Developed at the end of the 1960s to be the best air superiority fighter in the world, the F-15 proved to be a real MiG Killer during Operation Desert Storm scoring most of the allied aerial victories. 

During the Air War over Iraq the mighty Eagle proved also to be a very robust airframe, bringing back its pilots also after suffering serious damages.

After the first ten days of the first Gulf Air War, to avoid the destruction of their air force, Iraqis flew their aircraft to Iran and to prevent this “exodus” the U.S. Air Force was forced to establish a permanent BARCAP (BARrier Combat Air Patrol) whose aim was to protect the zone between the Iraq and Iran borders, 24 hours in each day of the week.

The task to fly these missions was given to the F-15s flights: each of them was composed by four airplanes which covered a six hour window before being replaced by the following four ship of Eagles.

On Jan. 28, 1991 one of this BARCAP was flown by four F-15s belonging to the “Wolfhounds” of the 32^nd TFS (Tactical Fighter Squadron) from Soesterberg, deployed to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.  Capt. Don “Muddy” Watrous piloted the Eagle number four of the formation. It was in the midst of their air refueling that the AWACS contacted them to tell that four bandits were airborne: the flight completed the refuel and headed towards the enemy aircraft.

As the four ships approached the bandits it became clear that “Muddy” and the number three of the formation, “Bagwan” Baughan were the lead in the engagement: due to “Bagwan” F-15 radar breakdown, the clearance to engage was confirmed to “Muddy”.

So the F-15s approached the bandits, which were flying in a line abreast formation and had entered in the Sparrows shot range:  Watrous locked the nearest and fired its first AIM-7, followed, five seconds later, by another one. But both missiles missed the target.

At this point the F-15s were above the bandits and “Muddy” saw them under its Eagle: he nosed over and simultaneously jettisoned its three tanks still full of fuel: the reduced weight produced a great jolt followed by an instantaneous acceleration at supersonic speed.

Muddy” had also a good tone on its AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, but the other bandits were outside the IR air-to-air missile range, the F-15 was close enough to Iranian border and at Joker (the fuel level that dictates the end of the mission and the beginning of the recovery). So Watrous formed up with “Bagwan” and it was at this point that he noticed something strange at his left wingtip.

The jettison of the three tanks produced the sudden jolt which broke two feet of the left wingtip, leaving the wire of the position light in the air.

The two F-15s moved to the tanker again since they were low on gas and during the air refueling the boomer took a picture of Muddy’s Eagle without the left wingtip.

Once the tanks were full of fuel again, “Muddy” and “Bagwan” were able to safely return to the base, while the other two F-15s ended the BARCAP:  Watrous had to wait several days before its kill was confirmed and the bandit was identified as a MiG-23 Flogger. This delay was due to the fact that during the explosion of the enemy fighter, “Muddy” was alone and separated from the rest of the flight. But the greater surprise came few months later when he received a package with the picture of its Eagle without the wingtip taken by the boomer, as a reminder of a hard workday.

“Muddy” Watrous aerial victory was the only kill for the  “Wolfhounds”  during Desert Storm, their last major deployment, before being disbanded in January 1994.

Thanks to the speed he had achieved “Muddy” was close enough to lock again the nearest bandit and fire the third Sparrow; once again the missile missed the enemy aircraft, so Watrous fired its last AIM-7 and finally the Sparrow hit the bandit which lost its right wing and crashed on the ground inverted, leaving no time to the pilot to start the ejection sequence.

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The U.S. Navy’s next generation submarine hunter isn’t any good yet at hunting enemy submarines, according to recent Defense Department tests first reported on by Bloomberg.

A report filed by Michael Gilmore, chief of the Pentagon testing office, stated that the P-8A Poseidon exhibited flaws in the “plane’s radar performance, sensor integration and data transfer,” according to Bloomberg reporter Tony Capaccio, who received an early version of Gilmore’s report.

The U.S. Navy has spent about $35 billion on the P-8. The reported stated that the aircraft, which was built to replace the P-3 Orion, is not yet deployable, according to Gilmore’s report.

The Navy ran the P-8 through strenuous combat testing from September 2012 to March 2013. Results of those tests led Gilmore to conclude that the P-8 “is not effective for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission and is not effective for wide area anti-submarine search,” according to the Bloomberg report.

U.S. officials outfitted a Boeing 737–800 with sensors capable of tracking submarines to produce the P-8. The Navy expected the P-8 to replace the P-3 and effectively track Chinese submarines.

The Navy plans to buy 113 of the P-8. So far, Boeing has delivered 13 of the aircraft.

Navy leaders told Bloomberg they are aware of the problems discovered in the P-8 and are working on software solutions to those problems.

