F-22

In national security and defense analysis circles, we tend to give China and Russia’s fifth-generation fighter programs a fair amount of real estate when it comes to headlines and think-pieces. So much so, that many could be forgiven for assuming that these two nations, both considered “near peers” to the United States in terms of […]

Fifth generation fighter platforms and hypersonic missiles are all the rage this holiday season, with every aspiring global military power in a rush to not only develop and build each, but to show them off to the world like school kids coming back from Christmas break. Between F-35 elephant walks, J-20 air shows, and heavily […]

Service members from the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps participate in sustainment training at Grand Bara, Djibouti, Jan. 5, 2017. During the exercise Air Force joint terminal attack controllers, along with Soldiers from the 101st Infantry Battalion and Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted training utilizing MV-22 Ospreys and F-16 Fighting Falcons. […]

A few days ago, Fighter Sweep reported on an image that first surfaced on The Aviationist of an aircraft that certainly looked an awful lot like China’s most advanced fighter, the Chengdu J-20. The person who took the image claimed it was shot at the Savannah-Hilton Head Airport in Savannah, Georgia, and The Aviationist confirmed […]

A bizarre photo of what appears to be a Chinese Chengdu J-20 fighter at an airport in Savannah, Georgia (of all places) surfaced on the internet yesterday. Seeing as it seems like an absolute impossibility that one of the twenty or so operational J-20s in existence (boasting an estimated fuel range of only a thousand […]

Pilots with the 13th and 14th Fighter Squadrons fly alongside a KC-135 Stratotanker, assigned to Tennessee Air National Guard’s 134th Air Refueling Wing, over northern Japan, Jan. 18, 2017. Pilots must maintain tanker qualification every six months to stay proficient and capable for training and combat scenarios.   U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Deana Heitzman

A 492nd Fighter Squadron’s F-15E Strike Eagle takes off from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, Feb. 15, 2017. The 492nd FS trains regularly to ensure RAF Lakenheath brings unique air combat capabilities to the fight.   U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Matthew Plew

A bizarre photo of what appears to be a Chinese Chengdu J-20 fighter at an airport in Savannah, Georgia (of all places) surfaced on the internet yesterday. Seeing as it seems like an absolute impossibility that one of the twenty or so operational J-20s in existence (boasting an estimated fuel range of only a thousand […]

Col. David Brynteson, the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group commander, checks the engines on an F-15E Strike Eagle, Jan. 27, 2016, in Southwest Asia. Brynteson was preparing to fly his last sortie in theater.   U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Eboni Reams

The fielding of hypersonic anti-ship missiles by America’s competitors have created a pressing need for the U.S. military to adjust its peer warfare strategy. America’s fleet of Nimitz and Ford class super carriers serve as the nation’s primary method of force projection the world over, but when held at bay a thousand miles from enemy […]

An F-22 Raptor performs a heritage flight during the 2017 Heritage Flight Training Course at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Feb. 9, 2017. The program was established in 1997, allowing certified civilian pilots and Air Force pilots to perform flights together.   U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kimberly Nagle

In 2008, the Pentagon sent the first operational stealth combat jet, the F-117A Nighthawk, out to pasture — or at least, sort of. The F-117 flew as an entirely classified program for years before ever being acknowledged by the U.S. Air Force as an operational program in the 1980s, allowing a generation of young Americans […]