Author: trameditor

Should you venture out to one of the airshows periodically held near Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, you may be so fortunate to spot one of the world’s most otherworldly aircraft, the manta-like B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.

The Spirit’s swept wings measure fifty-two meters across—half the length of a football field—and its cockpit bulges organically from the surface like that of a 1950s-era sci-fi spaceship, contrasting dramatically with the jagged near forty-five-degree angles of its trailing edges.

Why does the B-2 look so weird, and how does that help evade radar?

The Spirit was designed late in the Cold War to slip through the Soviet Union’s formidable integrated air defense network combining ground-based radars, surface-to-air missiles and aerial interceptors and radar planes. These had matured to the point that U.S. efforts to develop faster or higher-flying bombers were proving fruitless.

Radars were the lynchpin of any modern air-defense system, so the Pentagon sought a stealth plane with such a minimal radar-cross section that it could only be detected at very short ranges.

The Air Force’s first stealth aircraft, the F-117 Nighthawk, was a promising start, but it could only carry two bombs over nine hundred miles unrefueled—not far enough to deliver a strategic strike deep inside enemy territory.

In the 1930s and 1940s, aviation engineers had experimented with flying wing designs like the Nazi Germany’s Horten Ho 229, and U.S.  XB-35 and YB-49. Flying wings generate additional lift–and coincidentally, are conducive to low radar cross-sections because their flat surfaces minimize opportunities for radar waves to bounce off them.

However, ‘pure’ flying wings lack tail control surfaces, often leading to fatal aerodynamic instability. The B-2’s design came at a turning point when fly-by-wire controls were entering widespread use. These mediate a pilot’s commands through an electronic interface rather than directly via hydraulics, allowing a computer to compensating for unstable flight characteristics. The Spirit’s quadruple-redundant system, for example, manipulates flaps on the wings and engine thrust differentially to perform turns that most aircraft would rely on tail rudders and elevators to perform.

Jet engines are a common weak point in stealth designs, as they feature radar-conspicuous fan blades and generate hot engine exhaust that lights up infrared sensors. To avoid this vulnerability, the Spirit’s intakes are mounted on the top of the wings and funneled air through S-shaped ducts to four F118 turbofans buried deep inside the plane. This configuration dampens both the B-2’s acoustic and infrared-signature. The Spirit furthermore employs secondary inlets that scoop up cold barrier air surrounding the bomber and mix it with the hot exhaust, which is then expelled over a flattened titanium/carbon-fiber surface to further diffuse the heat signature.

Another key aspect of the B-2’s low-observability are Radar Absorbent Materials. The B-2’s skin is already primarily made up mostly of non-conductive carbon-graphite composite mixed with titanium. The most reflective areas, such as the intakes, flaps and leading edges of the wings, are sprayed with additional Radar Absorbent Material coatings, which have been repeatedly tweaked over the years. Furthermore, the skin is coated with an elastomer (an elastic, rubber-like poylmer) meant to ‘smooth away’ seams, screws, or joints between different materials which might create a chink in its stealthy geometry.

Altogether, these features reduce a B-2’s radar cross section to roughly .1 to .05 meters squared. Though most discrete from the front, the B-2 is designed to remain low-observable from all angles as it is intended to penetrate deep into enemy airspace.

Spirits are camouflaged for daytime as well as night strikes with non-reflective dark-grey paint designed to blend in with the sky at distances of twenty-three miles or greater. The B-2 also sports special bays designed to release chemical to obscure contrails, but these were never used operationally. Instead the Spirit has a LIDAR sensor to detect contrails, giving the pilot a chance to change altitude to eliminate them.

The Spirit is designed to fly across the globe while carrying twenty to thirty tons of weapons—but not to do exceptionally quickly. Its turbofans lacks afterburners, which in any case, would cause infrared and even radar signature to bloom. The Spirit’s top speed is 630 miles per hour, which means it is a bit faster than a Jumbo Jet, while its range of five-to-seven thousand miles is usually multiplied by two to four aerial refuelings using a pop-up hatch behind the cockpit.  This has allowed B-2s to fly non-stop missions lasting nearly two days from Whiteman in Missouri to hit targets across the globe.

A Spirit’s cross-trained crew of two—a mission commander and pilot—enter the plane via a hatch in the belly.   The bomber has room for one crew member to nap (in shifts!), as well as a toilet and space to store food and a microwave.  Though Spirits routinely use GPS navigation, they can get along fine if navigation satellites are knocked out by using a star-oriented inertial navigation system, backed up by a terrain-recognition based system.  Satellite-links and very high frequency radio allow the crew to receive mission updates, such as the cancellation of a planned target.

When a B-2 approaches defended airspace, its enter ‘stealth mode,’ retracting antennas, cutting off certain communication links, and even restricting the use of its flaps. If threatened by long-range radars and missiles over a wide area, it may descend to low altitude to reduce detection range, its Terrain Following System allowing the huge bomber to skim as low as two hundred feet above the ground.

Unlike the earlier Nighthawk, the B-2 is equipped with an APQ-181 Low Probability of Intercept Radar that has been updated to an even stealthier Active Electronically Scanned Array model in 2010. Useful for navigation and scanning ground targets, it can also plot the position of hostile fighters and radars. That data is fed to the bomber’s APR-63 Defensive Measures Suite, allowing the mission commander to adjust the pre-programmed flight path to slip in between areas of densest radar coverage and avoid interceptors.

Arguably, the latter pose the greatest threat to a B-2.  Already, low-bandwidth radars may detect the presence—but not the precise location—of stealth aircraft.  Should a hostile fighter close within a few dozen miles, the Spirit would be vulnerable to visual, infrared and even radar detection.  Lacking self-defense weapons or high speed, a B-2’s odds of survival in that scenario would be pretty low.

For its nuclear strike mission—still its most important role today—the B-2 can carry up to sixteen B-61 or megaton-yield B-83 nuclear gravity bombs on the rotary launchers inside its two bomb bays.  A Spirit’s avionics are hardened versus the electromagnetic pulses generated by nuclear blasts, and the pilots are offered creepy white facemasks to shield their eyes from the flash of detonation.

However, the fall of the Soviet Union prompted the Air Force to hastily adapt the B-2 for conventional weapons delivery. An alternate rack system can accommodate up to eighty Mark 82 500-pound bombs, or an equivalent weight in cluster bombs, mines or larger munitions. In the late 1990s, the B-2 was adapted to carry two-thousand-pound JDAM GPS-guided weapons which are accurate within a twenty-foot radius and have served as its primary weapon ever since.

The B-2 is also certified to carry long-range AGM-154 JSOW glide bombs (80 miles) and AGM-158 JASSM stealth cruise missiles (230 to 575 miles) to allow it to deliver standoff attacks without risking getting too close to increasingly powerful modern air defense radars.

Most exotically, the B-2 is uniquely configured to deploy up to two massive thirty-thousand-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, designed to blast apart command bunkers up to sixty-one meters underground—a capability meant to threaten ‘decapitation’ of hostile foreign leaders and destruction subterranean weapons facilities.

The B-2’s ability to deliver such devastating weapons deep within the most well defended airspace makes it a premium, highly specialized war machine without equivalent—at least unless China’ develops a decent H-20 stealth bomber. So far, B-2s have mostly leveraged their range and payload rather than stealth for actual combat operations. Hopefully, the Spirit’s awesome firepower and low-observable characteristics will never be tested in the kinds of high intensity (and likely nuclear) great-power conflict it was designed to fight.

Concorde’s time in the skies may have been fleeting, but it remains an icon of aviation. In tribute to the supersonic plane, here are 40 fascinating facts about Concorde.

1. Concorde’s first successfully completed supersonic flight took place on October 1, 1969. But it wasn’t until January 21, 1976, that the first commercial flights took place. On that day a British Airways Concorde flight flew from London to Bahrain and an Air France Concorde flight flew from Paris to Rio de Janeiro via Dakar.

2. A one-way fare on the inaugural flight from London to Bahrain – shown commencing its journey here – cost £356. At the time flying the route in a conventional first-class service cost £309.50.

3. The aircraft seated 100 passengers: 40 in the front cabin and 60 in the rear cabin.

4. Flights accommodated a crew of nine: two pilots, one flight engineer and a cabin crew of six. This December 1967 picture shows pilots and hostesses that had ordered Concorde, at an official roll-out ceremony.

5. The aircraft was subjected to 5,000 hours of testing before it was first certified for passenger flight. That made it the most tested aircraft ever

6. The first Concorde flight to America was to Dallas Forth Worth on September 20, 1973. It is shown here next to a Boeing 747 (R), directly after landing at the new airport.

7. The quintessential Concorde route, between London and New York, was inaugurated on November 22, 1977. The aircraft is shown here touching down in New York in that year.

8. A typical London to New York crossing would take a little less than three and a half hours. That compared to eight hours for a subsonic flight.

9. Concorde still holds the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a civil aircraft. The quickest Concorde flight from New York to London, on February 7 1996, took just two hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.

10. Concorde fares between London and New York cost over £1,000 by the 1980s. But canny passengers could save hundreds of pounds by flying the route as a courier and personally delivering sensitive cargo between the two destinations.

11. Concorde had a take-off speed of 220 knots (250mph) and a cruising speed of 1350mph – more than twice the speed of sound. Its landing speed was 187mph.

12. The first round-the-world flight by a BA Concorde took place on November 8, 1986. The aircraft covered 28,238 miles in 29 hours 59 minutes.

13. Concorde could fly up to 60,000ft, a height of over 11 miles. From there, at the edge of space in the layers between the stratosphere and the ionosphere it was possible for passengers to see the curvature of the Earth, as shown in this photo by Captain Mike Bannister.

14. Due to the intense heat of the airframe, Concorde could stretch anywhere from six to 10 inches during flight. Every surface, even the windows, was warm to the touch by the end of the flight.

Here’s What You Need to Know: The Mi-28 is a much better, more modern design than the older Hind.

Prowling the skies of Syria is the “Night Superhunter.”

It’s not a comic book superhero, but the newest Russian attack helicopter.

The Mi-28NM, the latest upgrade of the Mi-28 (NATO code name “Havoc”), is equipped with advanced sensors that enable it to conduct night operations, according to Russia’s Izvestia newspaper.

