The UN embargoed South Africa in 1977, so Atlas took the Mirage III apart and rebuilt it. The Atlas Cheetah, the Israeli connection, and the war it never fought.
The Rhodesian Air Force: Fifteen Years of Flying Under Embargo
The UN’s first mandatory arms embargo was aimed at Rhodesia in 1966. Its Hunters, Canberras and Vampires flew for fourteen more years. How the Rhodesian Air Force did it.
Air France 4590: The Ninety Seconds That Ended Concorde
On 25 July 2000 Air France 4590 crashed at Gonesse seventy seconds after lift-off, killing 113. What the BEA actually found, and what almost every retelling gets wrong.
The Cenepa Air Battle: The Kfir’s Only Kill Outside Israel
On 10 February 1995 Ecuadorian Mirages and Kfirs shot down three Peruvian aircraft over the Amazon. Inside the Cenepa air battle, and why Peru still disputes it.
Skybolt and Blue Streak: How the RAF Lost Britain’s Bomb
Britain cancelled its own missile, bet the deterrent on an American one, and lost that too. At Nassau it got Polaris instead, and with it the RAF lost the job it was built for.
The Snark: America’s Nuclear Cruise Missile That Flew Into the Amazon
It ignored its own self-destruct, outran the fighters sent after it, and vanished over Brazil. Then it served as an American nuclear weapon for under four months.
Su-27 vs MiG-29: The Only War They Fought Each Other
Ethiopia and Eritrea bought Flankers and Fulcrums from the same country within months of each other, then flew them at each other over Badme. Most of what you have read about it is wrong.
Operation Provide Comfort: When Two F-15s Shot Down Two Black Hawks
Twenty-six dead over northern Iraq in 1994. American flags painted on the fuel tanks, nineteen people watching from an AWACS, and a court-martial that convicted nobody.
Three Killed as a Cirrus SR22T Hits a Slope Above Leukerbad
The aircraft had flown from Lugano via Sion and was heading for Buochs when it struck the northern slope at Fluhalp. SUST and the Federal Prosecutor are both investigating.
Bell Starts Building Nigeria’s AH-1Z Vipers
A Nigerian delegation signed the frame of the first of twelve AH-1Z Vipers at Amarillo. Behind the ceremony sits a decade of argument about whether Washington would sell them at all.
F135 Engine Core Upgrade Clears Its Design Review
The F-35’s problem was never thrust. It was electricity and the heat that comes with it. Pratt & Whitney has now cleared the design review that lets the fix head toward production.
SPICE 1000 on the F-35I Adir: Israel Arms Its Lightning
Rafael and Lockheed Martin are integrating the 1,000lb SPICE stand-off weapon on the F-35. It glides past 120km and guides by looking at the ground rather than trusting GPS.
NATO’s Drone Wingmen: USAFE Prepares for Allied CCAs
Germany is heavily involved, the Dutch and Scandinavians are interested, and everyone is building their own anyway. USAFE’s job now is making sure the robots can talk to each other.
F-47 and F/A-XX: The Industrial Base Problem Nobody Solved
Gen. Dale White says the F-47 will fly on time, but he has concerns about whether American industry can build what the Pentagon is ordering. And they are not confined to the two next-gen fighters.
Air Force Eyes New-Build F-16s: Meet the Proposed F-16G
The USAF has not bought an F-16 for itself in over 20 years. With 826 Vipers averaging 34 years old and the F-35 and F-15EX lines maxed out, Lockheed is pitching a G-model built at Greenville.
USAF Weighs Restarting C-17 Production: “Heck Yeah, But…”
Air Mobility Command boss Lt. Gen. Daniel Tulley says a C-17 production restart is on the table inside a formal Analysis of Alternatives. The line closed in 2015. Nobody is sure the tooling still exists.
Houthis Claim a Saudi F-15 Shot Down Over Marib, Yemen
Ansar Allah says a locally built surface-to-air missile brought down a Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 over Marib. The wreckage is real. The cause is not confirmed, and Riyadh is silent.