Category: Aircraft

During the World War II era, Republic Aviation didn’t try to bottle lightning. Rather, they decided to build a jug of thunder.

The P-47 Thunderbolt, affectionately known as “The Jug,” was one of the heaviest and most heavily-armed fighters during the war. When fully loaded, the aircraft could weigh up to eight tons, and was outfitted with extensive artillery including multiple .50-caliber machine guns, 5-inch rockets, and substantial bomb loads.

“It’s big and beefy,” said Air Force Heritage Flight pilot Charles “Tuna” Hainline. “It was built that way largely because of the ducting for the turbocharger system that ran in the belly of the airplane, so it made it more of a round, barrel shape.”

As one of the primary fighters for the United States Army Air Forces, the P-47 Thunderbolt was very effective throughout the European and Pacific Theaters, serving as both an escort fighter in air-to-air combat and ground attack. The airplane did the lion’s share of air-to-air fighting prior to the adoption of the P-51 Mustang.

“A lot of people don’t think of it as an air-to-air fighter, but it really took the fight to the Germans early in the war and did a great job,” said Hainline, who has flown the P-47 with AFHFF and its successor, the A-10 Thunderbolt II, during his Air Force career.

The airframe that would become “Tarheel Hal,” however, did not see combat. It was stationed in Missouri as a training aircraft for battlefield-bound pilots, which likely played a factor in its pristine preservation today.

In August of 1947, the aircraft was sold to the Venezuelan Air Force under the Lend Lease Act – a system that would allow the United States to lend or lease war supplies to any nation deemed “vital to the defense of the United States” — where it served for nearly three decades.

It was then purchased from the Venezuelan Air Force by a private collector in France. The Thunderbolt was taken apart, crated, and then made the trans-Atlantic journey to France, where it was never reassembled. A decade later, Kentucky-based collector Charles Osbourne purchased the aircraft, and former Heritage Flight pilot Brad Hood restored and repainted the P-47 in the scheme “Big Ass Bird II.”

“It’s one of the most accurately and thoroughly restored P-47s,” said Hainline. “The wiring was remade with cloth insulation because that’s how they did it back then and the attention to detail was just over the top for this restoration period in the early 90s. Its gun, with dummy ammunition, had all the markings, and everything in the cockpit was accurate and in place. The only thing that wasn’t original to the cockpit was the modern radio that was installed to help navigate the warbird across the country.”

Osbourne and Hood flew “Big Ass Bird II” for a few years before deciding to repaint the Thunderbolt to a more family-friendly “Tarheel Hal.”

In 1998, under the new paint scheme the aircraft was sold to the Lone Star Flight Museum, then located in Galveston, Texas, where it remained part of the collection for 22 years.

“Warbirds are bought and sold all the time, so they change hands often, but it’s not often they stay in the same livery scheme,” said Hainline. “This one stuck as they liked the story behind ‘Tarheel Hal’ so much, serving as paint scheme of North Carolina-native Lieutenant Ida Davis of the 358^th Fighter Group.”

“A lot of pilots in the war named their airplanes after their girlfriend or wife, according to our research, Lieutenant Davis had two girlfriends,” said Hainline. “He didn’t want to put either of his girlfriend’s name on an airplane in fear of they might be outed, so it was named ‘Tarheel Hal’ in honor of his brother who was at the University of North Carolina at the time.”

Hainline noted that many people are shocked that “Tarheel Hal’s” paint scheme, with its orange tail and blue nose with stars, was that “gaudy” for combat. But Hainline and his team have found pictures of the aircraft during World War II that confirm its accuracy.

Then in October 2020, The Evansville P-47 Foundation, after raising almost $3 million through campaigns, purchased “Tarheel Hal” as the centerpiece of the Evansville Wartime Museum.

The P-47 Thunderbolt has a special place in Evansville history. Over 6,000 P-47 Thunderbolts were manufactured in Republic Aviation’s plant, and the aircraft has become a symbol of pride for the town.

“It was kind of bittersweet because it went to a very a great organization, but at the same time, I didn’t want to see it go,” said Hainline. “They are deeply in love with the P-47, and that warms the heart when you have to say goodbye to an old friend.”

After the purchase, Hainline took “two hops” to fly the aircraft from Houston to Indiana, with a brief pit stop in Arkansas.

“They had a news crew down here in Houston, and then they had a veteran who flew the P-47 come down to watch the take off and then fly [to Evansville] to meet it.”

