US Air Force Archives

Aerospace & Defense

The A-10 Warthog Was Designed to Destroy Soviet Tanks in the Fulda Gap With a 30mm GAU-8 Cannon. In the Iran War It Used That Same Gun Against Drones and Missiles Over the Gulf, and in April 2026 the Air Force Reversed Its Early Phase-Out and Kept 3 Squadrons Until 2030.

The Air Force has wanted this aircraft dead for over a decade. Then it spent a war shooting down drones with a gun built...

Brandon WeichertSeptember 13, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

“It Can’t Fire a Gun and Doesn’t Carry a Bomb.” That Was the Air Force Chief of Staff on the SR-71 Blackbird, an Aircraft With 17,300 Sorties and Zero Losses to Enemy Fire.

Across its life the SR-71 Blackbird program flew 53,490 hours over 17,300 sorties, including 11,675 hours above Mach 3 — a record of production...

Harry J. KazianisSeptember 13, 2026

A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit "Stealth" bomber, 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., flies over the Pacific Ocean after a recent aerial refueling mission, May 2, 2005. The Bombers are deployed to Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, as part of a rotation that has provided the U.S. Pacific Command a continous bomber presence in the Asian Pacific region since February 2004, enhancing regional security and the U.S. commitment to the Western Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo) (Released)

Aerospace & Defense

The Pentagon Cut the B-2 Bomber Program From $75,400,000,000 to $61,100,000,000 and Made Every Aircraft More Expensive. Cutting the Order From 132 to 21 Nearly Quadrupled the Cost per Bomber.

What the money bought when it came to the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber: Four General Electric F118s at 17,300 pounds of thrust each, a...

Brandon WeichertSeptember 13, 2026

SR-71 Blackbird High in the Sky USAF Photo

Aerospace & Defense

A US Air Force Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird Flew More Than 15,000 Miles in 10 Hours and 30 Minutes With 5 Aerial Refueling. The Limit Was Not Fuel, Not the Engines, and Not the Crew. It Was 212 Liters of Liquid Nitrogen.

The SR-71 Blackbird carried two consumables that each capped the mission. Liquid nitrogen in Dewar flasks in the nose wheel well, and triethylborane —...

Harry J. KazianisSeptember 13, 2026

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor assigned to the 525th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, takes off at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Aug. 9, 2021. Approximately 800 Airmen and 35 aircraft participated in Pacific Air Forces’ Dynamic Force Employment operation in Guam and Tinian. The operation focused on projecting forces into the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility in support of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, calling on the military to be a more lethal, adaptive and resilient force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Richard P. Ebensberger)

Aerospace & Defense

A Boeing KC-46 Pegasus Boom Jammed in the Receptacle of an F-22 Raptor 100 Miles Off Virginia on July 8, 2025, Struck the Tanker After the Aircraft Separated, and Broke Off Into the Atlantic. The Air Force Put the Damage at $9,980,000.

On May 12 the Air Force and Boeing announced a readiness plan with an unusual first item: five early-production KC-46s that were not due...

Jack BuckbySeptember 13, 2026

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 Shut.

For the SR-71 Blackbird, Corning spent years and millions developing solid quartz windows because ordinary glass would have distorted. The wing skin was deliberately...

Harry J. KazianisSeptember 13, 2026

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor, assigned to the F-22 Demonstration Team, executes precision aerial maneuvers during a practice airshow at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Dec. 5, 2024. The practice session helps ensure the team maintains peak performance and readiness during the off-season. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Nicholas Rupiper)

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighter Holds Speeds Above Mach 1.5 Without Ever Lighting an Afterburner. Its 2 Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 Engines Make About 35,000 Pounds of Thrust Each, and the Fleet Just Passed 1,000,000 Flight Hours on an Engine Last Built in 2013.

Supercruise is not just engine power. The F-22 carries its weapons internally rather than hung under the wings, so nothing is sitting in the...

Jack BuckbySeptember 12, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Over 4,000 Missiles Failed to Hit a Single US Air Force Mach 3.2 SR-71 Blackbird. Speed Was the Only Way to Survive as It Had No Weapons to Fire Back

The SR-71 Blackbird did not dodge missiles so much as it made the intercept mathematically unaffordable, arriving and departing faster than the defense could...

Harry J. KazianisSeptember 12, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The Mach 3 US 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.

No tanker on earth could carry JP-7, so the Air Force built one for the SR-71 Blackbird. The KC-135Q had isolated tanks and separate...

Harry J. KazianisSeptember 12, 2026

F-15J Fighter from Japan Creative Commons Image

Aerospace & Defense

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

Denied the AN/ALQ-135 jammer, Japan fitted its own J/ALQ-8. Denied the AN/ALR-56, it built the J/APR-4. It even developed its own tactical data link...

Steve BalestrieriSeptember 12, 2026

19FortyFive

All posts tagged "US Air Force"

Aerospace & Defense

The A-10 Warthog Was Designed to Destroy Soviet Tanks in the Fulda Gap With a 30mm GAU-8 Cannon. In the Iran War It Used That Same Gun Against Drones and Missiles Over the Gulf, and in April 2026 the Air Force Reversed Its Early Phase-Out and Kept 3 Squadrons Until 2030.

Aerospace & Defense

“It Can’t Fire a Gun and Doesn’t Carry a Bomb.” That Was the Air Force Chief of Staff on the SR-71 Blackbird, an Aircraft With 17,300 Sorties and Zero Losses to Enemy Fire.

Aerospace & Defense

The Pentagon Cut the B-2 Bomber Program From $75,400,000,000 to $61,100,000,000 and Made Every Aircraft More Expensive. Cutting the Order From 132 to 21 Nearly Quadrupled the Cost per Bomber.

Aerospace & Defense

A US Air Force Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird Flew More Than 15,000 Miles in 10 Hours and 30 Minutes With 5 Aerial Refueling. The Limit Was Not Fuel, Not the Engines, and Not the Crew. It Was 212 Liters of Liquid Nitrogen.

Aerospace & Defense

A Boeing KC-46 Pegasus Boom Jammed in the Receptacle of an F-22 Raptor 100 Miles Off Virginia on July 8, 2025, Struck the Tanker After the Aircraft Separated, and Broke Off Into the Atlantic. The Air Force Put the Damage at $9,980,000.

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 Shut.

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighter Holds Speeds Above Mach 1.5 Without Ever Lighting an Afterburner. Its 2 Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 Engines Make About 35,000 Pounds of Thrust Each, and the Fleet Just Passed 1,000,000 Flight Hours on an Engine Last Built in 2013.

Aerospace & Defense

Over 4,000 Missiles Failed to Hit a Single US Air Force Mach 3.2 SR-71 Blackbird. Speed Was the Only Way to Survive as It Had No Weapons to Fire Back

Aerospace & Defense

The Mach 3 US 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

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

Trending

Recent Posts

Archives