Shuttle Discovery

               Development of two fighters in parallel with complementary roles, one heavyweight and more costly and the other light and relatively cheap, is far from unprecedented. The F-22 as an elite heavy fighter built to engage the most advanced enemy combat aircraft is a direct successor to the F-15C Eagle and F-4E Phantom from the respective fourth and third generations, while the F-35 follows on from the F-16 Falcon and the F-5E Tiger II in fulfilling the role of a low cost and versatile light fighter capable of fulfilling any number of roles on the battlefield but specialised in none of them. The heavy air superiority fighters have been far more restricted in their exports compared to their lighter counterparts, with the F-22 banned from export entirely while lighter aircraft have been built in much larger numbers, widely exported to all manner of U.S. allies and non aligned states, and in the fourth and fifth generations also acquir...

The United States military services have now received as many as 400 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, a milestone which speaks to the multi-year operational effectiveness of the well-known aircraft, in use by the Marine Corps, Navy and U.S. Special Operations. The 400th Bell-Boeing built Osprey was delivered to U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command to support a wide range of mission sets to include troop transport, resupply and long-range infiltration. The Osprey has supported land and maritime combat and land war for many years since its arrival more than 10 years ago; its mission success has inspired the Pentagon to continually upgrade the aircraft for service as far as into the 2050s and beyond.  Video:  Out Of Your Mind The longevity and expected service life of the Osprey has, for many years, been supported by a wide range of sustainment and modernization efforts including aerial refueling and advanced digital networking. There is also the possibility of further arming the ...

SR-71 Blackbird was developed in secret in the late 1950s to cruise to 80,000 feet above the earth, near the edge of space, and out fly any missile that was launched at it.  The SR-71 was designed for flight at over Mach 3 with a flight crew of two in tandem cockpits, with the pilot in the forward cockpit and the reconnaissance systems officer operating the surveillance systems and equipment from the rear cockpit, and directing navigation on the mission flight path.  The SR-71 was designed to minimize its radar cross-section, an early attempt at stealth design. Finished aircraft were painted a dark blue, almost black, to increase the emission of internal heat and to act as camouflage against the night sky. The dark color led to the aircraft's nickname "Blackbird". Video: Out Of Your Mind