Share this story Quick Facts Steam Catapult (C-13)0 to 165 mph in under 2 seconds; uses 1,200 lbs of steam per launch EMALS (Electromagnetic)0 to 180+ mph; uses linear induction motor instead of steam Aircraft WeightUp to 100,000 lbs (F/A-18E: ~66,000 lbs loaded)...
Share this story Quick Facts What It DoesPrevents blood from pooling in the legs during high-G manoeuvres How It WorksAir bladders inflate around legs and abdomen, squeezing blood back toward the heart and brain G-Force RangeModern fighters pull up to 9g Unprotected...
Share this story Quick Facts ManoeuvrePugachev’s Cobra PilotViktor Pugachev, Soviet test pilot AircraftSukhoi Su-27 (first demonstration); later performed in MiG-29 First Public Demo1989 Paris Air Show, Le Bourget Angle of Attack90–120 degrees — nose pulled past...
Share this story Quick Facts ProgrammeGlobal Combat Air Programme (GCAP) PartnersUnited Kingdom, Italy, Japan Lead CompanyEdgewing (BAE Systems + Leonardo + JAIEC) First Contract Value£686 million (~$912 million) Contract TypeBridge contract through June 2026...
Share this story Quick Facts TeamU.S. Navy Blue Angels AircraftF/A-18E/F Super Hornet (6), C-130J Super Hercules “Fat Albert” (1) 2026 Season StatusMultiple shows cancelled; more cancellations expected ReasonHeightened base security (Iran war) + Fat Albert...
Share this story Quick FactsNationalityGerman 🇩🇪Aerial Victories15Aircraft FlownFokker Eindecker E.IIIWarsWorld War IBorn / Died21 Sep 1890 – 18 Jun 1916 (age 25)UnitKEK Douai, Feldflieger-Abteilung 62 Max Immelmann — via Wikimedia Commons Every pilot who has ever...
Share this story Quick Facts DateSeptember 21, 1956 PilotThomas W. Attridge Jr., Grumman test pilot AircraftGrumman F11F-1 Tiger (BuNo 138620) LocationOff Long Island, New York ArmamentFour 20mm Colt Mk 12 cannons OutcomeAircraft destroyed; pilot survived with...
Share this story On November 12, 1996, two aircraft occupied the same point in Indian airspace. In the seconds that followed, 349 people ceased to exist. It remains the worst midair collision in human history—a catastrophe born from language barriers,...
Share this story On December 26, 2025, Turkey’s Baykar proved something crucial about the future of warfare: precision-guided munitions fired from unmanned platforms now match anything launched from manned aircraft. The Bayraktar AKINCI, a 6-ton heavy combat drone,...
Share this story They aimed to launch a man out of an aircraft at 600 miles per hour and have him survive the journey. It was 1945, and James Martin, a British engineer, had set out to solve a problem that had killed countless pilots: when your fighter is hit and...
Share this story Over 11,000 built. More nations flew it than any supersonic fighter in history. The Soviets created something extraordinary: a machine so brutally efficient that seven decades later, it still haunts the skies of multiple continents. The MiG-21 Fishbed...
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