Six months later, Indiana State Legislature passed House Bill 1197, which named the newly repainted “Hoosier Spirit II” the official state aircraft of Indiana. Its current home at the Evansville Wartime Museum is just a mile from the original Republic Aviation manufacturing site in 1944.

While “The Jug” is known for being one of the heaviest aircraft during the WWII era, it was still a very comfortable, secure aircraft with controls that, as Hainline put it, “worked in harmony.”

“It’s very similar to the F-4,” said Hainline “You’re in a big, heavy well-built airplane and you just feel like nothing can hurt you. It was really delightful to fly.”

Hainline also noted that unlike the Mustang, the flight controls in the Thunderbolts never really changed with the airspeed. You might be going 135 miles an hour in a landing pattern, yet it feels about the same as going 350 miles an hour. But the best part about flying the P-47 Thunderbolt, especially in a Heritage Flight, is the dive.

“It’s actually very, very fast with lots of mass and momentum, so it really dives better than anything,” said Hainline. “Sometimes, I would be leading a formation with ‘Tarheel Hal’ and the Mustangs, and they’d have to ask me to pull the power back.”

Here’s What You Need to Know: The Phantom has proven both versatile and adaptable over time.

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.

Baptism of Fire:

When the F-4 came out it in 1958 it was a revolutionary design — one that went on to set several aviation records.

Weighing in at 30,000 pounds unloaded, its enormous J79 twin engines gave (and still gives) the aircraft excellent thrust, propelling the heavy airframe over twice the speed of sound at a maximum speed of 1,473 miles per hour.

The early Phantoms could carry 18,000 pounds of munitions — three times what the huge B-17 bombers of World War II typically carried. The weapons officer in the rear-seat could operate the plane’s advanced radar, communication and weapons systems while the pilot focused on flying.

Furthermore, the F-4 came in both ground- and carrier-based models and served in the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines. The only other frontline fighter to serve in all three services before or since is the F-35.

But when the F-4 confronted the lighter-weight MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters of the North Vietnamese air force in 1965, the Phantom suffered.

In the Korean War, the U.S. Air Force had shot down between six and 10 enemy fighters for every one of its aircraft lost in air-to-air combat. In Vietnam, the ratio was closer to two to one (including other aircraft types besides the Phantom).

The F-4’s primary problem was that it had no built-in cannon. Instead, it relied entirely on newly-introduced air-to-air missiles — the radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow, the heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinder and the older AIM-4 Falcon.

The Air Force didn’t realize those early missiles were terrible.

Studies showed that 45 percent of Vietnam-era AIM-7s and 37 percent of AIM-9s failed to either launch or lock on, and after evasive maneuvers, the probability of achieving a kill fell to eight percent and 15 percent for the two types, respectively. The Falcon missiles were even worse, and the Pentagon later withdrew them from service.

The North Vietnamese MiGs, equipped with both cannons and missiles (on the MiG-21), would outmaneuver the heavier F-4, which for all its speed, was not especially agile. Worse, American pilots weren’t trained for close range dogfights, as the Air Force assumed air-to-air engagements would occur at long range with missiles.

Furthermore, the Phantom’s J79 engines produced thick black smoke, which combined with the aircraft’s larger size, made it easier to spot and target from a distance. On the other hand, the rules-of-engagement over Vietnam prohibited U.S. pilots from shooting at unidentified targets beyond visual range, further crippling the advantages of the missiles.

Improvements:

However, the F-4’s problems began to recede. Air-to-air missile technology dramatically improved with later versions of the Sparrow and Sidewinder. The F-4E model finally came with an internal M161 Vulcan cannon.

Before, some Phantom units made do with external gun pods that vibrated excessively.

In 1972, an F-4 piloted by Maj. Phil Handley shot down a MiG-19 with his plane’s gun — the only recorded aerial gun kill performed at supersonic speed.

Eventually, the Air Force upgraded all of its F-4Es with wing-slats that significantly improved maneuverability at a slight cost in speed. New J79 engines even dealt with the problem of the F-4’s visible black smoke.

The Navy, in contrast, perceived the problem as being a lack of Air Combat Maneuvering training, and instituted the Top Gun training program in 1968. Navy pilots went on to score a superior kill ratio over Vietnam of 40 victories for seven planes lost in air-to-air combat.

