F-22

Airmen of the 2nd Maintenance Squadron wash a B-52H Stratofortress during phase maintenance process at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.   U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder/3rd Combat Camera Squadron

Fifth-generation fighters may be the air frames of the future, but that future may not be quite as close as it seems. When it comes to the dog fights of the 21st Century, America may now be looking toward a workhorse of the past under the guise of the new F-15X program. The F-35, often […]

A Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 Raptor approaches a Wisconsin ANG KC-135 Stratotanker to receive aerial refueling, Dec. 11, 2018, over the Pacific Ocean, near the Hawaiian Islands. Sentry Aloha provides tailored, cost effective and realistic combat training for U.S. Air Force, ANG and other Department of Defense services to provide warfighters with the skill […]

ARABIAN SEA (Dec. 14, 2018) Two F-35B Lightnings II, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, right, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, and an F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to VFA 41, fly in formation. The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group, Essex Amphibious Ready Group, and 13th Marine […]

Fifth-generation fighters may be the air frames of the future, but that future may not be quite as close as it seems. When it comes to the dog fights of the 21st Century, America may now be looking toward a workhorse of the past under the guise of the new F-15X program. The F-35, often […]

Capt. Jason, a U-2 Dragon Lady pilot with the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron, waits in his pressure suit before his flight at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Dec. 11, 2018. The U-2 is a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft that routinely flies eight to 11-hour missions. (Last name withheld for security purposes.   U.S. […]

There is no debate that America’s fifth generation fighters, the F-22 and F-35, tend to garner the most publicity, but in terms of operational aircraft, all of the functional Raptors and Joint Strike Fighters employed by the entire U.S. military wouldn’t even add up to a sizeable chunk of the number of F/A-18 Hornets and […]

F/A-18F Super Hornets, assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, prepare to launch aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in the Atlantic Ocean, Dec. 14, 2018. Since deploying in April, the Sailors of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group flew combat operations in support of […]

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good fight! Image caption: Santa Claus pays a surprise visit to family members from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds during the team’s annual holiday party at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, 15 Dec. 2018. The Thunderbirds spend up to 220 days per year on road representing U.S. […]

A Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 Raptor, from the 199th Fighter Squadron, flies away from a Wisconsin Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotanker Dec. 11, 2018, after receiving an air-to-air refueling during fighter-exercise Sentry Aloha near the Hawaiian Islands. Sentry Aloha provides tailored, cost effective and realistic combat training for U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard […]

There is no debate that America’s fifth generation fighters, the F-22 and F-35, tend to garner the most publicity, but in terms of operational aircraft, all of the functional Raptors and Joint Strike Fighters employed by the entire U.S. military wouldn’t even add up to a sizeable chunk of the number of F/A-18 Hornets and […]

An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 97, prepares to land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) in the Arabian Sea, Dec. 16, 2018. The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of […]