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In the 1980s an idea was conceived by military planners to develop a hypersonic spy plane that could reach Mach 5+, making it truly the fastest manned aircraft ever to fly. While there have been reported sightings of the prototypes, the SR-91 Aurora, if it even existed, likely never made it much best the concept stage.

The United States military’s Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is considered one of the most deadly and capable aircraft anywhere in the world today and it has been suggested it is unrivaled as well. However, at least one Russian test pilot has suggested that the F-35 would be no match for Russia’s own Sukhoi Su-57. While both are fifth-generation, multirole fighters designed to destroy all types of air, ground, and naval targets, Magomed Tolboyev, a renowned test pilot who celebrated his 70th birthday on January 20, said that the Russian Su-57 would have the advantage were it...

Designed to replace the variants of the Saab 35 Viggen and Saab 37 Draken combat aircraft, Sweden’s JAS 39 Gripen was first flown in December 1988 and entered operational service with the Swedish Air Force in 1997. Developed as part of a joint effort by an industrial consortium that consisted of Saab, Saab Microwave Systems (formerly Ericsson), Volvo Aero Corporation, Saab Avitronics and FFV Aerotech, the Gripen was the first Swedish multirole combat aircraft – capable of conducting interception, ground-attack, and reconnaissance.

As the Biden administration prepares to inherit the Space Force, it has a profound choice to make: Is space a commons to share or a territory to defend? Yes, the Biden administration could try to convince Congress to formally change where the Space Force fits into the Pentagon’s organization chart, demoting it from its standing as a branch of the military. But the more meaningful action would be to choose to see space as a commons, breaking with Trump’s orbital policies that treated a war in space as inevitable—and America’s to win.... ...The best way for the Biden administration to...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media.I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

When it comes to getting from point A to point B, taking to the air is the quickest way possible, obviously. For commercial fliers, nothing was faster than the British-French designed Concorde SST, which could reach Mach 2.04 (2,180 km/h) at cruise altitude. The supersonic transport had an excellent safety record until 2000 when Air France flight 4590 crashed just after taking off from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. It re-entered service, but rising costs grounded the plane permanently three years later. The Concorde’s record for cross Atlantic commercial travel has yet to be beaten, but when it comes to raw...

Despite the fact that satellites and drones can provide an eagle-eyed view to remote regions of the world for the United States military and intelligence community (IC), an aircraft design older than its pilots continue to serve a crucial role in intelligence gathering. It is the sixty-year-old Lockheed U-2. Initially projected to have an operational life of just two years, this aircraft has been flying high for more than six decades and has been present in every American conflict since.

A retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel photographed carrying zip-tie handcuffs inside the Capitol during last week’s riot planned to take hostages, a federal prosecutor said Thursday. In wielding the restraints, Larry Brock “means to take hostages. He means to kidnap, restrain, perhaps try, perhaps execute members of the U.S. government,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Weimer. Weimer, who at Thursday’s hearing argued Brock should be detained, did not elaborate on his allegations. The prosecutor read a social media post from Brock the day of the siege, in which he says, “Patriots on the Capitol. Patriots storming. Men with guns...

No other U.S. Air Force aircraft could fly faster or higher than the Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird,” and on its final flight, it set a truly impressive record. The reconnaissance aircraft flew from the west coast of the United States to the east coast – some 2,404 miles – in just 68:17 minutes. During that flight, it traveled from St. Louis, Missouri, and Cincinnati, Ohio, a distance of 311 miles in about eight and a half minutes.

On Christmas Day last month, it was announced by Russian state media that a regiment in the Russian Southern Military District received quite a notable “present” – it was the first batch-produced Sukhoi-57 Felon multi-role fifth-generation fighter jet. At least another four of the jets could be provided to the Aerospace Force this year. “The Aerospace Force has obtained the first batch-produced Sukhoi-57 plane,” a source in the defense industrial complex told Tass. “It was delivered to a regiment in the Southern Military district.”

