Boeing V-22 Osprey in flight over London. The V-22 is a tilt-rotor aircraft with vertical and short take off capabilities. Its hybrid design combines the capabilities of a helicopter and a turboprop airplane. In the US military, it is operated by both the Air Force and the Marines.
Posts in the Air Force category:
F-15E Strike Eagle being refueled in flight
Fully loaded USAF McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15E from the 492nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron goes through in flight refueling (IFR) from a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker of the 190th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron – the Kansas Coyotes. The units are part of Operation Northern Watch, based at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, enforcing the Northern no-fly zone. The 492nd is based at RAF Lakenheath, England and the 190th is an Air National Guard unit based at Topeka, Kansas. (U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Dave Westover.)
Fuel Air Explosive (FAE) bomb explodes
An animation/video of a Fuel Air Explosive (FAE) or thermobaric bomb being dropped and detonating to destroy a structure. FAEs use an explosive material that is comprised almost exclusively of a fuel which when detonated, uses all the available oxygen in the blast zone and creates a destructive blast wave as it sucks all the oxygen out of the impact zone.
CP-140 Aurora LRMPA
Lockheed Martin CP-140 Aurora long range maritime patrol aircraft (LRMPA) operated by the Canadian Air Force. It is based on Lockheed’s P-3 Orion and includes an extra electronics suite for the Canadian military. The CP-140 is used to patrol the country’s vast maritime frontiers.
Denel Rooivalk attack helicopter
South African Rooivalk attack helicopter on display. Manufactured by Denel, this South African plane is used by the South African Air Force. This display model shows its fully decked out configuration that includes a 20mm cannon, a pair of Mistral air-to-air missiles (AAM), eight Mokopa anti-tank missiles (ATGM) and two pods of unguided ground attack rockets.
French Mirage 2000N with ASMP nuclear missile
A fully loaded French Air Force’s Mirage 2000N bomber jet. This version of Dassault’s Mirage 2000B is a two seater jet that has been modified for low level attack and the ability to deploy the ASMP medium range nuclear cruise missile (seen on the fuselage hardpoint above). It forms the basis of France’s air force based tactical nuclear deterrent.
B-52 strategic bomber “BUFF”
This USAF B-52H Stratofortress strategic bomber sits on the tarmac with the wide array of bombs, missiles and other strategic and tactical armaments are displayed in front of it. Another BUFF (Big Ugly Fat F*cker) flies in the background. The B-52 can deploy up to 70,000 lbs of lethal payload.
Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser
United States Air Force’s Boeing YAL-1 Airborne laser platform takes off. The now scrapped YAL-1 was based on the Boeing 747 and was designed to test the use of high powered lasers to destroy ballistic missiles before they reached their terminal phase.
USAF A-10 Warthog attack jet
US Air Forces’s close air support A-10 “Warthog” undergoing a ground inspection. This A-10 has a special paint job for the nose area of the airplane which houses its lethal 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon.