Military Heat

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.

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On August 17 2007 two Eurofighter Typhoons from the Royal Air Force Number XI Squadron intercepted a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 Bear-H that approached British airspace. On March 29, 2007, Number XI Squadron of the Royal Air Force stood up as a Typhoon Squadron. The two Typhoons were delivered just eight days before the incident, on August 9, 2007.
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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.
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In 1996 a new advanced jet trainer flew for the first time over the Russian skies. Designed to replace the Let L-29 and L-39, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG AT is part of a new generation of aircraft that will enter service with the Russian Air Force. Mikoyan hopes to receive orders for about 1,200 aircraft but up until now only 20 have been built.

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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.

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There is a saying: “If it’s ugly, it’s British; if it’s weird, it’s French; and if it’s ugly and weird, it’s Russian.” On October 18, 1966, the KM Ekranoplan, Russian for Wing-In-Ground effect vehicle ( WIG) flew for the first time. Larger than any other flying craft at the time, the Ekranoplan was nicknamed the Caspian Sea Monster. (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.
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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…)

First developed by the Russians, plasma stealth technology is also known as “Active Stealth Technology”. Plasma stealth is a proposed process that uses ionized gas (plasma) to reduce the radar cross section (RCS) of an aircraft. A plasma stream is injected in front of the aircraft covering the entire body of the aircraft and absorbing most of the electromagnetic energy of the radar waves, thus making the aircraft difficult to detect. (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.

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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 heaviest combat aircraft ever to be built, the Tupolev TU-160 (NATO codename Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable geometry heavy bomber designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau.

Due to the antiflash white finish and excellent maneuverability the TU-160 was nicknamed by its pilots the White Swan.There are currently 14 White Swans in service with the Russian Air Force.

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Formerly known as the Future Large Aircraft the Airbus A400M is the next generation tactical transport aircraft.Designed to meet the requirements of European NATO nations for a cost effective high speed turboprop the A400M will fill the gap between the C-130 Hercules and the larger C-17 Globemaster.

On August 28 2007 assembly of the first production Airbus A400M was started in Seville. (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.

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Last week the Iranian Air Force successfully tested the new Saeqeh fighter.On September 20 two fighter planes from the Azarakhsh (Thunder) fighter generation were successfully tested in Tehran.This new Iranian fighter, named Saeqeh (Thunderbolt) is the second type of Azarakhsh fighters.The Saeqeh is locally built and is based on adaptations of reversed-engineered, modified (twin-tail) American F-5 platforms developed by IRI, the Air Force and Iran’s Defense Ministry.

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