“The main novelty of the Mi-28NM is the N025E radar, which was previously installed only on export models,” Izvestia says. “The antenna receiving and transmitting part of the radar is located above the rotor of the helicopter. From the side it looks like a ball – it is a special fairing made of radio-permeable material. Such an arrangement of the radar gives a circular view, and also allows you to receive a radar image of the terrain, hiding in uneven terrain behind artificial and natural obstacles while remaining invisible to the enemy. On the battlefield, the radar station can effectively operate from ambush, the first to strike unexpected blows at the enemy.”

The Mi-28, the successor to the chunkier Cold War Mi-24 Hind and the counterpart of the Apache, is an early 1980s design. The Mi-28N debuted in the 1990s, with the NM model its latest iteration. The 9-ton Mi-28NM has a top speed of 300 kilometers per hour (186 miles per hour), a range of 450 kilometers (280 miles), and can carry 2,300 kilograms (5,100 pounds) of ordnance, according to Izvestia. Armament includes a 30-millimeter cannon, 9M120 Ataka anti-tank missiles, and rocket pods.

Significantly, given Russia’s recent willingness to deploy military force abroad, the Izvestia article emphasized that the Mi-28NM’s VK-2500P-01/PS engine can operate in harsh climates: “New design solutions guarantee reliable operation in areas not only with a temperate climate, but also in desert areas with high temperatures, as well as in conditions of high mountains, such as, for example, in Syria.”

Codenamed the “Felon” by NATO, Russia’s Su-57 stealth fighter has the potential to be a dangerous adversary in the sky as it combines stealth and speed with advanced weapons and state-of-the-art sensors.

Codenamed the “Felon” by NATO, Russia’s Su-57 stealth fighter has the potential to be a dangerous adversary in the sky as it combines stealth and speed with advanced weapons and state-of-the-art sensors.

Su-57 Stealth Fighter: Why the ‘Felon’ Is So Dangerous

Developed by Sukhoi Design Bureau and the Russian Aircraft Corporation as part of the Russian Air Force’s PAK FA fifth-generation fighter jet program, the aircraft has been slower to arrive than Moscow may have initially planned. However, the Su-57 will eventually replace the Russian military’s MiG-29 and Su-27 fourth-generation aircraft.

The Felon was initially powered by Izdeliye 117 or AL-41F1 augmented turbofans while current production batches have begun to incorporate the new Izdeliye 30 engines. The Su-57 is now capable of maintaining a supersonic range of more than 1,500 km – two times that of the Su-27. Because of its improved aerodynamics, the Su-57 can even cruise at a Mach 2 without afterburners and has a range of up to 3,500 km while flying at subsonic speeds.

Russia’s First Real Crack At Stealth Tech

The Su-57 stealth fighter was the first Russian aircraft to truly utilize stealth technology, while it was further designed to have supercruise, supermaneuverability, and advanced avionics to overcome attacks from the prior generation fighter aircraft as well as ground and naval defenses. Development on the advanced Su-57 began in 2002, but the aircraft only took its first flight on January 29, 2010. The Su-57 is essentially an evolution of the Su-27 Flanker’s shape, modernized for low radar observability while providing even greater maneuverability.

The single-seat, twin-engine multirole Su-57 combines the functions of an attack plane and a fighter jet while the use of composite materials and innovation technologies, along with the fighter’s aerodynamic configuration, ensure that it has a low level of radar and infrared signature. The use of composite materials has reduced the number of parts, but also the overall weight of the aircraft.

All of the Weapons 

In addition to its speed and low radar signature, the Sukhoi Su-57 is a well-armed and combat-capable aircraft.

During the August 2013 MAKS Air Show outside of Moscow, the aircraft’s manufacturer highlighted the fighter’s weapons platforms including missiles that could be fitted into the fighter’s voluminous weapons bays or under its wings and fuselage. The aircraft features two large internal weapons bays arranged in tandem, which run nearly the entire useable length of the aircraft. Each of those bays can carry up to four K-77M beyond visual range (BVR_ radar-guided missiles. Compared to earlier versions of the K-77 (NATO nickname: AA-12 Archer) the K-77M missile has a larger body and active electronically-scanned array radar seeker, allowing it to engage highly agile targets at ranges of up to 100 miles. The aircraft also stores a pair of K-74M2 short-range infrared guided missiles in underwing fairings. Russia has announced plans to arm the aircraft with the new R-37M long-range hypersonic missile.

Lots of Powerful Tech

The fifth-generation fighter is also reported to be furnished with the most advanced onboard radio-electronic equipment, including a powerful onboard computer, which has been described as an “electronic second pilot,” the radar system spread across its body and some other innovations, in particular, armament placed inside its fuselage. The Sukhoi Su-57 further utilizes a missile-spoofing turret designed to protect the fighter from infrared-guided missiles. Exactly how successful that could be on a high-flying fighter is unknown, as it has previously largely been employed only on transports and helicopters. Until it was deployed on the SU-57, a spoofing turret never has been placed on the ventral side of an aircraft.

The Su-57 stealth fighter is also incorporated with 3D thrust vectoring controls that Airforce-Technology reported provides improved maneuverability at high speeds, and which is reported even better than the United States Air Force’s Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. That could give the Russian pilots an edge in close-range dogfights.