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On Jan. 21, Dyess Air Force Base, in Texas, saw the arrival of the first operational B-1B Lancer with the Integrated Battle Station upgrade which gave the “Bone” new screens and updated avionics in both the cockpit and battle stations.

The IBS is a package of three different upgrades that, in the words of Brig. Gen. Glen VanHerck, 7th Bomb Wing commander, who spoke at the ceremony held on Jan. 24 to celebrate the arrival of the first “new” plane, “will take [the fleet] to the next generation of long-range strike capability.”

The upgrade is aimed at increasing the situational awareness of the pilots and includes a Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL), a Vertical Situation Display Upgrade (VSDU), and a Central Integrated System  (CITS) upgrade.

Within the VSDU, two unsupportable, monochrome pilot and co-pilot displays were replaced by four multifunctional color displays that provide the pilots more situational awareness data, in a user-friendly format.

The FIDL is a modern data link that allows the B-1 to interconnect and communicate in real-time, with other planes, ground stations, allied units.

The CITS is an upgrade of the old LED display computers used by ground maintainers to identify and troubleshoot system failures.

“Integration into the data link environment and the increased maintainability, as well as the new computers and displays are capable of showing a better picture of the battlespace with more advanced graphics will enable the B-1 to be a force for decades to come,” said Maj. Michael Jungquist, 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron software Block 16 project officer for the Dyess Air Force Base press release.

The IBS upgraded B-1 bombers will not only be based at Dyess. Ellsworth AFB is also scheduled to receive the upgraded aircraft within the upgrade program, which will be completed by 2019.

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At the height of the Cold War, the United States was seriously considering the use of backpack sized nuclear weapons for tactical strikes.

US policy makers, aware of their numerical inferiority compared to the combined military strength of the Warsaw Pact countries, desperately looked for options that would level the playing field while halting a Soviet advance.

D.B. Grady and Adam Rawnsley, writing for Foreign Policy, went through a treasure trove of recently declassified information and revealed the pure insanity of backpack sized nukes.

We have summarized some of the most interesting details from their report:

1. After President Eisenhower, the US embraced the idea of limited nuclear war.

The idea was not to lead to an all out nuclear apocalypse. Instead, "small" weapons, still more powerful than Hiroshima in most cases, were embraced. These weapons would obliterate a battlefield and irradiate much of the surrounding area. 

2. Elite soldiers from the Army, Navy, and Marines were trained to use these nukes in a variety of battlefields.

The battlefronts for the use of these weapons stretched from Eastern Europe to Iran and all the way over to Korea. Backpack nukes were meant to be part of the US military's effort to ensure the containment of communist forces.

3. Many in the defense industry at the time just saw nuclear weapons as larger versions of conventional weapons.

This viewpoint among the Army and defense contractors lead to some particularly strange weapons being deployed in the US arsenal, such as atomic artillery and nuclear-tipped air-defense missiles. No weapon was more ridiculous than the rollout of atomic demolition munitions (ADMs) in 1954. These had the sole goal of nuclear landscaping - creating impassible irradiated landscapes  and craters that would bottleneck enemy soldiers.

4. ADMs were eventually reduced to being backpack sized.

The backpack nuke, the B-54 Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM) - entered into the US arsenal in 1964. The weapon was only 18 inches tall and 12 inches in diameter, yet was as powerful as a thousand tons of TNT.

5. Special Forces units called "Green Light teams" would prep in using SADMs for tactical strikes behind enemy lines.

The use of SADMs was green lighted by the US military for use both within and outside NATO countries. In the case of an enemy advance, SADMs would be set off to destroy key infrastructure preventing the Soviets from acquiring it. Greenlight teams were also prepared to use SADMs to destroy installations in Warsaw Pact countries, including enemy bunkers, rail lines, and anti-aircraft grid locations.

6. These Green Light teams were trained to deploy the bomb in all situations.

Teams received training in parachuting, scuba diving, and in some cases even skiing with the SADM. SADMs were specially designed so that they could be submerged in up to 200 feet of water without suffering damage.

7. Teams had to be ready to destroy the bomb in case of detection.

In case a Green Light team was to be captured by enemy forces, they also had to carry with them enough conventional explosives to destroy the nuclear weapon. This explosion would scatter nuclear waste, but would not result in a detonation.

8. Some Green Light team instructors would insist their team had to stay within visual range of the detonation to ensure success.

All SADMs were built with a minimum of electronic components, to ensure they would still function in the event of an electromagnetic pulse. Due to this, all devices relied on mechanical timers for their detonators, which were inherently unreliable. These timers could vary by going off as much as eight minutes early or 13 minutes late.

9. Every team knew that their mission was likely suicidal.

To pull off a successful SADM strike, Green Light teams would have to infiltrate enemy lines, sneak up on an enemy location while carrying an unwieldy nuclear weapon, set it, wait for it to explode, and then escape back to a friendly NATO nation while WW III likely raged all around them.

