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Aerospace & Defense

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Came Back From Every Mission 3 to 4 Inches Longer Than It Took Off. At Mach 3.2 the Titanium Skin Ran Around 620 Degrees Fahrenheit, So Lockheed Built the Panels Loose on Purpose and the Fuel Tanks Leaked on the Ramp Until Heat Swelled the Joints Closed.

At Mach 3.2 in air 70 below zero, the SR-71 Blackbird’s titanium skin averaged 620 degrees and its 107-foot fuselage grew three to four...

Harry J. KazianisOctober 10, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Russia’s Mach 2 Su-57 Felon Stealth Fighter Was Never Built to Fight and Beat the US Air Force F-22 Raptor or the F-35

A former Air Force avionics technician says Russia’s Su-57 Felon would have been revolutionary in 1985. Brandon J. Weichert argues the critics are measuring...

Brandon WeichertOctober 10, 2026

B-21 Raider. Image Credit: U.S. Air Force.

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force’s B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber Is Going to Transform the US Military with a Massive Jump In Production. China and Russia Can’t Match It.

Northrop Grumman has broken ground on roughly 1 million square feet of new B-21 Raider production space at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale,...

Harrison KassOctober 10, 2026

U.S. Air Force Airmen with the 912th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron prepare to recover the second B-21 Raider to arrive for test and evaluation at Edwards AFB, Calif., Sept. 11, 2025. The arrival of a second test aircraft provides maintainers valuable hands-on experience with tools, data and processes that will support future operational squadrons. (U.S Air Force photo by Kyle Brasier)

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Wants 100 Northrop Grumman B-21 Raiders at $700 Million Each. It Probably Needs 300 Stealth Bombers

Northrop Grumman and the Air Force are adding 1 million square feet and a new final assembly line to the B-21 Raider complex at...

Brandon WeichertOctober 9, 2026

U.S. Air Force pilot Maj. Brian 'Brass' Burke, 104th Fighter Wing unit conversion officer, flies an F-35A Lightning II over Barnes Air National Guard Base at exactly 1:04PM EST, officially marking the historic first arrival of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft to the Wing, June 11, 2026.

Aerospace & Defense

‘Saturation Strike’: F-16 Fighters Used Swarm Tactics to ‘Destroy’ A US Air Force F-35 Stealth In a Dogfighting Drill

The F-35 reportedly posted a 20-to-1 kill ratio at Red Flag 2017, killing aggressors before they knew they were targets. But F-16 pilots found...

Harrison KassOctober 9, 2026

SR-71 Blackbird Above the Earth Creative Commons Artist Image

Aerospace & Defense

Air Force Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird’s Pratt & Whitney J58 Engines Ran at Full Afterburner for Hours at a Time With Exhaust Temperatures Near 3,400 Degrees. At Mach 3.2 Cruise, Roughly 80 Percent of the Thrust Came From the Inlet, Not the Engine.

The SR-71 Blackbird’s shape gets the credit, but its two Pratt & Whitney J58 engines did the work: a compressor bleed-bypass that turned a...

Steve BalestrieriOctober 9, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

On October 3, 1967 Pete Knight Flew the X-15A2 at 4,520 Miles an Hour — Mach 6.7. Nearly 60 Years Later That Is Still the Fastest Any Winged Aircraft Has Ever Flown With a Human Being Inside.

A B-52 carried him to 45,000 feet and let go. Sixty seconds of rocket burn emptied 15,400 pounds from the drop tanks, Knight jettisoned...

Sean SpoontsOctober 9, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The Mach 3 US Air Force SR-71 Blackbird at the Smithsonian Still Leaks JP-7 Fuel on the Museum Floor

The SR-71 Blackbird leaked JP-7 on the runway by design, and the one at the Smithsonian still does. But pilot Col. Richard Graham says...

Steve BalestrieriOctober 9, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The Mach 3 Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Ran on a Fuel So Stable You Could Put Out a Match in It. Then They Had to Invent a Way to Light It.

Shell built JP-7 for the SR-71 with a 140-degree flash point so 80,000 pounds of it could sit in uninsulated tanks at Mach 3.2...

Harry J. KazianisOctober 9, 2026

A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 115th Fighter Wing, Wisconsin Air National Guard is parked on the ramp at sunrise during the 115th FW 2026 Combat Readiness Exercise, Operation Iron Orchid, at Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, June 26, 2026. Operation Iron Orchid is designed to assess and reinforce the wing’s ability to generate combat capability, sustain operations, protect personnel and resources, respond to evolving conditions, and execute mission-essential tasks in a realistic and challenging environment. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mary Greenwood)

Aerospace & Defense

Canada Signed an Agreement to Buy 88 Lockheed Martin F-35A Fighter Jets Back in January 2023. Nearly 2 Years Into a Review Ordered by Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ottawa Is Committed to Only 16 of Them.

Months after Mark Carney ordered a review of Canada’s 88 F-35As, there is still no decision and no deadline. Ottawa is committed to just...

Jack BuckbyOctober 9, 2026

19FortyFive

All posts tagged "Air Force"

Aerospace & Defense

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Came Back From Every Mission 3 to 4 Inches Longer Than It Took Off. At Mach 3.2 the Titanium Skin Ran Around 620 Degrees Fahrenheit, So Lockheed Built the Panels Loose on Purpose and the Fuel Tanks Leaked on the Ramp Until Heat Swelled the Joints Closed.

Aerospace & Defense

Russia’s Mach 2 Su-57 Felon Stealth Fighter Was Never Built to Fight and Beat the US Air Force F-22 Raptor or the F-35

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force’s B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber Is Going to Transform the US Military with a Massive Jump In Production. China and Russia Can’t Match It.

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Wants 100 Northrop Grumman B-21 Raiders at $700 Million Each. It Probably Needs 300 Stealth Bombers

Aerospace & Defense

‘Saturation Strike’: F-16 Fighters Used Swarm Tactics to ‘Destroy’ A US Air Force F-35 Stealth In a Dogfighting Drill

Aerospace & Defense

Air Force Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird’s Pratt & Whitney J58 Engines Ran at Full Afterburner for Hours at a Time With Exhaust Temperatures Near 3,400 Degrees. At Mach 3.2 Cruise, Roughly 80 Percent of the Thrust Came From the Inlet, Not the Engine.

Aerospace & Defense

On October 3, 1967 Pete Knight Flew the X-15A2 at 4,520 Miles an Hour — Mach 6.7. Nearly 60 Years Later That Is Still the Fastest Any Winged Aircraft Has Ever Flown With a Human Being Inside.

Aerospace & Defense

The Mach 3 US Air Force SR-71 Blackbird at the Smithsonian Still Leaks JP-7 Fuel on the Museum Floor

Aerospace & Defense

The Mach 3 Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Ran on a Fuel So Stable You Could Put Out a Match in It. Then They Had to Invent a Way to Light It.

Aerospace & Defense

Canada Signed an Agreement to Buy 88 Lockheed Martin F-35A Fighter Jets Back in January 2023. Nearly 2 Years Into a Review Ordered by Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ottawa Is Committed to Only 16 of Them.

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