Free Republic

Depending on who’s talking, the North American F-107A was either the best fighter the Air Force didn’t have the sense to buy, or a politically flawed loser from the outset. The F-107A will be remembered forever, if it is remembered at all, for being configured as no jet had been before or since: the sharp-edged maw of its air intake, feeding a prototype Pratt & Whitney YJ-75 engine, was just above and behind the cockpit, giving the otherwise sleek fighter the look of a fourth grader with an oversize backpack. In an era of dart-like Mirages and Delta Daggers, the...

There is no need for any more fighter pilots so current trainees have had their training programmes halted Twelve young Danes, who were due to be sent to the US to train as fighter pilots, have had their dreams taken away following a political decision. The ruling follows an agreement in parliament to reduce the number of operational F-16 fighter pilots from 48 to 30. Lars Skjoldan, a communication officer with Tactical Air Command, told Berlingske Tidende newspaper that the decision had not been taken lightly. ‘The Air Force really regrets the decision and realizes that the dreams of these...