The idea that the world came this close to the use of nuclear weapons on battlefields across the world is entirely unreal. At least we can all be thankful that cooler heads prevailed, and that this project was ultimately scrapped.

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In an interesting, open, and somehow surprising interview given to the Air Force Times, the Chief of the U.S. Air Force, Air Command Command Gen. Michael Hostage, explained the hard choices made by the Air Force as a consequence of budget cuts. He also highlighted the concerns for the future of the F-35.

First of all, forget any chance that the A-10 will continue. According to Hostage, one of the few ways to soften the budget cuts is to retire an entire weapons system. And, even though the Warthog “can still get the job done," the plane does not seem to be the weapon of choice in future conflicts, since the A-1o would be "totally useless." Obviously, the less drastic solution of keeping half of the A-10 fleet in active service is not viable as it would still require much of the costly support infrastructures the whole fleet needs.

Another problem is in the Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) domain. Politics urge the Air Force to keep buying Global Hawks, and the Air Force can’t afford both the U-2 Dragon Lady and the Global Hawk. That’s why the ACC Commander “will likely have to give up the U-2″ and spend a substantial amount to try to get the large Northrop Grumman drone do the same things the U-2 has done for decades.

Dealing with the controversial Joint Strike Fighter, Hostage says he is “going to fight to the death to protect the F-35.″ The only way to keep up with adversaries, who “are building fleets that will overmatch our legacy fleet,” is by employing a sufficient fleet of 1,763 (“not one less”) F-35s. You can update and upgrade the F-15 and F-16 fleets, but they would still become obsolete within the next decade.

But, the F-22 Raptor will have to support the F-35. And here comes another problem. When the Raptor was produced it was flying “with computers that were already so out of date you would not find them in a kid’s game console in somebody’s home gaming system.” Still, the U.S. Air Force was forced to use the stealth fighter plane as it was, because that was the way the specs were written. But now, the F-22 must be upgraded through a costly service life extension plan and modernisation program.

“If I do not keep that F-22 fleet viable, the F-35 fleet frankly will be irrelevant. The F-35 is not built as an air superiority platform. It needs the F-22,” Hostage told the Air Force Times.

No doubt the F-35 will be, when available, a very capable aircraft: Its stealth design, extended range, internal carriage of stores, and a variety of integrated sensors are the ingredients for success in modern air-to-ground operations.

When time comes for air dominance, however, some other ingredients like thrust to weight ratio and wing loading tend to regulate the sky. And in that, only an F-22, which has very similar values, comes close to a dogfighter like the Eurofighter Typhoon.

SEE ALSO: Iranian Air Force Chasing UFOs Discovered An Unknown Type Of Drone

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Even if some types are missing, the photograph is still very interesting. If you wondered how the size of a J-10 compared to that of a J-8II, this photographs gives a hint.

By the way, since the Chinese site where the image was posted from focuses on scale models, photoshop compositions, etc., we can’t be sure whether the image is genuine or if it is simply a diorama.

From left to right you can ID: Shenyang J-11, Chengdu J-10, Shenyang J-8II, Shenyang J-8, Chengdu J-7, Shenyang J-6, Shenyang JJ-2. Front row: Xian JH-7A, Nanchang A5.

If you are interested in Chinese aircraft, Modern Chinese Warplanes written by Andreas Rupprecht and Tom Cooper, published by Harpia, is the book for you.

The paperback volume, sporting 256 pages, 274 color photos, 12 maps and 60 color drawings, accurately portrays China’s current military planes, their weapons, and their markings and serial number systems. The book is the ideal starting point if you want to study Beijing’s air power.

SEE ALSO: AIR FORCE: 'If We Don’t Keep The F-22 Raptor Viable, The F-35 Fleet Will Be Irrelevant'

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A contract posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website Feb. 4 has called for competing bids on 75 breast implants of various sizes, to be delivered to the medical center on Andrews Air Force Base. All jokes aside about ordering an odd number, the military needs a few fake boobs from time to time.

There are two main reasons:

1. Reconstructive surgery with regard to combat injuries or illness.

2. Surgeons regularly need to perform certain types of surgery to maintain their certifications.

Because of the certification requirements, service members can get on waiting lists for elective surgery at their base, but their insurance would not cover the operation. Tricare, the medical insurance provider for the Department of Defense, has a complicated little calculator the determines the price of these surgeries.

Chances are these surgeries could be cheaper than those on the private side, but they could also be riskier.

First of all, surgeons on the military base probably don't do a lot of breast implants. Second of all, the contract for such a cosmetic surgery stipulates (of course) that DoD is not responsible for any follow-up treatment.

It's also easier to sue a private surgeon than it is the Pentagon.

