usaf
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Monster Machines: The F-22 Is Finally Seeing Action After 7 Years
A mere seven years (less than two presidential terms) after it was declared fit for combat operations, and then repeatedly grounded for operational issues, the F-22 Raptor has finally had its first taste of war, in the skies over what used to be Syria.
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Monster Machines: Northrop’s Flying Ram Would Have Sliced Enemy Planes Midair
War drives technological innovation like little else. No proposal is too ambitious, impractical, or downright foolhardy for consideration if it provides a strategic advantage. This school of thinking has led to atomic bombs, autonomous vehicles, and, in 1945, a short-lived fighter prototype that could cut through enemy aircraft in midair.
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Monster Machines: Boeing’s Bird Of Prey
From the U-2 Dragon Lady and A-12 Oxcart, to the SR-71 Blackbird and D-12 Ramjet Drone, there’s been no shortage of exotic aircraft (and UFO sightings) in the skies over Nevada’s Area 51. But among the most extreme examples of bleeding-edge avionic design tested was the otherworldly Boeing Bird of Prey.
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Monster Machines: The Prototype Fighter Jet That Was Just Never Quite Good Enough
Despite the US military’s robust budget, not every design makes it onto the battlefield. In fact, only a select number of the very best designs ever actually fly. So what the hell was the USAF thinking choosing the defect-ridden F-22 Raptor over this gorgeous jet?