What is a kill chain and why it matters for modern militaries
When officials talk about conducting combat operations, you’ll often hear them refer to opening and closing “kill chains.”
What actually happens when fighter pilots take off their masks?
Movies like Independence Day and Top Gun portray it as a final act of desperation that’s strictly against regulation. But is this true?
Footage shows F/A-18 Super Hornet narrowly avoid missile over Iran
The footage demonstrates the very real risk American aviators continue to face as this conflict stretches toward its fourth week.
The Navy is on a mission to recover one of its worst warplanes from the ocean floor
The Devastator’s combat losses and limited production run has also made it one of the Navy’s most desirable pieces of history.
Saab wants to future-proof the Gripen E through the power of software
It is on the fighter’s avionics system that Saab is banking to keep the aircraft relevant for years to come.
How fighter pilots plan combat missions
Pilots have developed best practices, like the GICL, or Good Idea Cut-off Line, to make planning as smooth and efficient as possible.
This is the system that used jet power to help overloaded aircraft take off from very short runways
JATO was an early solution to the problem of overloaded aircraft taking off from short runways. Talk about a steep takeoff!
Keeping top combat aircraft flying is expected to only get more expensive, consulting firm says
The cost to keep newer combat aircraft ready to fly is going to soar in the coming years, a new report argues.
How America almost got a beefed-up F-22 bomber
If it had been put into production, the FB-22 could have been the stealthiest fighter/bomber on the planet,
Russian fighter strength grows despite losses in Ukraine
Russia’s replacement rate for high-end jets has actually exceeded its losses over the past half-decade.
The X-15 was America’s first piloted hypersonic aircraft
In just nine years, the X-15 changed the shape of high-speed aviation.
How a teenager with a Cessna helped topple the Soviet Union
“I was thinking I could use the aircraft to build an imaginary bridge between West and East.”
The A-12 Avenger II would’ve been America’s first real ‘stealth fighter’
Once completed, the Navy’s A-12 would have been a flying wing-design reminiscent of Northrop Grumman’s B-2 Spirit or B-21 Raider.
America operates a mixed fleet of fighters, but could Canada do the same?
Should Canada just operate a mixed fleet of Gripens and F-35s to get the best of both worlds?
Airlift could be the Achilles’ heel in the US Air Force plan for surviving a fight with China
The U.S. airlift fleet for moving troops, weapons, and critical supplies around the world is shrinking and growing older.
Russia’s Su-75 Checkmate aircraft is still just a paper plane
According to recent reports, Russia’s vaporware stealth fighter, the Su-75 Checkmate, is finally heading for test flights.
F-35 pilot explains how an F-117 was shot down in 1999
In 1999, an American F-117 stealth aircraft was shot down over Yugoslavia. Here’s how it happened, according to an Air Force F-35 pilot.
B-21 may be the first bomber in history with an AI copilot
This revelation points to a groundbreaking change to combat flight operations.
How B-2 crews relieve themselves during globe-spanning missions
If you had to guess, how much urine would you think has to be unloaded from a B-2 bomber after one of its famous globe-spanning missions?
America’s crazy flying aircraft carriers could have actually worked
A seemingly improbable concept that the U.S. has experimented with several times in the past is creating flying aircraft carriers.
How America almost got hypersonic aircraft decades ago
Throughout a period of the Cold War, the United States seemed well on its way to fielding hypersonic aircraft .
Super Tomcat: The 21st century F-14 that would still be flying today
The effort to modernize the F-14 began under the moniker “ST21,” which, appropriately enough, stood for “Super Tomcat for the 21st Century.”
NASA’s had plans to use an F-15 to launch hypersonic Phoenix missiles
In the early 2000s, NASA came up with a plan to use the Air Force’s F-15 Eagle and the Navy’s famed AIM-54 Phoenix missile.
How Charles Lindbergh helped American pilots fight the Japanese in WWII
Charles Lindbergh was invited to embed with America’s 475th Fighter Group to help the pilots solve a particular problem.
Ukraine plans to place largest order in history for a jet specifically designed to take on Russia
Last week, Ukraine signed a Letter of Intent with Sweden to procure between 100 and 150 SAAB Gripen E aircraft.