Service members have also been known to get elective surgery — like eyesight correction — as a re-enlistment stipulation.

But that was back in feast time for the services, when bonuses were plentiful and the money was rolling. Now, facing famine and downsizing, many in uniform would consider the opportunity to stay in the service as bonus enough.

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In 2012 the 128th Air Refueling Wing of the Air National Guardpublished an old press release, dated around 1968 touting the latest addition to their unit - a KC-97 flight simulator!

The simulator came from the 116th Military Airlift Group, basd out of Dobbins, Georgia, that was converting from C-97Fs to C-124Cs and did not need the old Stratotanker simulator.

This behemoth simulator, built in 1953, was one of only eleven ever made. Prior to the 116th using it, it was training pilots at Randolph AFB, Texas. It also spent time at another air base in Florida. Weighing in at nine tons and costing $850,000, the simulator took three techs to maintain and to program the analog computers for each training session.  The KC-97 simulator had 604 tubes, 117 motor-driven resistors, and 200 resistance cards to feed data into four computer racks. The press release states that the “power equipment around the device generates enough heat each hour to warm two small homes”.

These simulators were able to replicate normal flight and emergency situations like engine fires/failures, loss of altitude, and wind buffering.  Before receiving the simulator, the 128th had to send their pilots out of state for training.  Having a simulator on base saved time and money for the Air Guard unit.

The 128th ARW flew KC-97s up until around 1977 when they were converted to KC-135As. In the early 90s their fleet of 135A’s were upgraded to the current airframe, KC-135Rs. The 128th still has a dedicated training simulator located on base, though now it is an all digital, full motion KC-135R simulator made by Boeing.

SEE ALSO: Watch A Crowd Of Angry Afghans Stone The Wreckage Of A Predator Drone

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The U.S. Department of Defense just shared an out-of-this-world photo on Twitter.

This is what refueling tanker operators see when they go to the pump and take part in refueling missions.

The plane refueling is an F-35 Lightning, developed by Lockheed Martin. The F-35 is a multirole fighter, combining advanced stealth ability with the speed and agility of a fighter.

Aerial refueling allows pilots to stay in the air longer before landing. It also has the added benefit of allowing a plane to take off with a heavier than usual payload since it's tanks can always be topped off in-air.

SEE ALSO: This Is How The Air Force Doubles The Combat Range Of Its Fighter Jets

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In 1988 a naval aviator performed a remarkable flyby with his F-14 Tomcat

The stunning image in this post will probably remind our readers of the famous scene in Top Gun, when Maverick buzzes the tower with his F-14 Tomcat during a high speed flyby:

Maverick: “Tower, this is Ghostrider requesting a flyby.”
Tower: “Negative Ghostrider, the pattern is full.”
Goose: “No no, Mav this is not a good idea.”
Maverick: “Sorry Goose, but it’s time to buzz the tower.”

But the true story behind the picture above is quite different. In fact this photo was taken on the 1988 Dependents’ Day Cruise of the USS America (CV-66). The F-14 Tomcat driver who performed this incredible super low, super close pass is Dale “Snort” Snodgrass, a pilot who has become synonymous with Tomcat.

Born and raised at Long Island, Dale’s dad was a test pilot and, as explained in his memoir Grumman F-14 Tomcat Bye-bye, Baby…!,“Snort” set a new standard within the naval aviation program becoming the first flight school graduate to be selected for the newly formed F-14 pipeline.

“I was the first ensign to complete day/night Tomcat quals, right out of flight school. I was rewarded with the privilege of picking up a brand-new Tomcat at the factory for delivery to the west coast. To make the flight truly historic we stuck another ensign in the RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) seat.”

Before arriving to the Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, Dale and his RIO made a fuel stop at Luke Air Force Base (AFB):

We’d let the Air Force get a close-up look at the Tom. We were the first F-14 ever seen at that huge base. A general came to greet us at the VIP parking ramp. Luke was scheduled to receive its first F-15 Eagles the next day. At that time no one under the rank of O-4 major had flown the Eagle. Let’ em get a load of a real fighter, Navy style! The final flight over to Miramar was short, so we whacked the Air Force a final time with a sunset takeoff. Zone V (which was the maximum afterburner thrust setting for TF-30 engine) burner to 20,000 feet and still over their runways! The departure controller watched in amazement and then asked our aircraft type. My RIO responded, “We’re an Eagle Eater, Baby…!”

In the Navy, Dale amassed more hours in the F-14 than any other pilot, and is considered the “highest time Tomcat pilot”, with over 4,800 hours and more than 1,200 arrested carrier landings and for 14 years he has flown F-14 demos that people still talk about today.

