Military Heat

60 years ago, history recorded the first time when a man exceeded the speed of sound in controlled and level flight.

On October 14, 1947, US Air Force Captain Charles “Chuck” Yeager smashed the sound barrier aided by the Bell X-1, the first of many X-planes to come.

(Read more…)

The American F-16 Falcon and the Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum are two amazing planes that have sparked an endless debate as to which one is better. In 1997 USAF’s 457th F-16 squadron trained at Forth Worth alongside German MiG-29s and pilots from both sides engaged in simulated dogfights. This is HUD footage taken from an F-16 combined with a few famous quotes.

(Read more…)

This is the dogfight scene between an F-16 and an F-15 taken from the IMAX movie Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag. Red Flag is the international training exercise for air forces of allied countries where many of the world’s best pilots meet for the most challenging flying of their careers. Red Flag is the final training for pilots and their aircrews before being sent into actual combat.
(Read more…)

The Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 50/52/60 represents a further step in the evolution of the F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole jet fighter. There are many new modifications, most of them internally, but the biggest change visible to the eye is the pair of removable conformal fuel tanks and a dorsal avionics compartment that make the new Falcon one of the ugliest jets ever.

(Read more…)

On October 18, 2002, Boeing declassified its secret Bird of Prey during a rollout ceremony at the company’s facility in St. Louis. Named for a spaceship in the science fiction television series Star Trek, this technology demonstrator pioneered revolutionary advances in low-observable (stealth) features, tailless aircraft design, and rapid prototyping techniques.
(Read more…)

In the late 1960’s a secret program was undertaken by the US Air Force and Navy to evaluate flight characteristics of soviet built aircraft. The US acquired aircraft, radar systems, missiles as well as other hardware from friendly nations (Israel,Egypt,etc.) or aircraft used by their pilots to defect. The program continued until the early 1990’s, when the fall of the Soviet Union led to the end of the Cold War. (Read more…)

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is a low-observable, strategic, long-range, heavy bomber capable of penetrating sophisticated and dense air-defence shields.Operated exclusively by the US Air Force, the B-2 Spirit is a second generation stealth aircraft, following the F-117A Nighthawk.

(Read more…)

The M1A1/A2 Abrams is the main battle tank in the United States Army and Marine Corps arsenal.Named after General Creighton Abrams, former Chief of Staff and Commander of the 37th Armored Regiment, the M1 Abrams was first deployed in 1980. Saudi Arabia and Egypt also use the M1 Abrams as their nations main battle tank. The M1 Abrams was used in conflict for the first time during the first Gulf War when 1848 were deployed to fight in the deserts of Iraq. (Read more…)

Also known as the Frisbee or the Wobblin’ Goblin the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter is the world’s first aircraft that incorporates stealth technology.Developed by the famous Skunk Works division of Lockheed Martin as a development of the Have Blue stealth technology demonstrator, the F-117 Nighthawk flew for the first time in 1977.First delivery was made in 1982 and in 1990 the US Air Force received the last of the 59 aircraft ordered. (Read more…)

The RAH-66 Comanche was an advanced stealth attack/reconnaissance helicopter developed by Boeing and Sikorsky for the US Army.Designed to replace the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior and AH-1 Cobra, the Comanche was the first helicopter to incorporate the stealth technology.Compared to the AH-64 Apache helicopter the Comanche is four times less easy to observe and almost six times quieter.

(Read more…)

September 25 marked the delivery of the first production Boeing EA-18G Growler to the US Navy.The Boeing EA-18G Growler is a new airborne electronic attack (AEA) aircraft that will replace the EA-6B Prowler, the Navy’s current AEA aircraft that has been in service since 1971.The Growler was delivered to the Navy ahead of schedule and within allocated budget.

(Read more…)

I once was curious enough to put a finger above a hole in my microwave oven. The result? A pleasant heat wave, similar to that of opening a oven door, hits you. Now imagine this feeling but instead of a pleasant heat wave, a burning sensation.

This is the weapon that is expected to enter service in 2010 mainly a crowd disperser. It uses powerful microwaves at 95 GHz, that pass through your clothes without setting them on fire, and heat the water molecules of which your body is formed. The microwaves are not strong enough to cause severe burns, but rather to give the nerves under your skin a touch of pain, at a relative temperature of 50 degrees Celsius. (Read more…)

The A-10 Thunderbolt II (nicknamed Warthog) is one of my favorite American military planes. Why is that? Well it’s partly because of it’s unusual look, and partly because of its trademark 30mm GAU-8 Gatling gun. Its gun is also its trademark, shooting up to 70 uranium depleted rounds every second!

When it first came out in 1976, part of the army didn’t have much faith in the beginning in the A-10 Thunderbolt II, because they preferred high flying, high tech airplanes like the F-15 and F-16 with precision munition. (Read more…)

The Apache AH-64 helicopter is the current workhorse of the US Military. The need for an attack helicopter started after the war in Vietnam when a lot of Huey helicopters were fitted with attack rockets. Although the Huey did its job properly as an armed transport helicopter, as an attach chopper it left a bitter taste, over 5000 people dying in it!

Thus the Apache was created. The first one flew in 1975, and after proving its worth, in 1983 the assembly line started rolling aircraft after aircraft at a price of 18 million US dollars.
(Read more…)