SOFREP’s April Cartoon: The US Navy fights COVID-19

Our U.S. Navy is at war with the novel Coronavirus. Theodore Roosevelt, the aircraft carrier of former Captain Brett Crozier, is currently inflicted with Coronavirus to the tune of 678 sailors of its 4,069-man crew testing positive for the virus. The Navy is recommending that the ship’s recently dismissed Skipper Brett Crozier be reinstated once […]

Lawmakers rip apart the Navy’s new fighter budget

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter can do a lot of things, but one thing it can’t do is double its combat range: That’s the challenge Navy aviation is facing as it shifts its sights away from ground support operations in uncontested airspace and toward near-peer level conflicts against technologically advanced opponents like China. Thanks to […]

China’s second aircraft carrier enters service — Where do they stand compared to the US?

China’s People’s Liberation Army–Navy just reached a significant milestone in its efforts to develop a globally-capable “blue water” navy, as the nation’s second aircraft carrier entered service on Tuesday. China’s new carrier, dubbed the Shandong, is not only China’s first home-built vessel of its type, it also earns the nation a place in the elite […]

Watch: Russia’s troubled aircraft carrier just burst into flames (again)

Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the long-troubled Admiral Kuznetsov, last saw action in 2016 in support of Pro-Assad forces in Syria. That deployment proved embarrassing for the Russian military: it lost two aircraft as they attempted to land onto the ship’s flight deck. When its rotation was over, the Admiral skulked back to Russian waters spewing […]

The Navy has a carrier problem… and they think the Marines may know how to fix it

The U.S. Marine Corps has recently been experimenting with using its America and Wasp class amphibious assault ships as smaller aircraft carriers that can launch sorties of short takeoff/vertical landing F-35Bs. Now, with the Navy struggling to keep its carrier fleet operational amid maintenance issues and the additional delays to the deployment of the USS […]

There I was…I am the Aurora, hear me roar

By far my favorite line, however, was the conclusion: “This reporter believes it was the secret Air Force spy plane, the Aurora, returning to its base in the California desert.”

The Ultimate Carrier Break: Nasty SHB

The SHB. It’s a Navy thing. More, it’s a CV thing, ‘CV’ being the code for carrier, the kind of carrier that has cross-deck pendants and planes with hooks. The Sh!t Hot Break: if you know what it is, you’re smiling already. When you hit the fleet and get to the Boat during the day, […]

Breaking: 2 Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornets make contact over 29 Palms, manage to land

Two Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornets reportedly collided in mid-air over Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California on Tuesday. The fighters were reportedly conducting close-air support training when they came into contact with one another, causing what the Marine Corps has classified as a Class A mishap; indicating that the amount of damage […]

Here’s how the Navy’s Atari system may make carrier landings a breeze

Carrier landings are recognized throughout the aviation community as among the most difficult and complex ordeals a pilot can regularly encounter. Contending with sea winds, the high speeds required to maintain proper control over the aircraft, and the pitch and roll of the deck of the carrier in rough seas have prompted many aviators to […]