Nowadays “Snort” is still in the air shows circuits and he is qualified in the F-86 Sabre, P-51 Mustang, F4U Corsair, T-6/SNJ Texan, MiG-15, MiG-17 and MiG-21.

About the low pass over the USS America, “Snort”, at the time Executive Officer (XO) of VF-33 Starfighters, released this interview to John Sponauer:

It’s not risky at all with practice… It was my opening pass to a Tomcat tactical demonstration at sea. I started from the starboard rear quarter of the ship, at or slightly below flight deck level. Airspeed was at about 250 knots with the wings swept forward. I selected afterburner at about ½ miles behind and the aircraft accelerated to about 325-330 knots. As I approached the ship, I rolled into an 85 degree angle of bank and did a 2-3 g turn, finishing about 10 – 20 degrees off of the ship’s axis. It was a very dramatic and, in my opinion, a very cool way to start a carrier demo. The photo was taken by an Aviation Boson’s Mate (by an ABE3 who was the petty officer of third class Sean E. Dunn that was in charge in Launching & Recovering Equipment) who worked the flight deck on the USS America. Just as an aside…the individual with his arms behind his back is Admiral Jay Johnson” who became the Chief of Naval Operations for the Navy.

At this point one question may raises in our minds: was the tactical demonstration well performed the day after this training? Take a look at the photo and judge by yourself.

By the way, the image on top is the one of the flyby, the one here below depicts the rehearsal.

SEE ALSO: Israeli Intelligence Would Be Helpless Without Its Squadron Of 'Flying Camels'

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There have been a lot of articles about the famous collision of a B-47 carrying a nuclear bomb, with a F-86 over the skies of Georgia during the late 1950s.

What really happened about 56 years ago, can be found in the book “Boeing B-47 Stratojet: True Stories Of The Cold War In The Air” to which Col. Howard Richardson submitted his first-hand account of that fateful night and its “Broken Arrow” event.

On Feb. 4, 1958, Aircraft Commander Major Howard Richardson, from the 19th Bombardment Wing, took off in a B-47B (S/N 51-2349) from Homestead AFB in Florida for a typical USCM (unit simulated combat mission).  Common in those days, some training missions included the carrying of a nuclear bomb (for safety reasons the detonation cores were not installed during training missions).  

The reason for carrying a nuclear weapon on training missions was to increase the crews training and professionalism by making it as realistic as possible and to stay qualified as combat crews for SAC.  On this particular flight Maj. Richardson, Co-Pilot 1st Lt. Robert Lagerstrom, and Radar-Navigator Capt. Leland Woolard would fly a simulated bombing run on Radford, Virginia while carrying a 7,000 lb. Mk-15 nuclear bomb.

Their training flight would take them all the way north to the Canadian border and then turn south to start the simulated bombing run on Radford.  While over Virginia they were subjugated to “enemy” fighters and practiced using their ECM system.

After they flew their simulated bombing run on Radford, they proceeded southward to “friendly” territory over the Carolinas.  At this point the B-47 was cruising around 39,000 ft, clear skies and leaving contrails.  The crew started noticing F-86’s flying above and below going west then east.

Since they were now in “friendly territory”, they were not too concerned with these “enemy fighters” and ignored them since they were not part of the training mission.  These enemy bandits were F-86’s from the 444th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron out of Charleston AFB.

About 30 minutes after midnight, now Feb. 5, the B-47 was near the border of South Carolina and Georgia when they felt a major jolt along with a bright flash of light to their starboard wing.

The crew saw the #6 engine was hanging from the wing at about a 45 degree angle and the starboard fuel tank was missing. Maj. Richardson started calling a mayday over the radio and Lt. Lagerstrom was able to get in touch with the nearest SAC air base in their area, which was Hunter AFB outside of Savannah, Georgia.  Standard protocol requires that SAC HQ be notified right away of their condition along with Homestead, which the tower at Hunter did.

Maj. Richardson brought the bomber down to 20,000 ft and asked the navigator, Capt. Woodard, to let him know when they would be over a wooded area so that he could jettison the port wing tank.

Once the port wing tank was jettisoned, Richardson lowered the flaps and landing gear and slowed the B-47 to 220 knots to determined how controllable the damaged bomber was.  Richardson, who was also an instructor pilot for the B-47’s had 1,500 hours of flying time, determined that the jet was flyable for approach and landing.

Bringing the flaps and gear back up, they proceeded to Hunter for an emergency landing.  At this time the crew discussed what to do with the Mk-15 on board;  do they jettison it, or try and do an emergency landing with it on board.  SAC tactical doctrine dictated that the safety of the crew is the number one priority.  The decision was mostly made for them when the tower at Hunter told them that the runway was being repaired and that the start of the runway was about a foot higher above the rest of the ground and had not been leveled out yet.