Just One Problem: Cost 

The biggest downside of the Su-57 has been its cost, and Russia has been slow to receive the aircraft. To date only about a dozen Su-57s have been produced including 10 prototype/test aircraft, along with two that were serially produced. It has been announced that the Russian Aerospace Force will eventually receive a total of seventy-six Su-57 fighters by 2028, with twenty-two of the aircraft arriving by late 2024.

Just 29,000 pounds of ordnance screaming at twice the speed of sound.

On Valentine’s Day 1991, U.S. Air Force Captain Richard “TB” Bennett was at the stick of an F-15 Strike Eagle, a ground attack variant of McDonnell Douglas’s F-15 warplane. Throughout Operation Desert Storm, F-15Cs and F-15Ds would rack up 32 kills against Iraqi planes, but Strike Eagles had a different mission—hunting and engaging mobile SCUD and surface-to-air missile platforms.

Bennett was on a SCUD patrol with his weapons systems officer Captain Dan “Chewie” Bakke when they received orders to engage a group of Iraqi gunship helicopters that were attacking American special operations troops on the ground.

“AWACS gave us a call and said that a Special Forces team was in trouble. They had been found by the Iraqis, who were moving to cut them off,” Bennett recounted in 2008. “We had ten to 15 Special Forces teams in the general area looking for Scuds. This team was about 300 miles across the border.”

Bennett instructed his wingman to fly about four miles behind him as he moved down through the early morning cloud cover. It wasn’t long before they spotted the five MI-24 Hind attack helicopters. The lead helicopter was on the ground for troops to disembark, clearly aiming to engage the Green Berets from air and land.

“We didn’t know exactly where our team was, but it was looking to us like things were getting pretty hairy for the Special Forces guys,” Bennett said.

Bennett and Bakke quickly decided to engage the lead chopper with a 2,000-pound GBU-10 laser-guided bomb. It was a bold decision, but the pilots were having trouble securing a radar lock for their AIM-9 sidewinder missiles, so Bennett decided that even if they missed the chopper, they’d still hit the ground.

But just as Bennett released the bomb, the chopper took off again. Almost instantly, the Hind’s airspeed read as 100 knots and climbing. Despite the helicopter being airborne and moving fast, the bomb still found its mark. The 2,000-pound shell smashed through the rotor, then the cabin, before detonating.

“There was a big flash, and I could see pieces flying in different directions. It blew the helicopter to hell, damn near vaporized it,” Bennett said.

Captain Bennet’s story is only a small part of the F-15’s gargantuan legacy as one of the Air Force’s most formidable fighter platforms. Built from hard lessons learned after the Vietnam War, the F-15 has served with distinction—and with several variants—for nearly 50 years.

“During my time in Afghanistan, I flew combat missions in the aircraft that dropped the GBU-10 on the Iraqi helicopter in Desert Storm,” former U.S. Air Force F-15 and F-35 pilot Joseph Stenger tells Popular Mechanics. “Knowing that I was part of that tradition was extremely special.”

But with the advent of fifth-generation fighters like the F-22 Raptor and the F-35, the F-15 seemed destined for the boneyard, collecting dust with other Cold War relics. But the twin-engine aerial powerhouse has proven too capable to retire.

In fact, the Air Force is buying all new F-15s for the first time in decades.

Lessons Learned From Vietnam

Vietnam was a conundrum trapped inside of a quagmire—in more ways than one. For the Air Force, the situation was dire: American fighter pilots were dying at alarming rates.

In the Korean War, pilots in the cockpit of P-51 Mustangs and F-86 Sabres left the conflict with an impressive 13:1 kill ratio. But in Vietnam, things were different. Fighters of that era had been designed with the assumption that the increased range allotted by air-to-air missiles had rendered dogfighting obsolete.

So jets like the F-4 Phantom were built without guns for close-range air combat and without the maneuverability found in Vietnam’s smaller, more nimble fighters like the Mig-21.

That once impressive kill ratio dropped to an abysmal 1.5:1.

With the death of dogfighting being greatly exaggerated, the Air Force needed a dedicated air superiority fighter to ensure their pilots would survive the next conflict. The request was lofty—the service wanted an extremely fast fighter with powerful radar, a large complement of air-to-air missiles, and a gun that could be used for close-range fighting with other jets. Most important of all, this new fighter had to be able to stand in the ring with the highly maneuverable fighters that wreaked havoc on American aviators in Vietnam.

“Coming out of the Vietnam War, it was evident that the United States couldn’t take air superiority for granted.”

By 1966, the Air Force had issued a formal request for a fighter that could dogfight with the best new fighters coming out of the Soviet Union. The Soviet roster now included the new MiG-25, which boasted a top speed of Mach 2.8. Concerns were mounting that the U.S. was being outmatched, so the Air Force once again adjusted their requirements for a new fighter, dubbed the FX (Fighter eXperimental) program, to include a power-to-weight ratio of 1:1, giving it exceptional speed and maneuverability.

“Coming out of the Vietnam War, it was evident that the United States couldn’t take air superiority for granted,” Stenger tells Popular Mechanics. “We needed a fighter that could not only engage Russian fighters in within-visual-range (WVR) combat, but also one that could utilize the latest technology to shoot down aircraft well before a dogfight ensued.”

