U.S. Air Force Archives

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor assigned to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, takes off during Checkered Flag 23-1 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Nov. 4, 2022. Checkered Flag is a large-force aerial exercise which fosters readiness and interoperability through the incorporation of 4th and 5th-generation aircraft during air-to-air combat training. The 23-1 iteration of the exercise was held Oct. 31 - Nov. 10, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Betty R. Chevalier)

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

For 20 Years, the F-22 Raptor Couldn’t Carry External Fuel Tanks Without Losing Stealth — Lockheed Just Solved That Problem

At the Air & Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium in February 2026, Lockheed Martin publicly displayed a production-representative scale model of what it informally...

Jack Buckby5 days ago

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Lockheed Designed the SR-71 I to Hunt Russian Bombers at Mach 3 — It Never Flew, and the U.S. Could Use One Today

In the early 1980s, Lockheed’s Skunk Works proposed converting the SR-71 Blackbird — the Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft that flew above 80,000 feet and...

Brandon Weichert6 days ago

(DoD photo by Senior Airman Sean M. White, U.S. Air Force. (Released))

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

The B-1B Was Designed to Drop Nuclear Bombs on Russia — After 9/11 It Dropped 40% of All U.S. Air-Launched Ordnance in Iraq

Rockwell International’s B-1A bomber, designed in the early 1970s as a low-altitude supersonic nuclear delivery platform, was cancelled by President Jimmy Carter in 1977...

Isaac Seitz7 days ago

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

At $2,000,000,000 Per Aircraft, the B-2 Spirit Was the Most Expensive Bomber Ever Built — Only 21 of the Planned 132 Were Produced

Northrop’s B-2 Spirit was awarded the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Technology Bomber contract in 1981 and was designed in extreme secrecy to penetrate the...

Harrison Kass7 days ago

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

In 1972, an SR-71 Lost Both Engines Over Hanoi — North Vietnam Didn’t Shoot It Down Because They Thought It Carried a Nuclear Bomb

On May 15, 1972, an SR-71 Blackbird called the “Rapid Rabbit” — distinguished from the rest of the fleet by the Playboy Bunny logos...

Stephen SilverMay 9, 2026

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Northrop’s Tacit Blue Was Called ‘the Most Unstable Aircraft Ever Flown’ — Its 130 Flights at Area 51 Helped Create the B-2 Spirit

Northrop’s Tacit Blue stealth research demonstrator made its first flight from Groom Lake — better known as Area 51 — in 1982, eventually making...

Caleb LarsonMay 9, 2026

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Boeing Won a $20,000,000,000 Contract for the F-47 NGAD — 185 Aircraft Designed to Replace the F-22 and Outclass China’s J-20

In March 2025, President Donald Trump and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin announced that Boeing had won a $20 billion...

Steve BalestrieriMay 9, 2026

At sea aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)-- A lone plane captain conducts a walk around inspection of his F-14D Tomcat that is assigned to Fighter Squadron Three One (VF-31). THe F-14D is armed with AIM-9 Siderwinder Missiles and a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and a GBU-14. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and Carrier Air Wing FOURTEEN (CVW 14) are conducting combat operations in support of Operation Southern Watch. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Third Class (AW/PJ) Philip A. McDaniel. Cleared for release by ALBG PAO, LCDR Jeff Bender.

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Operation Epic Fury Destroyed Most of Iran’s F-14 Fleet — Now Congress Wants to Pull Three Tomcats From Storage and Fly One Again

Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran, destroyed most of Tehran’s F-14 Tomcat fleet — the only F-14s flying anywhere outside...

Caleb LarsonMay 8, 2026

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

The SR-71 Blackbird’s Pratt & Whitney J58 Engines Suffered an ‘Unstart’ at 83,000 Feet — and the Aircraft Began Falling Sideways

In 1984, an SR-71 Blackbird flying at 83,000 feet over the Soviet Kola Peninsula lost both Pratt & Whitney J58 engines simultaneously — and...

Kris OsbornMay 8, 2026

National Security Journal

All posts tagged "U.S. Air Force"

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

For 20 Years, the F-22 Raptor Couldn’t Carry External Fuel Tanks Without Losing Stealth — Lockheed Just Solved That Problem

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Lockheed Designed the SR-71 I to Hunt Russian Bombers at Mach 3 — It Never Flew, and the U.S. Could Use One Today

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

The B-1B Was Designed to Drop Nuclear Bombs on Russia — After 9/11 It Dropped 40% of All U.S. Air-Launched Ordnance in Iraq

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

At $2,000,000,000 Per Aircraft, the B-2 Spirit Was the Most Expensive Bomber Ever Built — Only 21 of the Planned 132 Were Produced

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

In 1972, an SR-71 Lost Both Engines Over Hanoi — North Vietnam Didn’t Shoot It Down Because They Thought It Carried a Nuclear Bomb

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Northrop’s Tacit Blue Was Called ‘the Most Unstable Aircraft Ever Flown’ — Its 130 Flights at Area 51 Helped Create the B-2 Spirit

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Boeing Won a $20,000,000,000 Contract for the F-47 NGAD — 185 Aircraft Designed to Replace the F-22 and Outclass China’s J-20

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Operation Epic Fury Destroyed Most of Iran’s F-14 Fleet — Now Congress Wants to Pull Three Tomcats From Storage and Fly One Again

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

The SR-71 Blackbird’s Pratt & Whitney J58 Engines Suffered an ‘Unstart’ at 83,000 Feet — and the Aircraft Began Falling Sideways

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