Currently, the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is operated by more than twenty-five nations around the world. While the single-engine supersonic multirole fighter is no longer being purchased by the U.S. Air Force – for whom the aircraft was first developed – improved versions are still being exported and nearly 4,600 have been produced. The aircraft, which is now produced by Lockheed Martin, which essentially acquired General Dynamics’ aircraft manufacturing business in the 1990s, has highlighted the key facets of the Cold War-era fighter – claiming it to be the best value among fourth-generation jets for its capabilities and affordable...

Commanders have until Feb. 21 to review their units' emblems, morale patches, mottos, nicknames, coins and other heraldry and insignia and remove any that are racist, sexist or derogatory, the Air Force announced Tuesday. Starting at the squadron level and moving up, commanders must abolish symbols that are derogatory "to any race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, age or disability status to ensure an inclusive and professional environment," according to a memo from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett and Gen. John "Jay" Raymond, head of the Space Force. "It is critical...

The Lockheed SR-71 spy plane was – and still is – the fastest plane on the planet. The Goal Known unofficially as the “Blackbird” for its black paint job, which was developed to dissipate heat, the jet featured sleek lines that certainly were “futuristic” when it was flying top secret missions years before American astronauts headed to the moon. It was developed in secret in the late 1950s to cruise to 80,000 feet above the earth, near the edge of space, and out fly any missile that was launched at it.

Ashli Babbit, a 14-year Air Force veteran with 4 tours is the woman who was gunned down at the Capital today.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv0CQ1XPr_E&feature=emb_title and here is the member of congress (aka the shooter). https://twitter.com/1stacyphillips/status/1347094167411806211

The President Trump supporter killed in the Capitol building Wednesday is an Air Force vet from California who tweeted a day earlier how “nothing will stop us” and “the storm is here.” Ashli Babbit, who had 14 years in the service and did four tours of duty, was married and lived near San Diego, her husband Aaron told KUSI-TV. “I’m numb. I’m devastated. Nobody from DC notified my son and we found out on TV,” the husband’s mother, Robin Babbitt, told The Post, saying of her daughter-in-law, “She is a Trump supporter.” Everything is “pretty surreal,” added Aaron’s brother, Justin....

The Air Force is testing a high-energy microwave weapon system in Africa to combat armed drones operated by terrorists. In April, we first reported the Air Force would test a new prototype drone-killing microwave weapon overseas for a 12-month assessment. At the time, there was no mention by the service of where the testing would be conducted until now. Richard Joseph, the Air Force's chief scientist, was recently quoted by Breaking Defense as saying the Tactical High Power Microwave Operational Responder (THOR) is being tested in a "real-world setting" in Africa. "We have recently deployed a test system to Africa...

China borrows a page from America’s TOP GUN book A J-10 and a Su-30 took off from an airfield in East China's Zhejiang Province and engaged a 'bad guy' fighter group by Dave Makichuk December 16, 2020 I wouldn’t exactly call it “TOP GUN” school, but Chinese fighter pilots are learning valuable dog-fighting techniques by taking on “hostile” jet fighters in mock combat. According to China Central Television (CCTV), in a session at dusk, a J-10 and a Su-30 took off from an airfield in East China’s Zhejiang Province, and engaged a “bad guy” fighter jet group consisting of two...

The Wisconsin Air National Guard has identified the F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot killed during a crash in Michigan's Upper Peninsula earlier this week as 37-year-old Capt. Durwood "Hawk" Jones. Jones, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, joined the Guard in 2011, according to a Friday Facebook announcement from the 115th Fighter Wing out of Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Madison. He completed F-16 basic qualification training in 2015 and deployed to Japan that same year to support operations in the Pacific, the post said.

At the Tonopah Test Range, a flat, dusty area 160 miles northwest of Las Vegas, an F-35 flying at supersonic speed dropped a B61-12 nuclear bomb onto the desert floor at an altitude of 10,500 feet.

Air Force Special Operations will have to adapt to major changes in mission and organization while coping with tighter budgets in the new era of great power competition, Lt. Gen. James Slife said Monday. "One thing that's clear to us is that the future doesn't look a lot like the present to us," Slife, head of Air Force Special Operations Command, said in a virtual discussion with the Center for Strategic and international Studies.