The Blackbird Developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft, the SR-71, sometimes known unofficially as the “Blackbird,” is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The 4200th (later 9th) Strategic…
The AIM-54 Phoenix The controversial F-111B, which was being developed for the Navy’s carrier fighter inventory, was replaced by the F-14 Tomcat in 1968. The F-14 Tomcat was built with…
The Blackbird The Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft were the basis for the long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft known as the SR-71, or “Blackbird,” as it was informally called.…
Operation El Dorado Canyon Operation El Dorado Canyon began on April 14, 1986, with a strike group consisting of eighteen US Air Force (USAF) F-111 fighter bombers, supported by a…
The F-14 Tomcat In the 1986 movie “Top Gun,” the F-14 Tomcat had a key part. The Navy required an aircraft to defend its surface fleets from hostile aircraft and long-range…
The SR-71 Blackbird A group of Lockheed members led by Clarence “Kelly” Johnson—then vice president of Lockheed’s Advanced Development Company Projects, also referred to as the “Skunk Works” and currently…
The B-58 Hustler On November 11, 1956, the B-58, the US Air Force’s first operational supersonic bomber, took off. Apart from its delta wing design, the Hustler was distinguished by…
The F-16N Viper The US Navy purchased an F-16N Viper, a version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon used by the US Air Force, to simulate fourth-generation Soviet fighters as adversary…
The AGM-62 Walleye The Martin Marietta AGM-62 Walleye, although designated as an air-to-ground missile (AGM), was actually an unpowered glide bomb guided to its target by a television camera attached…
US Navy’s search for an advanced carrier-based air superiority fighter In an effort to support the Department of Defense’s goal of commonality with the Air Force and its F-111A, General…