military aviation

For years now, the F-35 has been compared to the wide variety of aircraft it is eventually expected to replace. Everything from the close-air-support legend A-10 Thunderbolt to the fastest fighter in the U.S. stable F-15 has had the F-35 laid down alongside it in an effort to spot strengths and weaknesses. Because the F-35 […]

Maj. Paul Lopez, F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team commander and pilot, performs during AirPower Over Hampton Roads JBLE Air and Space Expo at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., May 18, 2018. The Raptor performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions allowing full realization of operational concepts vital to the 21st century Air Force.   U.S. Air Force photo […]

U.S. Senator Martha McSally, a freshman Republican from Arizona, wasn’t always a lawmaker. Prior to 2010, she was a war-fighter, completing combat deployments at the stick of the close-air support legend A-10 Thunderbolt II, before going on to command a combat aviation squadron that included both fighter and bomber elements. In both circumstances, McSally made […]

B-1B Lancers sit on the flightline during sunset at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, June 27, 2018. The BONE is currently deployed to the U.S. Air Forces Central Command’s AOR supporting a wide range of operations.   U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ted Nichols

Martha McSally, a Republican and freshman Senator out of Arizona, wasn’t always a lawmaker. Prior to 2010, she was a war fighter, completing combat deployments at the stick of the close air support legend A-10 Thunderbolt II before going on to command a combat aviation squadron that included both fighter and bomber elements. In both […]

Once upon a time, long before I found my way to writing for publications like Fighter Sweep, I was a punk kid with a wrench in my hand, sitting around pit lane at race tracks like Limerock, Laguna Seca, and Road Atlanta. Eventually, I’d leave those days behind to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps, […]

Capt. Andrew “Dojo” Olson, F-35 Heritage Flight Team pilot and commander, performs a high-speed pass during the Canadian International Air Show in Toronto, Sept. 1, 2018.   U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexander Cook

America’s first fifth-generation fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, is widely considered to be the best air superiority fighter on the planet. The combination of its low observability and high performance makes it America’s heavyweight contender in the battle for air supremacy, even in the era of the data-fusing F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. While the […]

A U.S. Air Force F-16CM Fighting Falcon, assigned to the 79th Fighter Squadron, takes off from the flightline during Exercise Red Flag 19-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 28, 2019. The 79th FS, otherwise known as the “Tigers,” served as an air superiority role, performing various missions intended to test their job proficiency […]

America’s first fifth-generation fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, is widely considered to be the best air superiority fighter on the planet. The combination of its low observability and high performance makes it America’s heavyweight contender in the battle for air supremacy, even in the era of the data-fusing F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. While the […]

With the exception of one engagement over Syria in 2017, the United States has not found any of its fighters in a good old-fashioned “dogfight” since the early 1990s. Throughout much of the world, the same can be said for most other national militaries. As a result (and bolstered by new fighter technologies), there’s a […]

Flying combat operations with a high degree of efficacy requires a broad skill set and, as some pilots describe it, “supreme confidence” in your ability to manage both the situation and the $90 million worth of supersonic state secrets secured to your ejection seat. America’s fighter pilots average about three times the flight experience of […]