McDonnell Douglas, North American Rockwell, and Fairchild-Republic all submitted proposals for the FX fighter program, but in a surprise twist, the Defense Department asked NASA to submit their own proposal as well. John Foster, Director of the Defense Department Research and Engineering organization, felt NASA would not only be able to offer a proposal that sat on the cutting edge of existing technology, but he also assumed NASA’s tenacity for problem solving would limit issues that might arise in further testing.

NASA’s findings, which included intense study of variable-sweep wing configurations, would go on to find a home in not only the eventual McDonnell Douglas F-15, but also the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.

On December 23, 1969, McDonnell Douglas was awarded the contract to build the F-15, incorporating design cues borrowed from NASA. The design utilized fixed wings and a wide fuselage that could serve as a lifting surface in itself. Almost immediately, production of 107 jets for testing and further development began. The first prototypes would take to the sky just three years later in 1972.

Those early F-15s looked remarkably like the ones still in service today with capabilities that would make many other fourth-generation fighters think twice about engaging in an aerial scrap. With two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 afterburning turbofan engines capable of unleashing a whopping 23,500 pounds of thrust (with afterburners), the F-15 was so powerful, it could break the speed of sound while flying straight up.

With the jet’s top speed maxed at Mach 2.5 (almost as fast as Russia’s legendary MiG-31 Foxhound) and an advanced AN/APG-63 nose mounted radar, the F-15 could spot even low flying enemy planes at a range of up to 200 miles. Importantly, this radar system was also the first to use a programmable system processor that would allow for some updates and improvements without having to change out hardware. That approach has since become an integral facet of the F-35, which receives regular software updates to improve performance.

But the F-15 Eagle didn’t just offer speed and firepower, it was also purpose-built for long haul missions because it could carry three 600-pound external fuel tanks that gave it a range of 3,000 miles—no aerial refueling needed. This incredible range coupled with the F-15’s ability to cruise without afterburners at Mach 0.9 meant the F-15 could nearly traverse the world at a moment’s notice.

After less than a year of testing, the F-15 was put into serial production, first joining the roster for the U.S. Air Force, as well as allied nations like Israel and Japan.

A Dogfighting Dynamo

McDonnell Douglas’ efforts to field a competent air superiority fighter would begin paying dividends in just six years, scoring its first air-to-air kill in June of 1979, when an Israeli Air Force F-15A shot down a Syrian MiG-21.

Over the coming years, Israeli, Saudi, and American pilots would continue to add to the F-15’s impressive win streak, logging 104 air-to-air victories without a single Eagle lost to enemy fighters. The list of fighters shot down by F-15s range from a spectrum of MiG iterations, Mirage F-1s, one transport plane, and of course, one Iraqi attack helicopter.

In order to achieve this incredible record, the F-15 saw continuous upgrades, with the F-15C incorporating a newer and even more capable radar apparatus and new Pratt and Whitney engines. Some were even equipped with a radar-fed Joint Helmet Mounted Cuing System that allowed pilots to acquire targets even faster.

By 1986, the fighter had proven so capable that the decision was eventually made to field another new variant of the platform, the aforementioned F-15E Strike Eagle. While other F-15s were built to dominate air-to-air engagements, the F-15E leveraged the jet’s range, speed, and ordnance capabilities to become one of the most capable medium-range precision strike aircraft in America’s arsenal, with the B-1B Lancer absorbing the F-111 Aardvark’s supersonic bomber responsibilities.

“What separates the F-15E is the air-to-ground capability, especially in the close-air-support (CAS) mission set. The sensors, long on-station time, interoperability, and a vast array of available weaponry really set the F-15E apart from other fighters,” Stenger says.

The Strike Eagle was equipped with a LANTRIN (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night) forward-looking infrared laser and targeting pod. In all, the Strike Eagle can carry up to 24,000 pounds of ordnance into the fight. Combined with conformal fuel tanks added to give the F-15E even greater range, the F-15 has enough firepower and fuel to make for an extremely effective close-air-support fighter plane.

“There are young aviators now who are better at strafing and CAS than I ever was,” F-15 pilot Maj. Christopher M. Short said, “because they’re training at an early stage in their career. I walk into a squadron now, and it is second nature for these lieutenants to know that CAS [Close Air Support] is on the menu of things they might be asked to do. And they’re ready to do it.”

The Fighter of the Future Is an F-15?

By 1991, the U.S. Air Force was already aware that they’d need a new air superiority fighter to maintain air dominance into the 21st century. Much like the dogfighting conundrum faced by the Air Force that first gave birth to the F-15, the early 90s saw Air Force officials trying to predict the challenges of the years ahead in their requests for new fighter proposals, highlighting the need for a plane that could avoid detection as air defense systems continued to mature.

Lockheed Martin, who had revolutionized bomber strategy with its F-117 Nighthawk the decade prior, was selected to begin development of a new fighter that was unlike anything ever seen before in warfare.

It was to be fast and maneuverable like the F-15, but capable of avoiding detection like the F-117. This new jet would come with thrust-vectoring jet nozzles to provide it with unparalleled maneuverability and even the ability to “super cruise,” or maintain supersonic speeds without the use of its afterburner. The technologically superior jet would also continue the dogfighting spirit of the F-15. It was called the F-22 Raptor.