The Air Force’s Phantoms claimed 107 air-to-air kills for 33 lost to MiGs, and the Marine Corps claimed three. Ground fire shot down 474 Phantoms in all services, as the heavy-lifting Phantom fighters did double duty as ground-attack aircraft.

Two sub-variants of the Phantom also distinguished themselves — the RF-4 photo reconnaissance plane, optimized for speed, and the Wild Weasel, specialized in attacking enemy surface-to-air missiles defenses.

The last American F-4s would see action during Operation Desert Storm, before being retired in 1996. The Pentagon later converted some into QF-4 target practice drones.

Phantoms in the Middle East:

However, the Phantoms proliferated around the world. The F-4 saw extensive use in Israeli service, scoring 116 air-to-air kills against the Egyptian and Syrian air forces, starting in 1969 during the War of Attrition.

In one engagement on the first day of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, 28 Egyptian MiGs attacked Ofir Air Base. Just two Phantoms managed to scramble in defense, but they shot down seven of the attackers.

The Israeli Phantoms’ primary target — and most deadly foe — during these campaigns were Arab surface-to-air missile batteries. SAMs accounted for most of the 36 Israeli Phantoms lost in action.

The swan song of the Israeli Phantom force came during Israel’s 1982 intervention in the War in Lebanon, when Phantoms — escorted by new F-15s and F-16s — wiped out all 30 of Syria’s SAM batteries in the Bekaa Valley in one day without losing a single plane in Operation Mole Cricket 19.

Iran received 225 F-4s from the United States prior to the Iranian Revolution. These formed the backbone of the Iranian fighter force during the nine-year-long war with Iraq. The Phantom reportedly acquitted itself well versus Iraqi MiGs, and carried out several long-range raids on the Iraqi airfields. The actual number of air-to-air kills remains disputed.

21st century Phantoms:

The Phantom still sees service. But it’s somewhat of an anomaly. Just compare it to F-15 Eagle.

The F-15, which entered service in 1975, is emblematic of fourth-generation fighter aircraft that remain the mainstay of modern air forces today. The F-15 is also deliberately unlike the F-4. It’s a heavy, twin-engine, two-seat fighterand an agile dogfighter.

When the F-15 and the lighter F-16 saw their first major air action over Lebanon in 1982, they shot down more than 80 Syrian third-generation MiGs at no loss.

The supremacy of the fourth-generation was confirmed again in the Gulf War, in which Iraqi fighters shot down only one fourth-generation fighter (an F/A-18 Hornet) for the loss of 33 of their third-generation aircraft. How could the F-4 possibly keep up in this new environment?

Easy — by integrating the same modern hardware used in the fourth generation.

The Phantoms flown by the Turkish and Greek air forces both have modern pulse-doppler radars, which give the F-4 “look down-shoot down” capabilities. In the past, high-flying radars had trouble detecting low-flying aircraft because the radar waves bouncing off the ground created a cluttering effect. Active Doppler radars cut through the ground clutter.

Modern F-4s can also fire the full range of modern ordnance such as the advanced AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missile with a range of 65 miles, precision-guided munitions such as the AGM-65 Maverick, and late model Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles.

As combat aircraft are essentially weapons platforms, these capabilities mean that the F-4s can handle most of the same offensive tasks a fourth-generation F-15 or Su-27 fighter can do.

But surely the electronics and instruments are out of date? Not really. For instance, modernized F-4s have improved Heads Up Displays (HUDs) so that pilots don’t have to look down from the canopy to check on their instruments.

Germany flew upgraded F-4Fs until 2013, and maintains them in stock in case of future need. South Korea still has 71 F-4Es (only modestly upgraded) in its 17th Fighter Wing. Japan maintains the same number of F-4EJ Kais upgraded with pulse-Doppler radars and anti-ship missiles.

The Israelis pioneered the art of Phantom upgrades in the 1980s with the Phantom 2000 Kurnass, or “Sledgehammer.” Though retired from Israeli service in 2004, Israeli firms went on to upgrade Greece’s 41 Peace Icarus Phantoms, equipping them with ANPG-65 pulse-Doppler radars and the ability to fire AMRAAM missiles.

Israeli upgrades contributed to the Turkish air force’s Terminator 2020, which has additional wing strakes for improved maneuverability.

The 2020s have had 20 kilometers of wiring replaced for a net loss of 1,600 pounds in weight. The Turkish versions also feature a diverse array of modern sensors and electronics. Like other modern F-4s, they can deploy advanced ordnance such as Paveway bombs, HARM anti-radar missiles and 3,000-pound Popeye missiles with a range of 48 miles.

