Air Force Archives

Aerospace & Defense

Forget the Lockheed F-35 Fighter: At 87,000,000,000 Operations Per Second, the US Air Force’s Boeing F-15EX Eagle II Is a Real Flying Supercomputer

The F-15EX Eagle II flies Mach 2.5, faster than the Mach 1.6 F-35 and Mach 2.25 F-22, carries 12 missiles, and runs a processor...

Kris OsbornOctober 9, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

NASA’s X-43A Flew at Mach 9.6 and 110,000 Feet — No Air-Breathing Aircraft Has Gone Faster in the 22 Years Since

NASA’s 12-foot, 3,300-pound X-43A dropped from a B-52, rode a Pegasus booster, lit a scramjet, and hit Mach 9.64 at 110,000 feet on November...

Steve BalestrieriOctober 9, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Lost Both Engines at 83,000 Feet Over Russia and Went Into Freefall. The Crew Almost Didn’t Make It Back.

In 1984, SR-71 tail 61-7974 suffered a violent unstart at 83,000 feet and Mach 3 near the Kola Peninsula. The pilot shut down the...

Jack BuckbyOctober 9, 2026

Chinese J-20 Stealth Fighter. Image Credit: Chinese Internet.

Aerospace & Defense

China’s J-20 And J-35A Fighters Don’t Have To Beat US Military F-22 Raptors And F-35s. Beijing Is Building Enough That They Don’t Need To

America built 187 F-22 Raptors and shut the line in 2011. Satellite imagery suggests Chengdu alone builds 100 to 120 J-20s a year, matching...

Harry J. KazianisOctober 8, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

America Did Not Have Enough High-Grade Titanium to Build the USAF SR-71 Blackbird, So the CIA Bought It From the Soviet Union Through Shell Companies in Neutral Countries. The Airframe Was 85 to 90 Percent Titanium, and Much of the Ore Came Out of Soviet Ukraine.

To survive 1,000-degree leading edges at Mach 3.2, the SR-71 Blackbird had to be about 90 percent titanium, and the world’s dominant supplier was...

Harry J. KazianisOctober 8, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Boeing Spent $67,000,000 of Its Own Cash Building YF-118G Bird of Prey Stealth Aircraft. It Flew 38 Times on Landing Gear From a Beech King Air and an Ejection Seat From a Harrier.

The YF-118G Bird of Prey was a stealth jet built at Area 51 from spare parts: King Air landing gear, a Harrier ejection seat,...

Steve BalestrieriOctober 8, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

An Air Force B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber Fired a Stealth Anti-Ship Missile at the USS Juneau, an Amphibious Ship Commissioned in 1969 and Left in Mothballs for 18 Years. It Still Took 2 Harpoons, a Japanese Torpedo, a Hellfire, and 2 More Missiles to Put Her Under.

A B-2 Spirit carried an LRASM from Whiteman to Guam and, on June 27, 2026, fired it from inside its bomb bay at USS...

Steve BalestrieriOctober 8, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Like ‘Time Travel’: Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Pilot Recalls Flying So Fast He Landed at Beale AFB Almost Day Before Taking off From Kadena AB

SR-71 pilot David Peters took off from Kadena at 10 a.m. Saturday, swept the Korean DMZ and Kamchatka, tanked twice, and sat down at...

Caleb LarsonOctober 8, 2026

F-15J Fighter from Japan Creative Commons Image

Aerospace & Defense

Japan’s Fast Mach 2.5 F-15J Fighter Won’t Ever Fly for the Air Force As It Was Custom Built for Tokyo

The first F-15J rolled out in St. Louis on June 4, 1980, with its nuclear wiring removed and American jammers withheld. Mitsubishi built the...

Steve BalestrieriOctober 8, 2026

U.S. Air Force Capt. Nick “Laz” Le Tourneau, pilot and commander of the F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team, performs for the 2026 Cleveland National Air Show in Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 6, 2026. Le Tourneau showcased the aircraft’s performance capabilities through a series of planned maneuvers designed to highlight its speed, agility and operational employment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren Diaz)

Aerospace & Defense

The Air Force F-22 Raptor Has a Combat Range of About 590 Nautical Miles. China’s J-20 Is Estimated at Around 1,100. New Stealth Fuel Tanks Take the Raptor to 850.

A clean F-22 Raptor has a combat range of about 590 nautical miles, less than the Su-57's 670 or the J-20's 1,100, and it...

Isaac SeitzOctober 8, 2026

19FortyFive

All posts tagged "Air Force"

Aerospace & Defense

Forget the Lockheed F-35 Fighter: At 87,000,000,000 Operations Per Second, the US Air Force’s Boeing F-15EX Eagle II Is a Real Flying Supercomputer

Aerospace & Defense

NASA’s X-43A Flew at Mach 9.6 and 110,000 Feet — No Air-Breathing Aircraft Has Gone Faster in the 22 Years Since

Aerospace & Defense

Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Lost Both Engines at 83,000 Feet Over Russia and Went Into Freefall. The Crew Almost Didn’t Make It Back.

Aerospace & Defense

China’s J-20 And J-35A Fighters Don’t Have To Beat US Military F-22 Raptors And F-35s. Beijing Is Building Enough That They Don’t Need To

Aerospace & Defense

America Did Not Have Enough High-Grade Titanium to Build the USAF SR-71 Blackbird, So the CIA Bought It From the Soviet Union Through Shell Companies in Neutral Countries. The Airframe Was 85 to 90 Percent Titanium, and Much of the Ore Came Out of Soviet Ukraine.

Aerospace & Defense

Boeing Spent $67,000,000 of Its Own Cash Building YF-118G Bird of Prey Stealth Aircraft. It Flew 38 Times on Landing Gear From a Beech King Air and an Ejection Seat From a Harrier.

Aerospace & Defense

An Air Force B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber Fired a Stealth Anti-Ship Missile at the USS Juneau, an Amphibious Ship Commissioned in 1969 and Left in Mothballs for 18 Years. It Still Took 2 Harpoons, a Japanese Torpedo, a Hellfire, and 2 More Missiles to Put Her Under.

Aerospace & Defense

Like ‘Time Travel’: Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Pilot Recalls Flying So Fast He Landed at Beale AFB Almost Day Before Taking off From Kadena AB

Aerospace & Defense

Japan’s Fast Mach 2.5 F-15J Fighter Won’t Ever Fly for the Air Force As It Was Custom Built for Tokyo

Aerospace & Defense

The Air Force F-22 Raptor Has a Combat Range of About 590 Nautical Miles. China’s J-20 Is Estimated at Around 1,100. New Stealth Fuel Tanks Take the Raptor to 850.

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