Military Heat

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…)

On February 19, 2008 at 11:25 Moscow time the Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E advanced multi-role fighter made its first flight. Flown by Sukhoi test pilot Sergey Bogdan from Zhukovsky airfield near Moscow, the test flight lasted 50 minutes and the set flight program was performed in full. The new “Super Flanker” is expected to be delivered to the Russian Air Force in 2010 and reach initial operating capability in 2011. Currently, another two planes are completed and are to join the first prototype in a series of test flights. The Su-35 will enter service under the name Su-27SM2.

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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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After the end of WW II, and with the success of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombings, USAF commanders believed the future of military aviation lay in long range, high altitude strategic bombers. In the 1950s one of the most impressive nuclear bombers was developed for the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command: the North American XB-70 Valkyrie.

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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…)

The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a highly successful multirole combat jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France. The Mirage 2000 has been in service with the French Air Force ( Armee de l’Air ) since 1984 and eight more countries have Mirage 2000 fighters in service. There is no doubt the Mirage 2000 is an elegant airplane, with the delta wing configuration and lack of tail planes. Among other things the Mirage 2000 was the first aerodynamically unstable fighter jet with full fly-by-wire and a couple of years ago reached movie stardom level in the French production ” Les Chevaliers du Ciel” ( Knights of the Sky ) aka ” Skyfighters”. (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…)

The Denel AH-2 Rooivalk is a modern attack helicopter manufactured in South Africa by Denel Aerospace Systems, a division of Denel Ltd. 12 of these helicopters were ordered by the South African Air Force. The first helicopter entered service with the South African Air Force in 1999 and by April 2005 only six Rooivalk were operational as part of the 16 Squadron, which is based at AFB Bloemspruit near Bloemfontein.

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The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is the first new-generation multi-role/swing-role fighter to enter service worldwide and combines high performance, outstanding maneuverability and fully integrated information and weapons systems for all air combat situations.
Offering an unrivaled mix of simplicity and sophistication to defeat all present and future threats, it is the world’s most capable and cost-effective combat aircraft in operation today. (Read more…)

Here are two episodes from the History Channel’s Dogfights series: “Dogfights of the Middle East” and “Desert Aces” . Interviews with the pilots are mixed with excellent graphics and analysis that take you closer than ever before to the great air battles of the modern jet age.

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The Tiger/Tigre is a new attack helicopter manufactured by the Eurocopter Group, the global manufacturing and support company formed in 1992 from the merger of Aerospatiale of France and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG or DASA of Germany. The advanced multi-role battlefield helicopter is known as Tiger in Germany and Tigre in France and Spain but it is also designated EC 665 or PAH-2.
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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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Another dogfight between Turkish Air Force and Hellenic Air Force this time from the TUAF pilot’s perspective. A TUAF F-16 Falcon engages a HAF Mirage over the Aegean Sea. HUD footage is combined with a few outside views. Videos like this are quite common, since both sides often engage in aerial combat over the Aegean.

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HUD image from a Hellenic Air Force (HAF) Mirage 2000 fighter engaged in a dogfight with a Turkish Air Force (TUAF) F-16 Falcon fighter. This happened probably over the Aegean Sea, where pilots from both HAF and TUAF engage in simulated aerial combat. This is an excellent video, because it gives us an idea of what the pilot of the aircraft sees during combat.

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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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