Air Force Archives

Aerospace & Defense

Russia Spent Years Building the MiG 1.44 to Beat the USAF F-22 Raptor — It Flew Once for 18 Minutes in 2000 and Was Mothballed Forever

Mikoyan designed the MiG 1.44 to take on America's Teen Series fighters and answer the F-22, and it chose agility over pure stealth. Big...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 25, 2026

A-10 Warthog at Lakeland Florida 2026 Airshow

Aerospace & Defense

Breaking All the Rules: The US Air Force’s A-10 Warthog Was Circling the Drain But the Iran War Proved It Wasn’t Ready for Retirement Just Yet

Gen. Dan Caine told reporters on March 19 that the Warthog was engaged on the southern flank against fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of...

Jack BuckbySeptember 24, 2026

NORFOLK, Va. (May 16, 2026) USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) returned to Naval Station Norfolk, May 16, 2026, following a historic 11-month deployment to U.S. 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Fleets as part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group. Before returning to Norfolk after 326 days, the Gerald R. Ford crew conducted 23 replenishments-at-sea and sailed over 57,713 nautical miles. Embarked Carrier Air Wing 8 logged more than 5,760 flight hours and 12,200 flight launches. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mike Shen)

Aerospace & Defense

Stealth Surprise at 3600 Degrees: 100,000-Ton Nuclear US Navy Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Is Missing F-35C Fighters

The problem is heat. F-35C exhaust needs jet blast deflectors tougher than the ones installed, plus classified spaces for the aircraft's mission systems —...

Jack BuckbySeptember 24, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Boeing Built Just 1 Stealth YF-118FG ‘Bird of Prey’ for $67,000,000 and Flew It 38 Times at 300 Miles per Hour. It Never Carried a Weapon or a Radar.

In October 2002, Boeing unveiled the YF-118G Bird of Prey, a stealth demonstrator that McDonnell Douglas's Phantom Works began in 1992 and Boeing finished...

Jack BuckbySeptember 24, 2026

A U.S. Air Force F-35 Lighting II from the 62nd Fighter Squadron at Luke AFB, AZ, performs during the Fairchild SkyFest 2024 airshow and open house at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, June 22, 2024. Team Fairchild hosted the Fairchild SkyFest 2024 airshow June 22 and 23 to thank the local community for their support and partnerships. The airshow included the A-10 Thunderbolt II Demonstration team, Wings of Blue parachute team, UH-1N Huey and several other aerial acts and static displays. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Stephanie Orta Carranza)

Aerospace & Defense

The First US Air Force F-35 Stealth Fighters Needed ‘Chilled Fuel’ If Temps On Flight Day Were over 80°F: A Lockheed Martin Flightline Quality Assurance Manager Explained Why

The F-35 dumps heat from its avionics, subsystems, and engine into its own fuel, which works as a giant heat sink. Early test jets...

Georgia GilholySeptember 24, 2026

An F-15EX from the 123rd Fighter Squadron soars through the air at the Oregon International Air Show in McMinnville, Ore., Aug. 16, 2026. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank)

Aerospace & Defense

‘Those Days are Over”: The US Air Force Admits It Must Completely Change How it Fights Thanks to the Iran and Ukraine Wars

The US Air Force is clearly stacked with the best fighters and bombers on Earth like the F-15, F-16, F-22 and F-35. But the...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 24, 2026

An Air Force F-16 Viper taxis just a few hundred feet from the wall of fire at the Fort Worth Alliance Air Show, Oct. 28, 2017 at Fort Worth, Texas. (Courtesy photo by Air Force Viper Demo Team)

Aerospace & Defense

‘I heard a shout and turned round to see an F-16 on fire’: An F-16 Fighter crashed at Nellis and hydrazine from its emergency unit trapped an RAF Vulcan crew inside the bomber

During the last Red Flag to fly an Avro Vulcan, in 1982, a crashing F-16 released hydrazine at Nellis. The RAF crew was ordered...

