Media Galleries : Combat Aircraft

BF-2’s flight to the ship brought the 2011 flight total to more than 700, flight hours to more than 1,100, and the vertical landing count beyond 180. By the end of September, F-35B pilots had flown more than 300 short takeoffs in 2011 alone.

The Türk Hava Kuvvetleri Turkish Air Force, or TurAF, celebrates the centennial of its air force this year with the creation of an F-16 demonstration team called Solo Turk. The single-ship team with three demo pilots flies an F-16C Block 40 from 141 Filo or Squadron (also known as Anatolian Wolfs), which is based at 4th Main Jet Base at Akinci near Ankara. In its centennial news release, TurAF officials said that, “The aim of our 100th year recognition is not just to celebrate our age, but to generate trust and interest in the Turkish Air Force from our citizens, especially from the youth of our country.”

Since March 2011, the F-35 program has completed more than 200 additional flights and, as of late June 2011, had surpassed 1,400 flight hours and 1,000 total flights.

Mapping the optical properties of a canopy is akin to reverse engineering the optics of a pair of prescription glasses. However, these glasses don’t rest on noses—they surround the heads of fighter pilots. The mapping process is necessary because aerial and ground targets viewed through head-up and helmet-mounted displays are distorted by canopy thickness, curves, and material. Simply put, the canopy can have a direct effect on weapon accuracy.

As of mid-March 2011, the five F-35Bs flying at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, have completed a total of 316 flights and seventy-three vertical landings.

The company credited with designing, developing, and manufacturing the U-2 Dragon Lady, C-130 Hercules, C-5 Galaxy, and F-16 Fighting Falcon also maintains, repairs, overhauls, and tests the engines that power these military aircraft. Kelly Aviation Center also repairs engines for some commercial aircraft.

The 2010 NATO Tiger Meet was hosted by 313 Squadron, the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 unit based at Volkel AB. This meet was the first time the yearly gathering of air squadrons with the Tiger mascot was hosted by 313 Squadron.

The previous installment of the F-35 Flight Test Update ended with F-35A AF-1 completing its fiftieth flight on 27 August 2010. Since then, the aircraft has been flown an additional thirty flights and a total of more than 140 flight hours.

Given the vital role the F-22 performs in projecting air power and considering that the US Air Force will have received 187 production aircraft by the time production winds down in early 2012, maintaining the fleet and keeping Raptors flying are the new imperatives.

The 510th Fighter Squadron, the Buzzards, one of two F-16 squadrons based at Aviano AB in Italy, deployed to Bagram AB in Afghanistan from May through October 2010 for a scheduled Air Expeditionary Force rotation.