Richardson worrying that if the bomber came in short and hitting the unfinished runway, “the Mk-15 might proceed towards the cockpit like a bullet from the barrel of a gun”. Also, jettisoning the bomb would lighten the plane by 7,600 pounds and would help with airspeed when landing. They notified Hunter tower that they were planning on jettisoning the bomb over water and to contact SAC HQ to get their approval.

They then descended east out towards the Atlantic and made a wide turn back towards the airbase.  They still hadn’t heard back from SAC but decided to jettison the bomb anyway. According to Richardson, right after that they got the approval from SAC. But SAC did request that they release the bomb 20 miles from the shore.  The bomb was unfortunately dropped a lot closer to shore. Richardson replied back to Hunter tower saying that they had already jettisoned the bomb and made sure Capt. Woodard recorded the spot where they had release it.

As Maj. Richardson made his final approach he reduced his airspeed to 220 knots, high for the approach but he was worried about the #6 engine dragging since it was hanging at an angle.

Richardson was hoping that his landing speed would be around 180 knots or less.  Fighting to keep the wings level and the aircraft centered to the runway, Richardson had to reduce his speed even more.  When they touched down on the runway, they were still going too fast and did a skip. Once they came back down they released the brake chute and applied the brakes.

Besides the one skip, Richardson and Lagerstrom were able to land the B-47 with no other problems.  As the crew exited the bomber all three kissed the tarmac.  Reviewing the bomber, they found the right aileron pushed in 20 inches for a length of four feet.  There was a big hole in the vertical stabilizer, in the empty fuel tank, and another hole in the horizontal stabilizer right behind the ECM plates on the right side of the fuselage and the tail turret.  They also found out later that the main spar was broken.

The crew were taken to base operations and given a room in the visitor officer quarters.  When they arrived there, Richardson told the crew to write down everything that they remembered about the collision all the way to the landing.  Richardson was preparing his crew for the grilling that they soon were going to be receiving, based on his past experiences with accident reports.  The crew were soon coming to grips with the knowledge that they would be at Hunter AFB for quite some time, possibly until a Court-Martial was completed.

The grilling would be done by the commander of SAC, General Power, and his staff.  General Power was arriving in a KC-135 from Homestead AFB.

After a few hours of sleep the crew was woken up and told to be ready to brief General Power.  After another review of their notes and another inspection of the damaged B-47, they prepared for the worst.  They proceeded to brief Gen. Power and his staff,  showing on a map where the collision had occurred, their flight path back to Hunter and where they had dropped the Mk. 15. After briefing and answering all the questions, Gen. Power told the B-47 crew to get their gear and board his plane, as he was taking them back to Homestead.

One interesting fact about General Power is that he did his own take offs on his KC-135.  After take off and leveling out the plane for the flight back, Gen. Powers came back to where the crew of the B-47 were sitting.  Not knowing why they were being rushed back on General Power’s personal jet, the B-47 crew were quite nervous when the General approached them.

To their amazement, Gen. Power said he had spoken to General LeMay (who was CINC USAF at the time) and asked for his permission to pin a DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) on Maj. Richardson and commendation medals on copilot 1st Lt. Robert Lagerstrom, and Radar-Navigator Capt. Leland Woolard!

Maj. Richardson was promoted to Lt. Colonel shortly after the incident.  It wasn’t until later that Maj. Richardson found out that it was an F-86 (S/N F-86L-50-NA 52-10108) that collide with his bomber.  Not too much longer after that he was promoted to squadron commander.  He later flew B-52s and after 31years, retired from the Air Force in 1973.

One of his recommendations after the incident was to add anti-collision lights on all military and civilian aircraft.

The pilot who was flying the F-86 was Clarence Stewart and he had ejected after colliding with the bomber.

Unfortunately he was wearing a thin summer jump suit and landed in a big swamp in Georgia.  Luckily, he was found by some locals who brought him into their house and called for help. It took over a month for Mr. Stuart to recover from frostbites and other injures.

To this date the Mk. 15 bomb has never been found and is presumed to be buried deep off the coast of Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia.

SEE ALSO: Iranian Air Force Chasing UFOs Discovered An Unknown Type Of Drone

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F-16s, A-10s, MC-12s, and C-5s deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, work around the clock, ensuring consistent mission success.

Taken in the last few days, the following images show the never ending flying activity of all the U.S. Air Force assets operating within the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing.

Here below, an A-10 Thunderbolt II receives a final check before taking off on a pre-dawn mission from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 11, 2014:

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon receives a final check before taking off on a mission shortly after dawn from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 11:

A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II takes off on a nighttime mission from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 11:

Take off at dawn for an F-16C:

A MC-12W Liberty prepares for another ISR mission:

A C-5B Galaxy is parked on the flight line ramp at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan where it offloaded multiple pallets of cargo and passengers:

SEE ALSO: The 29 Coolest US Air Force Images Of The Year

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The F-35, the latest fighter jet being developed for the U.S. Armed Forces, has hit another potential snag.

