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Mitsubishi F-2 “Viper Zero”: Japan’s Fighter Derived From The F-16
JASDF Fighter carries a name that is a combination of the unofficial nickname of the F-16 (“Viper”) and the well-known Mitsubishi A6M Zero. At the beginning of the 1980s, the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) began to consider a successor to the Mitsubishi F-1, the first combat aircraft developed and built by Japan independently. A…
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Still Relevant: The F-16 Fighting Falcon Could Fly for Another 20 Years
While the Cold War-era fighter might end up being nearly seven decades old by the time it retires, it remains a relevant fourth-generation fighter jet. Though the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet is nearly fifty years old, the U.S. Air Force anticipates flying it for quite a long time to come. This is in part…
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Why Not? Upgraded F-22 Stealth Fighters Will Fly With F-35s & 6th-Gen Until 2070
The U.S. Air Force F-22 fleet was prematurely truncated around 169 aircraft following the collapse of the Soviet Union (Washington D.C.) The U.S. Air Force F-22 fleet was prematurely truncated around 169 aircraft following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. The decision was in retrospect regarded as ill-advised and detrimental to the…
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Why Was The Supermarine Spitfire So Good?
“All the ascendancy of the Hurricanes and Spitfires would have been fruitless but for this system…and all was now fused together into a most elaborate instrument of war, the like of which existed nowherein the world.” The Supermarine Spitfire was a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many…
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Bot Verification
> Verifying that you are not a robot…
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What Could Have Been: The F-14 Super Tomcat
However, the Navy decided to fill the role of fighter/attack aircraft with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and the F-14 Tomcat was finally retired in 2006. When Top Gun came out in 1986, the aviation-themed film proved to be such as success in creating interest in naval aviation that the Grumman F-14 Tomcat became almost as much a star of the movie…
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F-16s are Too Little, Too Late for Ukraine
Pilot training delays, lack of necessary support infrastructure and resources, and waning opportunities for effective employment will prevent the jets from changing the course of the war. The Biden administration has approved the transfer of Dutch and Danish F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine. Although Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky labeled this a “breakthrough agreement,” U.S. officials also privately stated…
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THE F-22: THE SUPERIORITY FIGHTER THAT NEVER SHOT DOWN AN ENEMY PLANE
The F-22 Raptor made its maiden flight in 1997, eight years before it entered service. The fifth-generation fighter featured twin Pratt & Whitney engines that could be repaired using six tools from any hardware store, an internal weapons bay to reduce drag, and the perceptibility of a bumblebee when tracked on radar. Twenty-five years later, US Air Force…
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Why the F-4 Phantom Is Such a Badass Plane
The F-4 Phantom was neither pretty nor elegant. But it did its job when so many other aircraft in history couldn’t. Flying Brick. Lead Sled. Rhino. Double Ugly. If nicknames are destiny, then the F-4 Phantom II fighter was cursed at birth. Even its official name was ironic. “Phantom” evokes an image of stealth and subtlety,…
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Why did the United States stop F-22 production? Could Lockheed Martin Restart the production line?
Lockheed Martin’s F-22 raptor has proven to be a formidable warplane with its unique combination of stealth, speed, maneuverability, altitude and sensors. It’s simply the best air superiority fighter the United States has ever produced. But the U.S. Air Force is facing a real dilemma : not having enough dedicated air superiority fighters while Russia…