Initially, the Air Force intended to purchase 750 advanced fighters—enough to replace the F-15C and D, but budget concerns and a shift toward counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism operations in uncontested airspace left America unsure of its need for an air-combat specialty fighter. In 2008, the decision was made to halt production of the F-22 at 186 finished airframes, all but guaranteeing the F-15’s continued use as America’s workhorse air superiority fighter for decades to come.

It was good news for the F-15, but bad news for maintainers. The Air Force had taken delivery of their final F-15 (a Strike Eagle) in 2004, four years prior to the F-22’s cancelation. That meant the U.S. Air Force would need to keep their existing F-15s in the air for far longer than initially anticipated. While the F-15 had proven resilient, the cost of maintaining these fighters, some of which were already decades old, continued to climb.

But now after nearly two decades, the U.S. Air Force is now once again purchasing new F-15s —but the decision to do so wasn’t without controversy. Many contend that in this era of stealthy fifth-generation fighters like the F-35 and F-22, there’s no need to throw more money into a fourth-generation platform like the F-15. Those critics had their positions bolstered when Lockheed Martin announced in 2019 the per-aircraft price of the F-35 dropped to $78 million—$2 million less than Boeing’s new F-15EX

But the comparison between the F-35 and the F-15 isn’t a fair one. The F-35’s multirole pedigree can be traced back to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, whereas the F-15’s intended replacement was supposed to be the F-22 Raptor. These fighters serve in very different roles, with the F-35 primarily intended to engage ground targets in contested airspace, and the F-15 (and its F-22 successor) built for air battles. As a result, new F-15EXs won’t fill F-35 slots, but rather will replace aging F-15Cs.

“It’s not the differences between the jets that really matter—it’s more the interoperability,” Stenger says. “The two aircraft that I flew, the F-15E and F-35A, provide complementary capabilities that make the U.S. Air Force extraordinarily effective at any mission and in any environment.”

And the F-15EX promises to be an incredibly capable and cost-efficient machine. Despite America’s decision to stop purchasing F-15s in 2004, America’s allies in Saudi Arabia and Qatar have continued purchasing the jet and invested a combined total of around $5 billion into continued improvements. The result is an F-15 that’s more capable, more powerful, and more cost-effective to fly than its predecessors.

Thanks to this massive investment, America’s new F-15EXs might be the most advanced fourth-generation fighters in the world, leveraging new data fusion capabilities, speed, range, and incredible payload capabilities to make an F-15 that’s ready to fight in the 21st century.

With the ability to carry a payload of 12 air-to-air missiles or 15 air-to-ground weapons, (at least four times more than the F-35 can while maintaining stealth) and an integrated electronic warfare suite, the F-15EX isn’t as capable in highly contested airspace as an F-35 or F-22, but what it lacks in tact it makes up for in power.

In the future, the Air Force even intends to network stealth jets like the F-35 to missile-laden platforms like the F-15EX through a secure data-link. This link would allow the transmission of targeting data from forward stealth fighters to F-15EXs following behind, making it possible for the F-15 to engage targets from greater distances. This would also give stealthy platforms a deeper magazine to pull from than their own internal weapons bays.

With new F-15s rolling off the assembly line and into the Air Force’s hangars, it seems clear that this powerful fighter born out of Vietnam’s treacherous dogfights will continue to savage the skies for a few more decades.

Because when stealth won’t do it, 29,000 pounds of ordnance under the wings of a jet screaming at twice the speed of sound is a good Plan B.

Here’s What You Need to Know: This venerable fighter has been upgraded many times and still sees service around the world.

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a legendary aircraft — an icon of the Vietnam War and the archetype of the third-generation jet fighter designs that entered service in the 1960s. More than 5,000 of these heavy supersonic fighters were built, and hundreds continue to serve and even see combat in several air forces today.

But the Phantom’s record in air-to-air combat over Vietnam — especially when compared to its successor, the F-15 Eagle, which has never been shot down in air-to-air combat — has left it with a reputation of being a clumsy bruiser reliant on brute engine power and obsolete weapons technology.

This is unfair.

The Phantom’s fundamental flaws were corrected by 1970 — while more recently, Phantoms have had their avionics and ordnance upgraded to modern standards. These modernized Phantoms flown by the Turkish and Greek air forces can do pretty much what an F-15 can do … at a much lower price.

The Advanced Tactical Fighter competition produced two excellent aircraft, but only one made it to production.

Here’s What You Need To Remember: Given that the YF-23 was generally perceived to be the more innovative design, and that it had a slightly higher price tag, the chances that it could have sailed through without a hitch are correspondingly low. And trouble with design and production might have left the USAF with even fewer operational fighters.

The Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition, staged at the end of the Cold War, yielded a pair of remarkable fighter designs. The United States would eventually select the F-22 Raptor, widely acknowledged as the most capable air superiority aircraft of the early twenty-first century. The loser, the YF-23, now graces museums in Torrance, California and Dayton, Ohio.

How did the Pentagon decide on the F-22, and what impact did that decision have? We will never know, but going with the F-22 Raptor may have saved the Pentagon some major headaches.

