The Scaled Composites ARES Agile Responsive Effective Support (ARES) is a full-scale proof-of-concept demonstrator that was developed as a concept in support of a US Army request for a Low-Cost…
F-14 test pilot recalls when his Tomcat was scorched after a Mach 2+ test sortie
The F-14 Tomcat In the 1986 movie “Top Gun,” the F-14 Tomcat had a key part. The Navy required an aircraft to defend its surface fleets from hostile aircraft and long-range…
When a KC-135Q Stratotanker flew into Northern Laos to save his Blackbird after a Double-Engine Flameout
The SR-71 Blackbird A group of Lockheed members led by Clarence “Kelly” Johnson—then vice president of Lockheed’s Advanced Development Company Projects, also referred to as the “Skunk Works” and currently…
Graduation of last USMC AV-8B Harrier II pilots On March 29, 2024, at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina, the last two pilots to receive the 7509…
During a night training Mach 2 bomb run, the B-58 navigator remembers his pilot turning in his wings after their Hustler went in a nose-high stall
The B-58 Hustler On November 11, 1956, the B-58, the US Air Force’s first operational supersonic bomber, took off. Apart from its delta wing design, the Hustler was distinguished by…
The F-16N Viper The US Navy purchased an F-16N Viper, a version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon used by the US Air Force, to simulate fourth-generation Soviet fighters as adversary…
Due to tail cracks, 19 of the 23 CH-148 Cyclones were forced to land
Most of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Maritime fleet of CH-148 Cyclone helicopters is undergoing repairs after cracks were found in the tails of the aircraft Most of the Royal…
A-7 Corsair II pilot once used a $40K AGM-62 Walleye to destroy a $2K broken-down pickup truck blocking a road intersection during the Vietnam War
The AGM-62 Walleye The Martin Marietta AGM-62 Walleye, although designated as an air-to-ground missile (AGM), was actually an unpowered glide bomb guided to its target by a television camera attached…
40 years ago, NATO aircraft operated on German autobahn: the story of the biggest exercise to date to use a highway as improvised airfield
NATO aircraft land on German autobahn In 1984, forty years ago, an exercise involving many nations was carried out by NATO aircraft to evaluate the alliance’s ability to use specific…
The P-51 Mustang The secret to controlling the ground turned out to be controlling the air. The Allied success relied heavily on the long-range P-51 Mustang fighter, enabling the resumption…