The SR71 Blackbird is, without doubt, one of the most advanced aircraft ever made, and there are many secrets of the SR71 Blackbird. Its beginnings were shrouded in so much secrecy that observers thought it to be a UFO. Such was its design that it was nearly impossible to detect with the equipment at the…

But the Super Tomcat, in theory, could have done for the original what the F-15EX is now doing for the original Eagle, what the F-16V is doing for the original Fighting Falcon, or what the Super Hornet did for the original Hornet.  The boffo box office of Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 blockbuster original, has sparked renewed public interest in the…

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SR-71 Blackbird Pilots and RSOs, even with gloves on, couldn’t keep their hands by the glass for more than a few seconds without doing damage. During its career, the SR-71 Blackbird gathered intelligence in some of the world’s most hostile environments. The SR-71 was conceived to operate at extreme velocities, altitudes and temperatures: actually, it…

Here’s What You Need to Remember: Capable of delivering huge payloads at vast distances, the B-52 bomber quickly became a U.S. Air Force staple in the Vietnam War. The strategic bombers flew hundreds of combat sorties and dropped over fifteen tons of bombs on North Vietnamese targets during Operation Linebacker II. More recently, the B-52 bomber distinguished…

There are likely several reasons why the U.S. never exported its famous 5th-generation F-22 Raptor to allied nations. The first and most obvious of which is simply that U.S. leaders and weapons developers wanted to make sure cutting-edge, exclusively developed technologies remain only with U.S. forces. There are likely several reasons why the U.S. never…

Despite incorporating stealth technology, the Rafale (“Burst of Fire” or “Gust of Wind”), is not a true stealth aircraft like the F-35. Here’s What You Need to Remember: The Rafale will also be modified to integrate future upgrades of the French SCALP-EG stealthy subsonic cruise missile and the supersonic ASMP-A cruise missile which carries a 300-kiloton-yield nuclear warhead.…

In early April, it was announced that the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II had surpassed 500,000 flight hours across global operations, demonstrating the program’s progress and continued maturity. The fifth-generation multirole fighter is now currently active at twenty-five bases and nine ships around the world. Its interoperability has also made it an asset to the United States, allies and…

From the F-106 to the F-35, the transformation is staggering. The miniaturization of computing power has dramatically changed the fighter cockpit. Microprocessors have allowed engineers to replace scores of dials and switches with just a handful of touchscreen delays. The result is a more efficient, less fatiguing flight control system for the 21st century pilot. A new retrospective on…

Is it America’s most capable fighter, or America’s most expensive headache? Why not both? Refueling under cover of darkness, a massive formation of U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force, and Australian Air Force aircraft prepared for combat. Fourth-generation fighters hailing from all three nations—including F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-15 Eagles, and Eurofighter Typhoons—coordinated with E-8 Joint STARS command-and-control…