ATF Competition:

The origins of the ATF competition came in the early 1980s, when it became apparent that the Soviets were planning to field fighters (the MiG-29 and the Su-27) capable of competing effectively with the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) F-15/F-16 “high-low” mix. The ATF would allow the US to re-establish its advantages, potentially on grounds (notably stealth) where the Soviets would struggle to compete.

To great degree, the success of either of the ATF competitors was overdetermined. The Soviet Union disappeared during the course of the competition, and the major European aerospace powers largely declined to compete on the same terrain (stealth, supercruise, and eventually sensor fusion). Either the F-22 or the F-23 would become the finest fighter of the early 21st century; the only question was which aircraft would win the investment of DoD. And each plane had its advantages. The YF-23 enjoyed superior supercruise, and in some accounts better stealth performance, over the F-22. The F-22 offered a somewhat simpler, less risky design, along with an extraordinary degree of agility that made it an awesome dogfighter.

The Choice:

As Dave Majumdar pointed out a year ago, political and bureaucratic factors contributed to the selection of the F-22. Fed up with Northrop and (the still independent) McDonnell Douglas in the wake of the B-2 and A-12 projects, the Pentagon preferred Lockheed. The US Navy disliked the F-23 for idiosyncratic reasons, and hoped it would get a crack at a heavily modified F-22. For its part, the Air Force preferred the gaudy maneuverability of the F-22, which gave it an advantage in nearly every potential combat situation. In a sense, the F-22 (and to some extent its Russian competitor, the PAK-FA) represent the ultimate expression of the jet-age air superiority fighter. They can challenge and defeat opponents in every potential aspect of a fight, while also having stealth characteristics that allow them to engage (or refuse an engagement) under highly advantageous circumstances.

Had the ATF competition not taken place coincident with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the YF-23 might have stood a chance for resurrection. Some of its characteristics were sufficiently advanced that they could have drawn further attention and investment. Moreover, building the F-23 alongside the F-22 could have been justified on grounds of maintaining the health of the US defense industrial base; as it was, the selection of the Lockheed aircraft undoubtedly contributed to the decision to consolidate Boeing and McDonnell Douglas.

Raptor Problems:

As is the case with the X-32, the YF-23 never faced the most dramatic problems to afflict the F-22 Raptor. It never experienced cost overruns, technology failures, software snafus, or pilot-killing respiratory issues. Those problems, which regularly afflict new defense projects (in fairness, the pilot suffocation is largely idiosyncratic to the Raptor) were consequential. In context of the broader demands of the War on Terror, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates curtailed the F-22 production run at 187 operational aircraft, just as the fighter was working through its teething troubles. Although understandable at the time, this left the USAF with a fighter deficit that only the F-35 could fill.

Had the YF-23 enjoyed a smoother development path (a huge “if”), the fighter might not have faced such a hostile environment as it entered service. But given that the YF-23 was generally perceived to be the more innovative (and therefore riskier) design, and that it had a slightly higher price tag, the chances that it could have sailed through without a hitch are correspondingly low. And trouble with design and production might have left the USAF with even fewer operational fighters.

Parting Thoughts:

The F-23 included some characteristics that may eventually find themselves in a sixth generation fighter, or perhaps in the Air Force’s “deep interceptor” intended to support B-21 Raiders on the way to their targets. For example, the V-tail aspect has been mentioned in some of the early conceptualization for a next generation fighter. And Boeing will undoubtedly hearken back to its experience with the F-23 when thinking about its next fighter.

For years, one of the two YF-23 prototypes sat in the Hangar of Unwanted Planes (more formally known as the Research and Development Hangar) at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The YF-23 was positioned right under the last remaining XB-70 Valkyrie, the centerpiece of the museum’s collection. Both aircraft have now moved to the newly opened fourth building of the museum, where they continue to represent alternative visions of the (past) future of the Air Force, visions deeply grounded in the industrial and organizational realities of American airpower.

Northrop Grumman’s B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber was a costly venture, and one that many felt wasn’t needed after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is one of the most advanced bombers ever created. Known of course as the stealth bomber, the B-2 has provided the backbone of US strategic bombing since the late 1990s. The idea behind the B-2 was to create a military stealth aircraft that could strike deep into the heart of the Soviet Union. However, even before it entered service, the aircraft proved controversial within US Congress. Many felt the B-2 was simply not needed as the Cold War began to wind down.

The cost of the program and its lack of combat service since its introduction is controversial. It means that the program is sometimes seen as a waste of money. As capable as the B-2 Spirit really is, it’s not been able to create the same legacy as its stealth sibling, the F-117 Nighthawk.

The B-2 Spirit Was Designed To Penetrate Deep Into The Soviet Union

The US Air Force needed an aircraft by the mid-1970s that could slip through Soviet territory, nearly undetected. And pretty much immune to an attack by radar guided weapons. Plans for such an aircraft advanced quickly. Lockheed Martin would earn the contract to create the F-117 attack aircraft thanks to its experience with the SR-71 Blackbird. Northrop meanwhile had developed Tacit Blue. This was a demonstration aircraft, and would soon win the contract to produce the B-2. The B-2 project had even more appeal. This following the cancelation of the original B-1 bomber project.