Shay BottomleySeptember 23, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

An Israeli Air Force F-15D Lost Almost Its Entire Right Wing in a Midair Collision Over the Negev on May 1, 1983. The Pilot Did Not Know It Was Gone. He Landed at About 250 Knots Against a Normal 130, and Only Saw the Damage After He Opened the Canopy.

The A-4 Skyhawk broke apart and its pilot got out. The F-15 pitched down and started rolling, and Nedivi had his hand on the...

Jack BuckbySeptember 23, 2026

U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 67th Fighter Generation Squadron prepare to load munitions onto a U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II assigned to the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, at Kadena Air Base, Japan, July 8, 2026. Airmen from the 67th Fighter Generation Squadron trained alongside the 85th TES gaining hands-on experience loading munitions on the F-15EX Eagle II and F-15E Strike Eagle while supporting test and evaluation operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Gracelyn Hess)

Aerospace & Defense

‘Slow-Motion Defeat’: Iran Found the Weak Spot in U.S. Power, and It Wasn’t Aircraft Carriers or Fighter Jets. It Was the Bases.

Iran mostly didn't go after U.S. aircraft carriers or fighter jets. It went after the bases. Iranian missiles and drones broke through U.S. air...

Robert E. KellySeptember 23, 2026

B-2 Spirit Bomber Destroyed Creative Commons Photo

Aerospace & Defense

Water in three sensors wrecked the B-2 Spirit of Kansas, tail 89-0127, and the US Air Force priced that Guam crash at $1,407,006,920, calling it the most expensive aircraft crash on record, after the bomber rotated too slow at Andersen on February 23, 2008

The B-2 Spirit of Kansas, 89-0127, crashed at Andersen on February 23, 2008, after three wet sensors skewed air data. It rotated near 132...

Georgia GilholySeptember 23, 2026

19FortyFive

All posts tagged "Air Force"

Aerospace & Defense

Russia Spent Years Building the MiG 1.44 to Beat the USAF F-22 Raptor — It Flew Once for 18 Minutes in 2000 and Was Mothballed Forever

Aerospace & Defense

Breaking All the Rules: The US Air Force’s A-10 Warthog Was Circling the Drain But the Iran War Proved It Wasn’t Ready for Retirement Just Yet

Aerospace & Defense

Stealth Surprise at 3600 Degrees: 100,000-Ton Nuclear US Navy Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Is Missing F-35C Fighters

Aerospace & Defense

Boeing Built Just 1 Stealth YF-118FG ‘Bird of Prey’ for $67,000,000 and Flew It 38 Times at 300 Miles per Hour. It Never Carried a Weapon or a Radar.

Aerospace & Defense

The First US Air Force F-35 Stealth Fighters Needed ‘Chilled Fuel’ If Temps On Flight Day Were over 80°F: A Lockheed Martin Flightline Quality Assurance Manager Explained Why

Aerospace & Defense

‘Those Days are Over”: The US Air Force Admits It Must Completely Change How it Fights Thanks to the Iran and Ukraine Wars

Aerospace & Defense

‘I heard a shout and turned round to see an F-16 on fire’: An F-16 Fighter crashed at Nellis and hydrazine from its emergency unit trapped an RAF Vulcan crew inside the bomber

Aerospace & Defense

An Israeli Air Force F-15D Lost Almost Its Entire Right Wing in a Midair Collision Over the Negev on May 1, 1983. The Pilot Did Not Know It Was Gone. He Landed at About 250 Knots Against a Normal 130, and Only Saw the Damage After He Opened the Canopy.

Aerospace & Defense

‘Slow-Motion Defeat’: Iran Found the Weak Spot in U.S. Power, and It Wasn’t Aircraft Carriers or Fighter Jets. It Was the Bases.

Aerospace & Defense

Water in three sensors wrecked the B-2 Spirit of Kansas, tail 89-0127, and the US Air Force priced that Guam crash at $1,407,006,920, calling it the most expensive aircraft crash on record, after the bomber rotated too slow at Andersen on February 23, 2008

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