Watch: The UK Navy invented a new way to land F-35s with heavy payloads on their carriers

Watch: The UK Navy invented a new way to land F-35s with heavy payloads on their carriers

The United States isn’t the only nation that’s looking to develop ways to extend the range and combat capabilities of carrier-based fighters. The UK’s Royal Navy may not boast a carrier fleet as massive or widespread as America’s, but its new flagship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, is already working on ways to increase the capabilities […]

Technical issues and Hurricane Michael have crippled 3/4 of America’s stealth fighters

Technical issues and Hurricane Michael have crippled 3/4 of America’s stealth fighters

On Wednesday, Hurricane Michael ripped through Tyndall Air Force Base in the Florida panhandle, laying waste to nearly every structure it touched. Amidst the rubble left in the storm’s wake, Airmen set about the task of finding what’s left of 22 of America’s most lethal dog fighting platform, the F-22 Raptor. Of the 55 advanced […]

Marines show how F-35s can destroy targets without ever firing a shot

Marines show how F-35s can destroy targets without ever firing a shot

Throughout the F-35’s troubled development, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Defense Department have repeatedly suggested that despite the advanced stealth and better level of awareness F-35 pilots have of the battlespace, the F-35’s real secret weapon is its ability to serve as a data hub. This advanced capability, which some consider to be a requirement […]

Did a Russian fighter jet really get the drop on America’s stealthy F-22?

Did a Russian fighter jet really get the drop on America’s stealthy F-22?

A grainy photo surfaced on social media on Monday that appears to show a U.S. Air Force F-22 squarely in someone’s crosshairs. Some research reveals that the image was originally posted on the Instagram account “Fighter_Bomber.”  The image’s caption is in Russian. It describes how the image was taken using the infrared targeting cameras of the […]

US Navy didn’t want Lockheed Martin’s drone refueler — but the Air Force might

US Navy didn’t want Lockheed Martin’s drone refueler — but the Air Force might

Recently, the U.S. Navy scrapped plans for a carrier-based armed drone aircraft in favor of their new MQ-25 Stingray program. Instead of carrying ordnance aboard the unmanned vehicles, the MQ-25 will serve as a refueler that helps to extend the operational range of fighters like the Block III F/A-18 Super Hornet and the F-35C naval […]

New technology makes the F-22 deadlier, and the F-35 less special

New technology makes the F-22 deadlier, and the F-35 less special

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, the world’s first ever fifth-generation fighter, is still widely considered to be not only a superior dogfighter to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter but likely, the most capable air superiority fighter on the planet. Its unique combination of stealth characteristics, speed, and maneuverability set it apart from acrobatic fourth-generation fighters […]

Japan wants to combine America’s two best fighters into one air dominance platform – here’s why America might let them

Japan wants to combine America’s two best fighters into one air dominance platform – here’s why America might let them

Sometimes it can be tough to appreciate the logic behind which defense technologies the United States Government deems suitable for export. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, for instance, is regularly touted as the most advanced aircraft ever developed, but Uncle Sam is happy to distribute them willingly to paying nations with friendly relations to help […]

New report alleges Lockheed Martin brushed 19 critical issues with the F-35 under the carpet to please lawmakers

New report alleges Lockheed Martin brushed 19 critical issues with the F-35 under the carpet to please lawmakers

A new report released by the independent watchdog organization Project on Government Oversight (POGO) alleges that the defense contractor responsible for the development and production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter downgraded no fewer than 19 critical issues plaguing the aircraft as they approached the September 15 deadline for the aircraft’s initial testing and evaluation […]

Ukrainian company testing F-35 style helmet to ‘see through’ tanks in combat

Ukrainian company testing F-35 style helmet to ‘see through’ tanks in combat

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has long been touted as the most advanced fighter on the planet, in no small part because the aircraft was purpose-built to reduce how visible it is to opponents while simultaneously offering an as-yet unprecedented array of sensors and pilot systems Lockheed Martin claims will allow pilots to see more, […]