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Regulars
Monster Machines: Next-Gen Fighter Jets Could Be A New Kind Of Bulletproof
The F-35 Lightning and F-22 Raptor fifth generation fighters are among the most technologically advanced aircraft in history, but the fact that they’re barely out of testing (more than can be said about their Russian and Chinese counterparts) doesn’t mean the US military isn’t already designing an even better sixth generation. These next gen war-fighters will be able to fly farther, faster and fight smarter with advanced weapons systems and maybe even self-healing skin.
Monster Machines: This Supersonic Fighter Has Never Seen Real Combat
The US Air Force’s armada are among the most advanced aircraft on the planet. As such, the USAF isn’t going to let just any schmuck fresh out of basic training take to the skies in an F-35. Instead wannabe Top Guns must first prove their mettle in a less expensive plane that’s trained more than 50,000 pilots since the Eisenhower administration.
Monster Machines: If A Jet Engine Can Survive GE’s Wind Tunnel, It Can Survive Anything
Even though today’s largest aeroplane engines are capable of producing more than 45,000kg of thrust, they are still susceptible to ice build-up in the sub-zero temperatures at cruising altitude. To ensure the next generation of mega-engines can withstand the worst that Old Man Winter can throw at them, GE has set up a testing centre in the coldest, most inhospitable frozen environment this side of Hoth — Winnipeg, Canada.
The Life And Times Of A Fighter Jet Test Pilot
Over here at Gizmodo Australia, we’re all lucky enough to be living out our dream jobs. Everyday we’re testing new gadgets, new tech and previewing the next big thing. My job, however, is nothing compared to the job of Elliot Clements. His colleagues call him “Hemo”, not because it’s a clever nickname from some obscure experience, but because that was his callsign for the 14 years he was in the Navy, flying combat missions in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Hemo is a fighter jet test pilot on the trillion-dollar F-35 fighter jet program, and he really does have the best job in the world.
The Trillion Dollar F-35 Is Grounded Yet Again
In what is becoming almost as consistent as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, the F-35 — America’s trillion dollar joke of a fighter jet — has been grounded again. I don’t even know how many times the fighter jet has been grounded now, I’ve lost count. This time, it’s because of a crack in a turbine blade of the engine.
Holy Moly, Check Out This Awesome F-18 Cockpit Video
I love the GoPros or whatever cameras the people at the Carrier Strike Group 8 used to make this awesome video. It shows the complete experience of flying a VFA-103 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower.
Iran Photoshops New Fighter Jet To Make It Look Like It’s Flying
Oh, Iran. Your Qaher 313 stealth fighter jet sure looks intimidating, but it will never get off the ground. So why do you insist on tricking everybody into thinking that the beast can fly? Iran has photoshopped the Qaher 313 onto a stock image of Mount Damavand to make it look like its flying.
Twin F35 Fighters Suckling On The Sweet Milk Of Freedom
Aerial refuelling is an invaluable technique, not only extending a jet’s operational endurance, it allows for more and heavier equipment to be carried than would otherwise be possible. Since its inception in the biplane era, this technology has developed into what you see here: two F-35C Lightning II jets attached to the business end of a Lockheed Martin KC-130 Hercules. At the same time. That’s a first.
