Free Republic

For the first time in its history, the U.S. Air Force has designated two prototype drones as unmanned fighter aircraft, marking a new era in aerial warfare. The YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, developed by General Atomics and Anduril, respectively, are the harbingers of a new chapter in military strategy, one where human pilots are no longer the sole aces in the skies. These drones, part of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, are designed to fly alongside manned fifth- and sixth-generation fighters like the F-35. Affectionately called “loyal wingmen, the drones are supposed to augment the human-piloted jets in missions ranging...

President Donald Trump has fired Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a Truth Social post on Friday evening, Trump announced he was nominating Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine to replace Brown. Trump thanked Brown for his service, calling him a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, wishing him and his family a great future. “General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience,” wrote Trump.

President Donald Trump on Monday said he had ordered the firings of the boards of visitors for all of the U.S. military’s service academies, the outside advisory panels that help oversee academic programs and student life, saying that the government’s training grounds for military officers had been invaded by so-called “woke” ideology. “Our Service Academies have been infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues over the last four years,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I have ordered the immediate dismissal of the Board of Visitors for the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard.” The president did not immediately announce the appointment...

This is practically UNHEARD OF. Pete Hegseth sent a warning to the cartels saying “all options are on the table.” President Trump demanded 100% operational control of the border, and Hegseth is delivering.

JUST IN: Syria's capital city Damascus has fallen to rebels, and Syrian President Assad has reportedly fled to an unknown destination, per CNN. “Militarily, Damascus has fallen,” CNN has said.

A Florida GOP congressional candidate was recently secretly recorded threatening Republican rival Anna Paulina Luna with “a Russian and Ukrainian hit squad” that would make her “disappear.” That’s according to a recording obtained by Politico that comes from a conservative activist who says she taped her conversation with William Braddock over concerns about his “unhinged” dislike of his competitor. During a 30-minute call with a conservative activist that was recorded before he became a candidate, William Braddock repeatedly warned the activist to not support GOP candidate Anna Paulina Luna in the Republican primary for a Tampa Bay-area congressional seat because...

Unidentified drones have been spotted flying over three bases used by the United States Air Force in Britain, the two countries have confirmed. The objects were seen between Wednesday and Saturday flying over the Royal Air Force’s Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Feltwell bases, all used by the US Air Force (USAF). “The number of (unmanned aircraft systems) fluctuated and they ranged in size/configuration,” a spokesperson for the US Air Forces in Europe said in a statement. The three bases are located within a few miles of each other in eastern England. Since 1992, Mildenhall has been home to the only permanent...

The Trump transition team is compiling a list of senior current and former U.S. military officers who were directly involved in the withdrawal from Afghanistan and exploring whether they could be court-martialed for their involvement, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the plan. Officials working on the transition are considering creating a commission to investigate the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, including gathering information about who was directly involved in the decision-making for the military, how it was carried out and whether the military leaders could be eligible for charges as serious as treason, the two sources...

Skynet-1A being launched in 1969. Image Credit: NASA, Image ID: KSC-69P-0941 via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain, Modified by IFLScience Amilitary spacecraft launched 55 years ago was moved from its orbit – and nobody is quite sure who did it, or why. In 1969 the UK launched Skynet-1A, a military communications satellite placed in orbit above the east coast of Africa in order to relay information to British armed forces. It stopped working due to hardware issues around 18 months after it started operating, and the spacecraft was left to the laws of physics to orbit the Earth – it is...

The Israeli strikes on Iran hit several of Tehran’s most advanced air defenses, exposing Iran’s vulnerability to future attacks as the two enemies engage in a new era of direct confrontation. During the hourslong attack early Saturday, Israeli warplanes struck Iranian military assets in three provinces, including three Russian-supplied aerial defense systems known as S-300, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. A fourth aerial defense system was also hit. An Israeli official added that all the air-defense systems were rendered unusable.

Israel has hinted it is plotting airstrikes to topple the Iranian regime as it seeks retaliation for its missile attack earlier this month. Tel Aviv has been narrowing down its targets to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its volunteer paramilitary force as it consults the US on its response, The Times has reported. Although it is unlikely one round of missile strikes would topple the Iranian regime, it has been suggested by a western official the strength of the attack could encourage opposition from within. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement addressed to the Iranian...

