US Air Force Archives

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Retired the F-117 Nighthawk in 2008 and Never Stopped Flying It. The Service Now Says the Aircraft Will Stay in the Air Until 2034 — 26 Years After Its Own Retirement.

Lockheed built 64 F-117 Nighthawks — 5 development aircraft and 59 production F-117As — in a classified program costing about $6,560,000,000. The Air Force...

Brandon Weichert3 days ago

Aerospace & Defense

Congress Spent $100,000,000 Bringing Just 2 SR-71 Blackbirds Back from Retirement in 1995 and Another $30,000,000 in 1997. By 1998 the Program Was Dead Again.

Across its whole service life the SR-71 Blackbird accumulated 53,490 flight hours, 11,675 of them above Mach 3, over 17,300 sorties. By the late...

Brandon Weichert3 days ago

U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors, E-3 Sentrys, C-17 Globemaster IIIs, C-130J Herculeses and C-12F Hurons participate in a close formation taxi known as an elephant walk at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 5, 2020. This event displayed the ability of the 3rd Wing, 176th Wing and the 477th Fighter Group to maintain constant readiness throughout COVID-19 by Total Force Integration between active-duty, Guard and Reserve units to continue defending the U.S. homeland and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jonathan Valdes Montijo)

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Capped F-22 Raptor Production at 187 Aircraft at About $143,000,000 Each. In November 2009 a French Rafale Costing About 64,000,000 Euros Got Behind 1 and Took the Shot.

The F-22 Raptor was built to kill an enemy fighter before that fighter knew it was there, at roughly $143,000,000 an aircraft. At the...

Brandon Weichert3 days ago

Aerospace & Defense

Northrop Spent More Than $750,000,000 of Its Own Money on the F-20 Tigershark Without a Dollar of Pentagon Funding. It Sold 0 Aircraft and Wrote Off About $1,200,000,000.

Northrop funded the F-20 Tigershark itself — more than $750,000,000 with no Pentagon research money. The aircraft out-turned the F-16 at 13.2 degrees per...

Steve Balestrieri3 days ago

Aerospace & Defense

The Government Accountability Office Reviewed All 13 Programs in the US Air Force’s $21,000,000,000 B-52 Modernization and Found 10 of Them in Trouble. The Engine Replacement Went From $3,000,000,000 to $15,400,000,000.

The Government Accountability Office examined all 13 programs inside the US Air Force's roughly $21,000,000,000 B-52 modernization effort and found 10 of them running...

Caleb Larson3 days ago

Aerospace & Defense

The F-14 Tomcat’s Engine Was Designed in 1958 for a Short-Haul Airliner. The US Navy Put It in a Dogfighter Anyway, and It Took Until 1988 to Put a Proper Fighter Engine In.

The Pratt & Whitney TF30 began in 1958 as a proposal for a short-haul jet airliner. It ended up in the F-14 Tomcat because...

Steve Balestrieri3 days ago

The X-43A was a small experimental research aircraft designed to flight-demonstrate the technology of airframe-integrated supersonic ramjet or "scramjet" propulsion at hypersonic speeds above Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. Its scramjet engine is an air-breathing engine in which the airflow through the engine remains supersonic.

Aerospace & Defense

NASA Spent About $230,000,000 Over 8 Years and Flew the X-43A 3 Times. Its Scramjet Held Mach 9.68 for About 10 Seconds on 16 November 2004, and the Funding Ended Within Weeks — Before the Team Had Published the Results.

On 16 November 2004 a 12-foot NASA research aircraft separated from a booster at almost Mach 10 over the Pacific, lit a hydrogen-fueled scramjet,...

Harry J. Kazianis3 days ago

Aerospace & Defense

The Dassault Rafale Fighter Costs About $16,500 an Hour to Fly and an F-35A Costs About $42,000. The Rafale Is Not Stealthy, and It Is Selling Better Than It Ever Has.

The Rafale entered service in 2001 and by any normal measure should be aging out. Instead it is in the middle of the largest...

Steve Balestrieri4 days ago

U.S. Air Force Capt. Nick “Laz” Le Tourneau, pilot and commander of the F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team, performs an aerial demonstration during the 52nd Annual SUN 'n FUN Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida, April 18, 2026. Capt. Le Tourneau showcased the unmatched capabilities of the F-22 to the SUN ‘n FUN crowds by performing multiple series of combat maneuvers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren Diaz)

Aerospace & Defense

A $68,000,000 US Navy EA-18G Growler Simulated the Shootdown of a $143,000,000 US Air Force F-22 Raptor at Nellis in 2009. The Navy Pilot Painted an F-22 Silhouette on His Cockpit.

The F-22 Raptor was built so that American pilots could kill enemy fighters before those pilots ever saw them, at nearly $143,000,000 per aircraft....

Brandon Weichert4 days ago

Aerospace & Defense

The US Space Force X-37B Spaceplane Is 29 Feet Long, Weighs 11,000 Pounds and Has a Payload Bay 7 Feet Long. Nobody Outside the Program Has Ever Been Told What Goes Inside It.

The X-37B is 29 feet long with a 15-foot wingspan, weighs 11,000 pounds, and has a payload bay about 7 feet long. It launches...

Harrison Kass4 days ago

19FortyFive

All posts tagged "US Air Force"

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Retired the F-117 Nighthawk in 2008 and Never Stopped Flying It. The Service Now Says the Aircraft Will Stay in the Air Until 2034 — 26 Years After Its Own Retirement.

Aerospace & Defense

Congress Spent $100,000,000 Bringing Just 2 SR-71 Blackbirds Back from Retirement in 1995 and Another $30,000,000 in 1997. By 1998 the Program Was Dead Again.

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Capped F-22 Raptor Production at 187 Aircraft at About $143,000,000 Each. In November 2009 a French Rafale Costing About 64,000,000 Euros Got Behind 1 and Took the Shot.

Aerospace & Defense

Northrop Spent More Than $750,000,000 of Its Own Money on the F-20 Tigershark Without a Dollar of Pentagon Funding. It Sold 0 Aircraft and Wrote Off About $1,200,000,000.

Aerospace & Defense

The Government Accountability Office Reviewed All 13 Programs in the US Air Force’s $21,000,000,000 B-52 Modernization and Found 10 of Them in Trouble. The Engine Replacement Went From $3,000,000,000 to $15,400,000,000.

Aerospace & Defense

The F-14 Tomcat’s Engine Was Designed in 1958 for a Short-Haul Airliner. The US Navy Put It in a Dogfighter Anyway, and It Took Until 1988 to Put a Proper Fighter Engine In.

Aerospace & Defense

NASA Spent About $230,000,000 Over 8 Years and Flew the X-43A 3 Times. Its Scramjet Held Mach 9.68 for About 10 Seconds on 16 November 2004, and the Funding Ended Within Weeks — Before the Team Had Published the Results.

Aerospace & Defense

The Dassault Rafale Fighter Costs About $16,500 an Hour to Fly and an F-35A Costs About $42,000. The Rafale Is Not Stealthy, and It Is Selling Better Than It Ever Has.

Aerospace & Defense

A $68,000,000 US Navy EA-18G Growler Simulated the Shootdown of a $143,000,000 US Air Force F-22 Raptor at Nellis in 2009. The Navy Pilot Painted an F-22 Silhouette on His Cockpit.

Aerospace & Defense

The US Space Force X-37B Spaceplane Is 29 Feet Long, Weighs 11,000 Pounds and Has a Payload Bay 7 Feet Long. Nobody Outside the Program Has Ever Been Told What Goes Inside It.

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