U.S. Air Force

The story of how the B-36 Peacemaker bomber was able to survive to five cancellation attempts during its career

The story of how the B-36 Peacemaker bomber was able to survive to five cancellation attempts during its career

In early 1949, the B-36’s future was highly questionable but although the Peacemaker’s ability to evade enemy fighters, the Air… Read More

14 hours ago

USAF accepts first Boeing T-7 Red Hawk advanced trainer

The US Air Force (USAF) accepted the first of five T-7A Red Hawk aircraft from Boeing on Sep. 14, 2023.… Read More

2 days ago

[Video] That time a US Navy F-14 Tomcat shot down a USAF RF-4C Phantom II during a war game

The RF-4C was performing a simulated recce mission on USS Saratoga when the F-14 pilot became confused and launched a… Read More

3 days ago

The story behind the Wolf Pack F-16 sporting a special tail flash honoring Robin Olds’ F-4C Phantom II

In 2021 F-16C 89-2060 was given a special paint scheme honoring the legendary triple ace Robin Olds who led the… Read More

3 days ago

1st Fighter Wing F-22 Raptors emerged as the big winners from William Tell Air-to-Air Competition, capturing four trophies

The William Tell Air-to-Air Competition showcased the air-to-air capabilities of the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II and F-15 Eagle and… Read More

5 days ago

The story of the Celestial Eagle, the only F-15 fighter jet to destroy a satellite

The first and only time a satellite was destroyed by an F-15 came on Sep. 13, 1985 when an F-15A… Read More

6 days ago

SR-71 crew chief explains why the Blackbird never stopped to leak fuel and why SR-71s on public display are still weeping JP-7 today

A problem of flying at Mach 3+ was that at the time when the SR-71 was devised no sealant would… Read More

7 days ago

The F-107 Ultra Sabre, the Odd-Looking Ultra Hump-back aircraft defeated by the F-105 Thunderchief in the contest for an all-weather fighter-bomber

The first flight of the F-107 Ultra Sabre was on Sep. 10, 1956. The F-107’s competitor for the Air Force… Read More

7 days ago

Here’s why this F-22A Raptor fired an AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile while inverted

Rail-launched weapons (essentially just the AIM-9X and AIM-132 on British F-35s) can be launched from both F-22 and F-35 while… Read More

1 week ago

Is the F-15 perfect combat record of over 100 victories and zero defeats true? The Rumours of the Eagle Jet Fighters Shot Down in Air-to-Air Combat

Have any F-15 Eagles been lost in air-to-air combat? Rumours are that some have. The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather,… Read More

1 week ago

Raytheon delivers first AESA radar for USAF B-52 Radar Modernization Program

The new B-52 radar is based on AESA technologies developed from RTX's pioneering AN/APG-79 radar. Raytheon delivered the first B-52… Read More

1 week ago

SR-71 pilot recalls that time his Blackbird flew so fast that he and his RSO landed at Kadena AB two hours before they took off from Beale AFB beating the sun

‘We took off from Beale at 11:00 AM and arrived at Kadena at 9:00AM, two hours before we took off from Beale,… Read More

2 weeks ago

USAF and Northrop Grumman release New Photos of the B-21; Raider has begun engine runs

Engine testing is an essential milestone for the B-21 Raider program as the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft continues on the… Read More

2 weeks ago

Boeing pitches F-15EX Eagle II fighter aircraft to Poland for Warsaw air dominance fighter need

A high-performance twin-engine multirole aircraft such as the F-15EX Eagle II has been touted as an option for Poland after… Read More

2 weeks ago

ANG F-16 pilots who were tasked to ram United Airlines Flight 93 recall being ready to Sacrifice their Lives on 9/11

“Sass would ram his aircraft into the cockpit where the terrorists were, to destroy the flight controls, I would take… Read More

2 weeks ago

B-52 pilot recalls when he and his crew had to eject after their BUFF was shot down by a USAF F-100 Super Sabre

‘I heard F-100 pilot 1st Lt. James W van Scyoc call "Look out! My Missile’s fired". We were on autopilot… Read More

2 weeks ago

Legendary “Sled Driver” Brian Shul tells the story behind his famed SR-71 Blackbird Ground Speed Check

“‘Center, Aspen 20, you got a ground speed readout for us?’ There was a longer than normal pause … ‘Aspen,… Read More

2 weeks ago