Italy Turns Away U.S. Bombers Mid-Flight

Italy Turns Away U.S. Bombers Mid-Flight

Share this story Related: Spain Bans American Warplanes from Its Skies Somewhere over the Atlantic, a group of U.S. bombers received a message no American military pilot expects to hear from a NATO ally: permission to land denied. Italy had blocked them from touching...
Rheinmetall signe pour Ghost Bat

Rheinmetall signe pour Ghost Bat

Share this story Related: Germany’s Loyal Wingman Race Heats Up Four days ago, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stood on a tarmac in Australia and said the words Boeing had been waiting years to hear: the MQ-28 Ghost Bat was “under...
Why They Call It the Viper

Why They Call It the Viper

Share this story Most aircraft are designed to fly straight and level by default. Take your hands off the controls and they glide on, stable, content, reassuring. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is not like most aircraft. Take your hands off the controls in an F-16 and it...
The Enemy Pilot Who Escorted Us Home

The Enemy Pilot Who Escorted Us Home

Share this story Franz Stigler had one kill to go. One more aircraft, and he would earn the Knight’s Cross — the highest military honour the Luftwaffe could bestow. He had fought across North Africa and was now flying Bf 109s over Germany, defending the Reich...
The Tail That Won MiG Alley

The Tail That Won MiG Alley

Share this story In the summer of 1951, American F-86A pilots over North Korea were dying. Not because the MiG-15 was faster. Not because the North Korean and Chinese pilots were better. They were dying because at around Mach 0.86 — the speed at which the...