This time, it's not questions of the jet's structural integrity or even questions of relevance in combat.

It's the plane's vulnerability to hackers. 

The F-35's helmet displays an augmented reality overview, which is drawn from six cameras across the body of the plane. This enables the pilot to look around the cockpit and, instead of seeing the interior of the plane, see directly through the cameras at the world outside.

This computational capability is all run by a computer system called ALIS.

David Martin, a correspondent for 60 Minutes, reports that ALIS (emphasis ours):

... Looks basically like a laptop computer, and the pilot carries it out to the plane and sticks it in a slot right next to him in the cockpit. That contains all the information about the mission he's gonna fly. The servers which run all of this software take up a room about the size of a shipping container.

This is a juicy, juicy target for a hacker. If your adversary can hack into all that software that's running [the mission], then they've essentially defeated the plane. All without firing a bullet.

So it seems the ALIS has been given too much power over the F-35. For example, ALIS has the ability to ground planes indefinitely if it detects anything wrong with the plane. Human intervention cannot overrule ALIS, either.

If hackers could manage to infiltrate the network that ALIS relies on, it is very possible that they could brick an entire F-35 fleet. This would render the plane, the most expensive weapons system ever, completely useless.

Below is Martin's full story on the possible flaws within the F-35:

SEE ALSO: PENTAGON: The F-35 Program Still Has 'Unacceptable' Problems

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In a story that could come straight out of Total Recall, the Pentagon has started testing the application of running low level electrical currents through soldiers' brains as a replacement for coffee and energy drinks.

The currents, which are targeted to specific areas of the brain, show great potential, although testing has been limited.

Bryan Bender, reporting for the Boston Globe, states:

Early experiments using “noninvasive” brain stimulation have been performed on several dozen volunteers at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The results show the technique improves both alertness and acuity, researchers say.

In one scenario of testing, volunteers — who had been given either caffeine, electrical stimulation, or nothing at all — were kept awake for thirty hours while being tested for wakefulness and vigor.

Those given electrical stimulation reported feeling refreshed at the end of the testing, despite obvious sleep deprivation. Overall, volunteers hooked up to the electrodes performed twice as well as those given nothing.

Surprisingly, volunteers who had been given caffeine performed the worst of all three groups. By the time the 30 hours had passed, the group had "tanked."

As the U.S. military has become increasingly reliant on drone technology, finding ways to keep pilots alert has become an increasingly pressing matter. Soldiers now can spends hours scanning through uneventful data during a drone flight, leading to a very real possibility of critical slips in vigilance.

Bender notes that "monitoring intense streams of data can quickly become so repetitive — especially when there is no action — that attentiveness and recognition can deteriorate in as little as 20 minutes."

Researchers acknowledge that there has been no real testing done to see the potential long-term effects of using electrical stimulation every day.

Plans to test that at Ohio Air Base are underway, though. 

With advances like this, it may not be too far in the future that consumer electric shocks become the next big thing. After all, it's not the first time people have turned to zapping themselves.

SEE ALSO: Scientists Are Experimenting With Brain Electrodes To Treat Anorexia

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This is a composite image, built from 17 photos of the F-35 doing an aileron roll.

The maneuver itself is anything but special. It’s a standard 360-degree roll, that the F-35A AF-1 routinely completes with a full external weapons load (4 x GBU-12s and 2 AIM-9Xs).

Still, the image is spectacular as it shows the whole maneuver in a single composite photo. You can even tell that the Joint Strike Fighter lost some altitude during the roll.

SEE ALSO: The New F-35 Fighter Jet Can Be Taken Down Without A Bullet Ever Being Fired

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This rare photo, published by the Air Force, shows two F-16s landing perfectly in sync on a single runway.

The two F-16s are part of the 35th Fighter Squadron currently based at the Kunsan Air Base in South Korea. As part of readiness training, the pilots faced different training scenarios imagining hostile attacks.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is Lockheed Martin's premier aircraft. Currently 28 nations purchase the plane, with over 4,500 produced to date.

F-16s can break Mach 2, and are capable of sustaining speed at 1,500 miles per hour. They have a range of 1,740 nautical miles and can carry an extensive and varied payload.

SEE ALSO: This Is What It Looks Like When One Of America's Most Epic Submarines Surfaces Through Thick Arctic Ice

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Millions of people were amazed last week by viral video footage of a Boeing 767 passenger jet landing at Britain’s Birmingham International Airport in terrifyingly windy conditions.

