Military Heat

After tens of years of development and tens of billions of dollars spent on the project, the world’s first production tiltrotor aircraft, the V-22 Osprey entered service with the U.S Marines. There is still a lot of controversy surrounding this aircraft, so how exactly did it all begin?

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Over the skies of North Korea some of the most intense jet dogfights took place between USAF pilots and their F-86 Sabres and North Korean and Russian pilots flying the MiG-15 “Fagot”. This is the story of the first dogfight between the two rival aircraft. See pilot Bruce Hinton claim first blood for the F-86 Sabre. (Read more…)

Another great story from the History Channel’s TV series “Dogfights”. Using state of the art computer generated imagery, the series manages to give the viewer a better perspective of what it is like to partake in aerial combat. This is the story of Art Fiedler and his victories in a low level altitude dogfight. Watch P-51 Mustang pilot Art Fiedler tell his story as he battles German FW-190 down on the deck, where there is no room for error. (Read more…)

North Carolina (SSN-777) was delivered by Northrop Grumman Newport News to the United States Navy. The North Carolina is the last ship of the First Block, following the USS Virginia (SSN-774), the USS Texas (SSN-775) and the USS (SSN-776) that are already in service. Also, the brand new Virginia class attack submarine will be the fifth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the 12th state. (Read more…)

A US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber crashed on the island of Guam Saturday morning ( local time ). The B-2 was part of the US Pacific Air Force and crashed shortly after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base. Both of the pilots survived the crash and will supply the necessary information to the board of investigators that is assembled to evaluate the incident. This is the first time a B-2 stealth bomber crashes. The $1.2 billion B-2 Spirit is one of the most advanced stealth aircraft currently in service. (Read more…)

January 31, 2006 marked the maiden flight of the P-791 experimental hybrid airship. Developed by Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs aka Skunk Works, the P-791 hybrid airship was flight tested at Lockheed Martin’s flight test facility on the Palmdale Air Force Plant 42.

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Sometimes, things don’t really go quite as planned for the mighty US Air Force. Of course, bad things can happen to anyone, but these air drops have gone horribly wrong. This video has probably been around for years. But it is really funny. And we all need a good laugh sometimes.

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An I.E.D is an improvised explosive device. Partially comprised of conventional military explosives, IEDs are deployed unconventionally for use by commando or guerilla forces. Artillery rounds can often be riggged, attaching a detonating system. IED Hunter is a parody to Steve Irwin’s “Crocodile Hunter” TV series. Seems this little vid was also featured on the History Channel, “Band of Bloggers” series. Good effort to fight boredom by the US Marines. (Read more…)

The Sea Shadow is an experimental stealth ship designed by the US Navy, Lockheed and DARPA ( Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). The Sea Shadow was ordered in 1982 to examine the applicability of stealth technology on naval vessels as well as a test bed for automatic on-board systems to reduce the number of crew members. (Read more…)

Military Wraps Research&Development, Inc. has unveiled the new photo-stealth technology at the U.S. Special Operations trade show (SOFEX 2007). Photo-Real and Photo-Stealth are trademarks of Military Wraps and are in patent pending. This technology is ” a direct result of daily feedback from specific battlefields from all over the globe”.

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Soon after World War II, one of the most amazing jet fighters was conceived for the US Air Force: the McDonell XF-85 Goblin, known as the “Flying Egg” because of its very small size ( only 4.5 meters in length ) and rotund appearance. The XF-85 Goblin was designed to be carried inside the bomb bays of giant strategic bombers and deployed in case of enemy attack. The giant Convair B-36 strategic bomber was to play the role of mothership for this little parasite aircraft. (Read more…)

Dissimilar air combat training ( DACT ) was introduced as a formal US air combat training during the Vietnam war, following the 9 to 1 kill ratio of North Korean MiGs over US air assets. Thus Topgun was introduced. The idea of the DACT is to place pilots in simulated aerial combat using different types of aircraft ( rather then have them using the same type ) in order to understand the value of knowing the enemy’s weak points. Here is a video of Topgun DACT featuring the US Navy F-16 Falcon versus the F-14 Tomcat . The instructors, flying the Vipers, play the role of aggressors while the students fly the Tomcats. Seems the students still have something to learn. (Read more…)

In 2006 the US Navy VAW-116 “Sun Kings” Command and Control Squadron that deploys aboard USS Abraham Lincoln became famous after releasing their version of the “Pump It” music video, by the Black Eyed Peas. The video production started out as a way to fight off boredom on the long patrols but turned out to be quite a hit, with more than a million views on YouTube. The video was also aired on national television. (Read more…)

The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a larger and more advanced variant of the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The Super Hornet is 20% larger, 7,000 lb heavier empty and 15,000 lb heavier at maximum weight than the Hornet. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet has replaced the F-14 Tomcat in the United States Navy’s primary maritime air superiority fighter role and is 11,000 lb lighter than the Tomcat at empty weight.
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In November 1963 the C-130 Hercules made history by setting a record for the largest and heaviest airplane landing on a Navy aircraft carrier. The aircraft carrier was the USS Forrestal, a US Navy supercarrier named after former Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal. The Forrestal was launched on December 11th, 1954, and was the lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers.
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