The Terminators are primarily ground-attack planes … with some notoriety. They’ve bombed Kurdish PKK fighters in Turkey and Iraq in 2015 and 2016. An RF-4 reconnaissance plane was shot down over Syria in 2012, and three F-4s crashed in 2015 — earning them the appellation “Flying Coffins” in the Turkish media.

The Iranian air force in 2009 claimed to operate 76 F-4Ds and Es, and six RF-4s. Tehran has reportedly modified the planes to fire Russian or Chinese air-to-ground and anti-shipping missiles. They still rely on AIM-7 Sparrows acquired second hand.

Likewise, Iran relies on smuggled and improvised spare parts for its F-4s, just like its F-14 Tomcats.

Iranian Phantoms bombed Islamic State targets in Iraq’s Diyala province in December 2014, and they continue to play cat and mouse games with U.S. patrols and drones over the Persian Gulf.

But are souped-up F-4s really equal to fourth-generation fighters? None of these 21st century Phantoms have flown in air-to-air combat — but F-4s Phantoms have engaged in non-lethal dogfights with Greek F-16s on several occasions.

They also tangled with Chinese Su-27s in a 2010 exercise — and according to some reports on the internet won zero to eight.

And if you compare videos of F-4s with wing slats making a tight, 180 degree turn (see 4:25 above) compared to F-15s doing the same maneuver, you will note that they both average seven to eight seconds to complete the turn, even though the latter is purportedly more maneuverable.

This doesn’t prove upgraded F-4s are superior to later designs, of course — but it does show they capable of pulling their considerable weight when compared with fourth-generation fighters.

The Phantom has proven both versatile and adaptable over time. Few of those present for its first flight in 1958 could have imagined that it would remain in frontline service nearly 60 years later.

When the Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress” first took to the skies in the mid 1930’s, the platform represented a significant leap in capabilities over its predecessors. Equipped with four engines, the B-17 provided greater payloads and range than other bombers previously flown by the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) in the past.

The B-17 was legendary since its maiden flight

The B-17 began life in 1935 when Model 299 took flight in front of reporters and the public at the Boeing field in Seattle, Washington. One reporter, noting the proliferation of defensive machine guns studded all over the fuselage, remarked in a photo caption that it looked like a “15-ton flying fortress.” Boeing quickly trademarked this name and a legendary bomber was born.

The origin story of the Flying Fortress

In the 1930s, the US Army Air Corps (USAAC), predecessor to the US Air Force, began searching for a bomber to replace the Martin B-10. The goal of the program was to bolster defensive air forces in far flung outposts at Hawaii, Alaska, and Panama. The Boeing Company set to work designing a bomber at their own expense, combining elements of their experimental XB-15 bomber and Model 247 transport.

Specs and capabilities

The result was a four engine, low winged monoplane bomber with a 6,000lb payload capable of carrying out strategic bombing of targets deep inside enemy territory. Turbocharged engines enabled a service ceiling of 25,000 to 35,000 feet depending on bomb load, allowing the Flying Fortress to fly far above the worst of antiaircraft fire.

No fewer than 13 machine guns protected each B-17 in nine different positions. Enemies flying at the front of a Flying Fortress had to contend with two guns in the chin turret as well as one in each “cheek” turret.

The flanks of the bomber were protected by waist guns as well as two guns in a ball turret mounted on the bottom of the aircraft. Fighters seeking to attack from above would encounter two more guns in a ball turret mounted atop the aircraft as well as one in the radio compartment and an enemy attempting to sneak up from behind would have to get through the two guns in the tail gunner’s position.

The First B-17 raid occurred in Europe in 1942, when 12 Flying Fortress airframes attacked railroad yards in France. As the war continued, bombing missions for American planes became more deadly.

As explained by the National WWII Museum, “One of the worst days of the war for the B-17 and its crewmen was the second raid on German ball bearing production in Schweinfurt, Germany on October 14, 1943. Losses were so heavy on the mission it became known as “Black Thursday.”

The B-17, for all its armor and firepower, was simply unable to continue to fly unescorted against swarms of German fighter aircraft and their sophisticated air defense system.

The P-51 Mustang soon entered the conflict, however, allowing the B-17s to be escorted out of Germany safely.

Although the Flying Fortress was eventually replaced by the B-29 Stratofortress by the end of the war, the platform retains its honorable legacy.

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

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

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.