Air Force

News

A Predator Drone Watches America Exit Iraq From Above

3:40AM December 20, 2011 | Sam Biddle

Have you heard? The war in Iraq is over! Pretty much. The humans are out — but the big robot eyes in the sky are going to stick around. Hey — here’s a perfectly symbolic video! More »


Geek Out

The Mighty United States Air Force Summarised In Two Minutes

2:00PM December 15, 2011 | Jesus Diaz

The F-22 may have not been a resounding success, but this video gives a good idea of the power of the US Air Force, complete with some pseudo-Wagner(ish) music that makes me want to invade Poland More »


Geek Out

America’s Newest Killer Drone Is Headed To Afghanistan, If They Don’t Lose It

2:00PM December 14, 2011 | Sam Biddle

General Atomics’ Avenger — the newest iteration of the classic Predator — is headed to war for the first time, Danger Room’s David Axe reports. It’s got F-35 sensors, loads of stealth weapons bays, and terrain-sweeping radar. Iran: start licking your lips. More »


Science

Here’s The Air Force’s Rulebook For Energy Weapons Of The Future

11:20AM November 9, 2011 | Sam Biddle

The Air Force thinks the future of weapons isn’t guns and bombs — it’s Directed Energy Weapons — killing devices so sophisticated, most of them don’t exist yet. But just in case, the AF’s covering their arses with these safety guidelines. Zap. More »


Geek Out

The Sad Odyssey Of The F-22: America’s Big Broken Toy

5:00AM October 28, 2011 | Sam Biddle

The F-22 has been okayed to fly again, after being grounded, cleared, grounded, then cleared once more — all within a year. And yet, the Air Force hasn’t fixed the plane’s life threatening flaw. It doesn’t seem like it cares. More »


Geek Out

US Air Force’s Rocket-Killing Laser That Runs On Rocket Fuel

4:40AM October 27, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

Until that Missile Defence Shield I’ve heard so much about is realised, we’ll just have to rely on this megawatt laser mounted on the front of a Boeing to blast warheads out of the sky. Works for me More »


Geek Out

The F-22 Is Back, Baby!

10:45AM October 26, 2011 | Sam Biddle

That was quick! With zero explanation, The World’s Most Expensive Plane™ is back in the air, despite a persistent, possibly deadly oxygen deprivation problem. How long will the $US24,000,000,000,000 fleet stay operational? Who knows! [AFP] More »


News

Surprise: $US150m F-22 Fighters Are Shut Down Again

6:20AM October 25, 2011 | Sam Biddle

Last month, the Pentagon gave the OK to the nation’s fleet of extremely expensive F-22 jets, despite failing to fix the plane’s oxygen deprivation problems. They decided to just see how things went. They didn’t go well: it’s broken again. More »


Geek Out

The F-22 Is Back In The Sky! And Still Kinda Broken!

9:50AM September 20, 2011 | Sam Biddle

Remember when the Pentagon let the F-35 start flying again, even though its underlying defects hadn’t been fixed? They just did literally the exact same thing with the F-22 Raptor. Hope you’re not worried about oxygen deprivation. More »


Entertainment

Feature: The CIA Really Wants To Make Hollywood’s Next Blockbuster

7:00AM September 18, 2011 | Mark Riffee - Wired

Are you an aspiring filmmaker who wants to produce a spy thriller? Well, you’re in luck because the CIA has a pile of script ideas lying around. More »