Military Aviation History

Latest in Military Aviation History

X-36 was an early progenitor that lead to the F-47.
Air

Reflections Of The F-47: Looking Back At The X-36

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 27, 2025

A-4 being loaded with bombs during the Falklands War.
Air

Argentine Air Force Went To War With Chaff Made By Pasta Machine

By Thomas Newdick, Mariano Sciaroni

Posted on Mar 14, 2025

A U.S. Air Force Convair B-36B-1-CF Peacemaker (s/n 44-92033) of the 7th Bombardment Wing in flight, in 1949. This aircraft was retired to the MASDC on 19 November 1956.
Air

America’s First Broken Arrow Incident Happened 75 Years Ago

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Feb 14, 2025

The Philippine Mars flying boat made its final flight today.
Air

The Last Mars Flying Boat Just Made Its Final Flight

By Howard Altman

Updated on Feb 11, 2025

While the 1950s was a time of truly unusual and fast-paced innovation in military aerospace, one of the more bizarre projects was for a nuclear-armed, liquid-fueled development of the Sidewinder air-to-air missile.
Air

The Navy Nearly Built A Nuclear Armed “Super Sidewinder” Air-To-Air Missile

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 1, 2025

In the face of post-Cold War drawdowns, the U.S. Air Force pushed ahead with buying the famously expensive F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in part because of a perhaps unexpected reason: concerns about Syrian air defenses.
Air

Syria’s Air Defenses Helped Make The F-22A Raptor A Reality

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Dec 20, 2024

The spy plane at the center of one of the most notorious post-Cold War Today air incidents, a U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II, has arrived at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, for future public display. The EP-3E’s journey to get to the museum has been a long one, starting with the dramatic collision with a Chinese fighter in the so-called Hainan Island incident in 2001.
Air

EP-3E Aries II Spy Plane That Collided With Chinese Fighter Is Going On Display

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Oct 23, 2024

Half a century ago today, the first prototype of the Panavia Tornado prototype, aircraft P-01, was recorded at Manching in West Germany, with test pilots Paul Millet from British Aerospace and Nils Meister of Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) at the controls.
Air

Panavia Tornado Swing-Wing Combat Jet’s Ten Most Unusual Variants

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Aug 14, 2024

Testbed for the Navy's helicopter escape system in the 1960s
Air

Navy’s Cold War-Era Helicopter Crew Escape System Literally Sliced Fuselages Apart

By Oliver Parken

Posted on Aug 7, 2024

Two legendary U.S. nuclear bombers, their first flights separated by almost half a century, took to the skies over Missouri at the weekend. The formation flights by the U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and the B-29 Doc — one of only two examples of the World War II-era bomber that are flying anywhere in the world — were, the service believes, the first time that these two legendary aircraft had flown together in this way.
Air

B-2 Spirit Joined By B-29 Superfortress For Unprecedented Nuclear Bomber Heritage Flight

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 15, 2024

Piggyback bomber at a Nazi airfield In WWII.
Air

Recalling The Nazis’ Bizarre Piggyback Bombers 80 Years After They Went To War

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jun 30, 2024

B-52 Future Stratofortress: The Upgrades That Will Transform The B-52H Into The B-52J
Air

B-52 Future Stratofortress: The Upgrades That Will Transform The B-52H Into The B-52J

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Jun 14, 2024

A USAF Boeing F-15EX flies at low level in Nevada.

How 50 Years Of Eagle Experience Has Shaped The Advanced F-15

By Jamie Hunter

Posted on Jun 4, 2024

Testing at the Upside-Down Air Force, RADC
News & Features

The Fascinating Story Of The USAF’s “Upside-Down Air Force”

By Oliver Parken

Posted on May 31, 2024

Martin baker 75 years of ejections
Air

Martin-Baker Ejection Seat Made Its First Of 7,722 Saves 75 Years Ago Today

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on May 30, 2024

Experimental Alpha Draco hypersonic boost-glide vehicle preparing for launch, 1959.
Air

Alpha Draco Paved The Way In The Late 1950s For Future Hypersonic Boost-Glide Vehicles

By Oliver Parken

Posted on May 29, 2024