Watch: Yemeni rebels shoot down an Apache gunship

Last December, footage emerged of an AH-64 Apache helicopter being engaged by surface to air missiles over Yemen, breaking apart and falling to the ground. Reportedly both pilots were killed. Regional news outlets have been calling the Apache a Saudi aircraft; but it is just as feasible that it could have belonged to the United […]

Russia just lost a 5th-gen fighter jet in a crash

In the first reported total loss of one of Russia’s exceedingly rare fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 “stealth” fighters, one of the jets crashed approximately 68 miles from the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft plant in Russia, where it was likely built. The pilot ejected from the aircraft safely and was recovered soon after the incident by Russian military MI-8 […]

What’s the deal with Maverick in Top Gun 2?

In yet another sequel to a film of old, “Top Gun: Maverick” is a much anticipated return to the movie world of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, some 33 years after the original film took place. The very premise of the movie alone forces us to suspend at least some disbelief, as the first trailer pointed out […]

Could China’s new H-20 ‘Stealth Bomber’ pose a serious threat to the US mainland?

America’s venerable B-2 Spirit may be thirty years old, but it still offers the United States a unique combat capability not found in any other nation. The stealthy platform can penetrate deep into contested airspace, delivering massive amounts of ordnance on unsuspecting targets while avoiding detection and — just as importantly — weapons lock from […]

How to win a dogfight: Understanding the importance of Angle of Attack

Former F-16 pilot Nate “Buster” Jaros shows us how Angle of Attack (AOA) is extremely important in basic fighter manuevers and how optimizing it can help kill the enemy. Angle of attack (AOA) is an important tool for the combat fighter pilot. Understanding how it works and what it provides is key to predicting and […]

Pulling G’s: A fighter pilot’s response to gravitational forces

“After dinner, the weather being warm, we went into the garden and drank thea, under the shade of some apple trees…he told me, he was just in the same situation, as when formerly, the notion of gravitation came into his mind. It was occasion’d by the fall of an apple, as he sat in contemplative […]

The Air Force’s ‘arsenal plane’ concept will pair F-35s with missile-laden bombers

For all the strengths boasted by America’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and F-22 Raptors, these stealthy fifth generation platforms still suffer from one significant drawback during combat operations: their relatively low magazine capacity. In order to maintain their stealthy profile, these fighters have to carry their ordnance internally, limiting the firepower they can bring into […]

Turkey is getting Su-35s instead of F-35s, but how do the two fighters stack up?

In recent months, Turkey announced plans to purchase Russia’s advanced S-400 air defense system, a decision that cost them their opportunity to purchase America’s premier fighter, the F-35. Since then, speculation has run rampant about what fighter platform Turkey will procure in its place, with initial rumors pointing toward Russia’s fifth-generation Su-57. These rumors were […]