This is a fun video I saw on X. The Air Force calls this "Drop Night" where pilots find out what planes they are going to be flying during their career. I saw this video and think many here will appreciate it. Perhaps some former pilots can recall their "Drop Nights."

A secretive US spaceship will attempt flight maneuvers above Earth that have never before been performed. We are talking about the Boeing X-37, a reusable robotic spacecraft. The X-37 is boosted into space by a launch vehicle and re-enters Earth’s atmosphere landing as a spaceplane. The project began as a NASA project back in 1999, but it was transferred to the US Department of Defense in 2004. The X-37 is presently operated by the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, in collaboration with United States Space Force. It is used for ‘orbital spaceflight missions’ that are intended to...

Forty U.S. Army soldiers who were in Israel as the advance team for what they thought was a routine training exercise last October 7 suddenly found themselves in the middle of a war, unarmed, and being forced to beg reluctant Pentagon officials to send an Air Force plane to extract them. ---SNIP--- With his men in mortal danger, the U.S. team leader requested permission to open the arms locker so they could retrieve their firearms but was denied at the US Central Command level and “denied and/or ignored” at a level above that, according to a military intelligence analyst with...

The US airman-turned-social media influencer and his brother — sentenced to jail in Dubai last month after claiming they were lured and drugged at a yacht party — were freed from prison Tuesday, putting an end to the siblings’ four-month “nightmare.” Joseph and Joshua Lopez arrived home in their native Ohio, Detained in Dubai, an organization dedicated to helping people facing legal issues in the United Arab Emirates, announced late Tuesday... Detained in Dubai thanked Ohio Senator and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance for his “help and support” in ensuring the brothers’ safe return.... Vance had been in “constant...

The United States Air Force celebrated its 77th birthday on Wednesday, Sept.18, marking the point at which it became a separate entity from the rest of the military. The Air Force officially became a separate division of the U.S. military when President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947. To this day, the Air Force continues to aim high and fight, as it delivers airpower anytime and anywhere to serve and protect our nation. This is a special shoutout to all of our airmen and women at Sheppard Air Force Base and to all members of the U.S....

Nurit Baytch  @NuritBaytch Aaron Bushnell's Reddit account has been located, and it turns out he used genocidal rhetoric about Israelis ("there are no Israeli 'civilians'") and justified the Nova massacre: [old.reddit.com/user/acebush1/comments/?count=700&after=t1_k6kzlf7] (acebush1: same username as his original Twitch username) h/t @LupusErogare11:13 PM · Feb 27, 2024Duckie🎗️ @spaced_out_duck Aaron Bushnell’s radical ideology completely dehumanized the people of Israel, asserting that 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱. Meanwhile, he accused others of being brainwashed.1:13 AM · Feb 28, 2024Ella Travels (Ella Kenan) @EllaTravelsLove This is what Aaron Bushnell, the U.S. soldier who burned himself alive in front of the Israeli embassy in D.C....

If you had told the average person that an anarchist or an airman had set himself on fire to protest Israel’s campaign against Islamic terrorists, you would get two very different reactions. Unsurprisingly the media led with the data point most likely to produce a favorable reaction. And Aaron Bushnell cynically played the same game, wearing (the wrong) uniform to his Hamas suicide attempt rather than the Antifa red in which he had been previously photographed. The Washington Post gets around to admitting that Bushnell was an “anarchist”. Less than two weeks before Aaron Bushnell walked toward the gates of...

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: United States Air Force Academy, ColoradoThe United States Air Force Academy is a military academy for officer cadets of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is the youngest of the five U.S. service academies, having graduated its first class 65 years ago in 1959. Graduates of the academy's four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree and are commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Space Force.Admission is extremely competitive, with nominations divided equally among Congressional districts. Recent...

FARNBOROUGH AIRSHOW 2024 — Amid a revolution in air combat, the head of the US Air Force said Saturday he’s “reasonably confident” America’s next-generation fighter aircraft will have a pilot, leaving the door open, however slightly, for a radical departure from a fully manned system. “I’m confident there’s going to be a sixth-generation fighter. I’m reasonably confident that it’s going to be crewed,” Kendall told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview over the weekend. That the Air Force is seemingly unsure whether the aircraft will need a pilot, and presumably a cockpit to house them, suggests the service may need...