble Cause

Aerial application is a relatively obscure flying profession piloting large, single seat, turbine tailwheel airplanes. Add that attraction to legally strafing the ground low and fast, dozens, if not hundreds of times a day. The catch? It’s extremely specialized, and requires the aviator to be half farmer, half fighter pilot (in that order). The best […]

UH-1 Commander Receives Medal of Honor

President Barack Obama awarded retired Army Lt. Col. Charles Kettles, a UH-1 helicopter commander, the Medal of Honor on Monday. He is credited with saving the lives of 40 soldiers during the Vietnam War. Kettles led helicopter flights carrying reinforcements to U.S. soldiers and evacuated the wounded after they were ambushed in combat operations near Duc Pho […]

Airstrikes Hurt ISIL Oil Revenues

Airstrikes Hurt ISIL Oil Revenues

The Islamic State’s oil network revenues from fields in Iraq and Syrian have been cut in half due to ongoing airstrikes. Over the course of the last two years, approximately 300 airstrikes specifically targeting oil fields, oil reservoirs, and oil convoys have led to a dismantling of ISIL oil revenues.  During peak times, US officials […]

Inside The Private Air Force Of Erik Prince

Inside The Private Air Force Of Erik Prince

Erik Prince. For a lot of folks, the mere mention of his name is guaranteed to evoke a visceral reaction. A philanthropist, businessman, and former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, Prince is best known as the founder of the private security company formerly known as Blackwater USA.  has branched out in a different direction. As the […]

160th SOAR: Death Waits In The Dark

160th SOAR: Death Waits In The Dark

It’s rare you get to see the Nightstalkers of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment in action, mainly because their missions and the bulk of their training are, appropriately enough, conducted at night!  This video compilation contains some good daytime footage of the unit training in both field and urban environments–as well as a few […]

October 3, 1993: Gothic Serpent Revisited

October 3, 1993: Gothic Serpent Revisited

In conjunction with our sister sites under the Force 12 Media umbrella, we here at FighterSweep are embarking on a pretty awesome adventure this month. Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, a Navy SEAL veteran, introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on 18 September, proposing October be designated Special Operations Appreciation Month.  The whole […]

160th SOAR “Shock And Awe”

160th SOAR “Shock And Awe”

Courtesy of the “Nightstalkers“–the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, we bring you some absolutely beautiful Close Air Support provided by the Sikorsky MH-60L Direct Action Penetrator (DAP), as well as the AH-6 “Killer Egg” version of the MD-500E helicopter. The SOAR is most well-known for its ability to insert and extract SOF units under any […]

HSC-84/85 and the USSOCOM Helicopter Deficit

HSC-84/85 and the USSOCOM Helicopter Deficit

A recent article by the Washington Examiner begins to peel back the onion regarding the impact of decommissioning HSC-84 and 85. I would like to add some depth and put the argument in better context. The United States Special Operations Command’s rotary-wing deficit is one of the most important and consequential issues our Special Operation Forces face […]