The 73-second video was uploaded to YouTube by user FlugSnug and has been viewed 6.7 million times so far. Here it is again:

We asked a pilot from the Royal Australian Air Force to explain what was happening to the jet as it made its landing approach, and also set out what the pilot was doing to put it on the tarmac.

In this case there is wind blowing from left to right as viewed in the footage.

There is significant “baseline” crosswind, with the occasional gust of crosswind higher than the baseline. Crosswind – wind that moves laterally across the airplane – pushes on the vertical tail like a large barn door.

As a result, the nose naturally yaws [twists] into the wind. This is a normal way to fly an aircraft, both in the cruise and in an approach to land.

Just prior to landing, the pilot “kicks” the aircraft straight by using rudder as required to align the fuselage [the body of the plane] – and, most importantly, the landing gear – with the runway.

Simultaneously, aileron [flaps on the wing used to control roll] will be required to prevent the aircraft from being blown off the runway centre-line.

All aircraft have a crosswind limit, partly due to rudder authority. Just like how the steering wheel in a car can only turn so far, the rudder has its limits.

It appears the crosswind must be around, if not above, this limit, meaning that the pilot cannot straighten the aircraft any further.

All aircraft are different and thus have differing limits. As a very rough figure, the crosswind component alone might be around 35 knots or 65km/h in this video, plus any associated head or tail wind adding to the total wind strength.

Also note that once on the runway, the plane weaves a little (the 0:36 and 0:41 mark), suggesting additional gusts beyond the baseline crosswind.

You’ll also notice a high rate of sink 2-3 seconds prior to touchdown (about the 0:27 mark), when the plane suddenly drops. This suggests a gust of tail wind hit, or the head wind has suddenly died down, reducing the amount of lift the wings were producing.

The contributes to the firm touchdown seen a moment later.

Most people who fly frequently will have experienced a landing similar to this, though perhaps not as dramatic. Next time your flight is twisting about on approach, you’ll know what’s going on.

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SEE ALSO: Bhutan's Tiny Himalayan Airport Is One Of The Trickiest Places In The World To Land

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The T-38 Talon Twin-Jet Supersonic Trainer is a vital training tool used by B-2 Spirit stealth bomber pilots.

The image above shows something you don’t see every day: a T-38 Talon and a B-2 Spirit during a training mission over their home base at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, on Feb. 20, 2014. Both planes are part of the 509th Bomb Wing.

The T-38 Talon jets, used to train B-2 Spirit aircrews, are assigned to the 394th Combat Training Squadron. Their role is to provide the 509th Bomb Wing with highly qualified, mission-ready pilots, as well as to implement all B-2 and T-38 formal training courses.

SEE ALSO: Is This China’s New Long Range Strike Stealth Aircraft?

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The A-10 Thunderbolt II, endearingly referred to as the Warthog for its snubbed-nose design, is set for retirement in the 2015 budget as deep cuts to military funding will go into effect.

This planned retirement is deeply unpopular. The Warthog has a tried and true track record of providing close air support to ground troops. Critics of the retirement maintain that the Air Force is simply trying to retire the plane to make way for more exciting, but unproven, future aircraft like the F-35.

The Air Force says it has no choice but to retire the aging plane. It expects that retiring the total fleet of A-10s by 2020 will save an estimated $3.7 billion.

Still, the move is deeply unpopular with both policy-makers and soldiers.

The Warthog was first developed in the early 1970s by Fairchild Aviation with the sole aim of providing close air support against tanks and other armored structures for ground troops.

Central to the A-10's design is the GAU-8 Avenger, a 30 mm rotary cannon, which functions as the plane's main offensive weapon.

The rotary cannon uses depleted uranium rounds due to their extreme effectiveness at tearing through armor. These rounds also self-ignite when exposed to oxygen after hitting a target.

You don’t see photos like this too often.

Most of the images you can find online showing an F-22 stealth fighter firing a missile either depict a Raptor prototype or the air-to-air missile being launched is an AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile).

That’s why the image on top is interesting: shot in 2009, it shows a F-22 Raptor 4007 launching an AIM-9L Sidewinder missile during a test at Edwards AFB, California.

The photo shows the open side bay door that the F-22 Raptors use to launch the AIM-9 Sidewinder into the air.

Although the missile in the picture is an AIM-9L, in the future, U.S. Air Force Raptors should be able to carry the AIM-9X Block II which features the Lock On After Launch capability. This would allow the bay doors to remain open just long enough to fire a missile.

The image below shows an F-22 launching an AIM-9M missile.

Interestingly, the second prototype of China’s J-20 Stealth Jet was spotted testing a missile deployment device on its side weapons bay. This extracts the selected air-to-air missile and then closes the door, helping the plane to avoid detection on enemy radar.

SEE ALSO: This Is What It Looks Like When An F-35A AF-1 Does A 360-Degree Roll [PHOTO]

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