USAF
Whatever happened to the US Army's proposed Aerial Common Sensor aircraft?
The US Army’s Aerial Common Sensor was conceived to combine the RC-12 Guardrail Common Sensor and the RC-7 Airborne Reconnaissance Low into a single aircraft. We explain how the proposed system was scuppered by its own ambitions
USAF Starfighters Scrutinized
Warren E Thompson, in the December 2016 issue of Aviation News, looked back at the USAF career of the iconic Lockheed F-104 Starfighter – including its service in the Vietnam War
Flying the KC-135Q – Global Reach for the SR-71
A force of KC-135Qs was dedicated to air-to-air refuel the SR-71A Blackbird. In the August 2012 issue of Aviation News pilot Lt Col Erik C Swanson (ret.) described his experiences flying the ‘Q’ variant of the Stratotanker supporting the SR-71A on its secret missions
F-117 Pilot: Nighthawk combat debut in Panama and becoming a squadron boss
In this second article on Greg Feest’s F-117 career, which appeared in the January 2018 issue of Aviation News, among the topics he covered were flying a combat mission to Panama and becoming a squadron commander
Flying the F-4 Phantom in Vietnam
Colonel Richard H Graham (ret’d) is best known as an SR-71 Blackbird pilot – but he earlier flew 210 combat missions in the F-4 during the Vietnam War, some of which were in the Wild Weasel role.
Lakenheath's First F-35 Squadron
In a recent special publication marking the 80th anniversary of USAFE Mark Ayton provided an overview of the re-activation of the 495th Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, and its work-up with the F-35A Lightning II
Hercules Gunships: Fearsome firepower from above
Tom Kaminski detailed all variants of the AC-130 series of gunships in a 2021 article
Going to war in the F-117: a pilot’s perspective
In the December 2017 issue of Aviation News, in the first of a two part feature, Major General Greg Feest (Ret) described joining the secret F-117A programme and the mission on which he dropped the first bomb of the Gulf War
The USAF readies the F-15EX Eagle II
A special publication to mark the 75th anniversary of the USAF featured this article on the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II, which is the most advanced Eagle yet and is the first new fourth generation fighter to be procured by the USAF for many years
Future aircraft of the USAF
This article emanates from a special publication to mark the 75th anniversary of the USAF and details some of the aircraft that will equip tomorrow’s air force