Free Republic

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is the best air superiority fighter ever built, but could America have done better? When the YF-22 prototype won the contract for the Advanced Tactical Fighter in April 1991, it was a lesser plane compared to the Northrop YF-23 in many ways. Though the YF-22 was a more maneuverable aircraft, the YF-23 had far greater supersonic cruise capability — especially when outfitted with the General Electric YF120 variable cycle engines. Even when powered by the less powerful Pratt & Whitney YF-119, the YF-23 had the ability to fly an entire sortie at supersonic speeds above...

Proposed US Military buildup under a conservative U.S. Administration circa 2012-2024 CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE The following plan is based on a major US economic turnaround based on sound Free Market principles geared to US interests, energy independendece, a balanced budget, stabilization of Social Security & Medicare & eliminating unessary and wasteful entitlements & entire federal agencies. It is also based,under a conservative leadership in Washington, on adopting lower corporate and individual income taxes so the revenue to the treasury expands and increases significantly which will fuel the buildup necessary to remain technologically superior by two generations...

One Foggy Day In China Posted by Bill Sweetman at 12/23/2010 8:30 AM CST Is China about to give airpower hawks their best Christmas present ever? The internetz are buzzing (start here and here) with a picture that allegedly shows China's next-generation Chengdu J-20 fighter - the first known Chinese stealth aircraft - undergoing high-speed taxi trials, with rumors of a first flight within weeks. The picture appeared today on the very popular Chinese military fan web site Top81, apparently taken by a cell phone from a car. The bad news is that it makes 1950s shots of new MiGs...

Lockheed Martin has won a contract from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to explore firing Patriot Advanced Capability-3 anti-ballistic missiles from airplanes. The company said the tests would initially focus on using the Boeing McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle as the launch platform for the PAC-3s. Although the initial $ 3 million funding for the research program is small by the expensive R and D budgets of the BMD programs, its implications could be far reaching. The program is known as the Air-Launched Hit-to-Kill, or ALHTK, initiative. If successful, the program would eventually see U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft equipped with PAC-3s...

Langley AFB, DC By taking time out of their busy congressional duties, several congressmen have been finding time to fly attack missions on the US Detention Center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as part of Operation Muslim Fury. The operation is part of a two-pronged effort to appease the Islamic world while at the same time attempting to scratch out the eyeballs of America. The offensive began last week when Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) launched into a scathing vindictive against the military's treatment of terrorists, comparing them to Nazi's and communists. But when the comments never had their desired effect, the...