The B-2 was first publicly unveiled in November 1988, but by then there were doubts about the program. It was increasingly clear that the Soviet Union was failing. And it would collapse entirely in 1991. Before the aircraft had even entered service, the sole reason for the B-2s existence was gone. Thus, the initial order for 132 B-2s was dramatically reduced to just 21. As of 2023 20 are in service with one having crashed in 2008. But not only did the dissolution of the Soviet Union hurt the B-2, so did its spiraling costs.

The B-2 Was A Complex And Multi-Billion Dollar Wasted Project

Developing the B-2 Spirit was one of the costliest projects in the United States military history. By 1997, the estimated average cost of one of the 21 B2s was $2.13 billion. With each aircraft costing a staggering $737 million to build. That number rose to $929 million per aircraft after including spare parts, retrofitting and procurement among other things. Once all the development was factored in, the price of the B-2 inflated to that $2.13 billion figure Overall, the B-2 Spirit program cost an eye watering $44 billion, around $71 billion in today’s money. It was easy to see why there were many doubters in congress who thought the B-2 was just a giant waste of money.

The winding down of the Soviet Union simply made things worse. With a stealthy strategic bomber no longer as urgently needed as it had been. The cost of the B-2 to the American taxpayer was hugely controversial. The B-2 was now estimated to cost three times as much annually as the B-1B would when that entered US service. It was also four times more expensive to operate annually than the B-52H. Had the B-2 proven itself in combat however, things might have been different. But the B-2, unlike the F-117, hasn’t had the most interesting of operational careers.

The B-2 Has Only Seen Limited Combat Service

In terms of its stealth capabilities, the B-2 is an exceptional aircraft. It is just as stealthy as the US Air Force had hoped it would be. Which also means less support aircraft are then needed to provide air cover for the bomber. No missiles have ever launched at a B-2 in service, whereas one F-117 was of course shot down in Yugoslavia. Operationally tough, there haven’t been many chances for the B-2 to get locked onto. The B-2 saw limited usage during the 1999 Kosovo War, while it saw service in Afghanistan in 2003 in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Since then the B-2 has seen some service in Libya, and against ISIS in Libya. But for an aircraft that costs around $2 billion each, this isn’t what you might call value for money. It’s not had quite the same career as the B-52.

What Next For The B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber?

In terms of what the future holds for the B-2, it is now expected to remain in service until 2032. At this point, Northrop Grumman’s new B-21 Raider will replace the bomber. Clearly there is still a need for a stealth bomber within the US Air Force. The B-21 should in theory also replace the B-1B Lancer and potentially the B-52 Stratofortress as well. With it estimated that the cost of one B-21 will be around $700 billion they will certainly be cheaper than the B-2. But the B-2 has at least paved the way more stealth aircraft for the US military in the future.

Here’s What You Need to Know: Like the iconic B-2 stealth bomber, the X-44 design lacked a tail.

The X-44 MANTA, which stands for Multi-Axis No Tail Aircraft, was a futuristic-looking derivative of Lockheed Martin’s iconic F-22 design. According to Air Force Magazine, Lockheed Martin may have designed up to six different airframes similar to the F-22 Raptor that were offered to the Air Force. Though none of them were picked up, this particular design is said to have drawn the interest of NASA as a research platform with which to test controlling tailless designs using thrust vectoring. Meet the X-44 MANTA.

Stealthy by Design

Like the F-22 on which the X-44 was based on, it would have been highly stealthy and may have even been stealthier than its F-22 parent. Renderings of the X-44 concept indicate that it would have carried over the F-22’s air intake inlets that are designed to diffuse enemy radar inside of them rather than reflecting radar outwards.

Like the iconic B-2 stealth bomber, the X-44 design was tailless. Sans tail, these tailless designs are inherently stealthier than other tailed airframes—the X-44 would have had a very low radar signature. Instead of using standard control surfaces to maneuver while in flight, the MANTA maneuvered using thrust vectoring, in which the dual engine’s exhaust nozzles could direct exhaust in various directions.

Though innovative, thrust vectoring designs are nothing new. One successful Russian design in service with the Indian Air Force, a variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, benefits from very high maneuverability thanks to its thrust vectoring engine nozzles.

The modified delta wing design also had a couple of benefits over its predecessor. By design, delta wings have more surface area internally and externally than traditional swept wings and can, therefore, hold more fuel. Using so-called wet wings, also known as integral fuel tanks, a greater volume of fuel could be stored internal in the plane’s wings.

This kind of fuel storage is relatively common and allows for a large amount of fuel to be carried. In addition to higher fuel capacity, the X-44 would have benefited from a more aerodynamic airframe, resulting in lower drag while in flight.

Postscript

The X-44 was one of a number of designs that Lockheed Martin designed and pitched to the U.S. Air Force as a way to augment the branch’s stealthily airframes, though this particular design may be the only one that was tailless. With F-22 production lines long since shuttered, it is unlikely we’ll ever get to see the X-44 MANTA in flight.

Who benefits from the United States making a decision to abandon the F-35 program?

Here’s What You Need to Remember: America’s adversaries would like nothing better than for the United States to curtail its buy of the F-35, just like Washington did for the F-22, because there is not an allied or adversary platform in production that can come close to competing with the F-35.