View allAll Photos Tagged fighterjet
An F-35C test aircraft flies at dusk to prepare for a night refueling mission in September 2013. The flight originated from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
An F-35B test aircraft flies over the Atlantic ocean just after taking off from the USS Wasp on Aug. 23, 2013.
Seven F-35Bs are on board the USS America beginning Oct. 28 until mid-November. Two of the jets are scheduled to begin the third shipboard phase of developmental test (DT-III) and five are scheduled to conduct operational testing. Learn more: lmt.co/2fuWK0N
Had a very enjoyable day at RIAT (Royal International Air Tatto) airshow near Fairford today. Some mixed weather but mostly dry and which provided some great dramatic sky backdrops. Here's one of a Typhoon from the Spanish Air Force. My adjustments post capture were to crop and slightly rotate (my long lens is only approx 350mm so it is difficult to fill the frame) and contrast. Deafening noise and thrilling to see at relative close quarters!
F-15EX 001 being delivered to Eglin AFB. It was great to be there for a significant milestone in AF history
The Dassault MD.452 Mystère is a 1950s French fighter-bomber. This fallen hero currently resides at Andrewsfield airbase in Stebbing Essex which is a former US Air Force base.
After the success of the Ouragan, Dassault was working on a more advanced machine based on it, which would take to the air in early 1951 as the MD.452 Mystère I.
The first prototype Mystère I was essentially an Ouragan with a 30-degree swept wing and modified tail surfaces. Two further prototypes followed, powered by the Rolls-Royce Tay 250 centrifugal-flow turbojet, an improved version of the Rolls-Royce Nene, built under license by Hispano-Suiza, and rated at 28.0 kN (6,300 lbf) thrust.
These three Mystère I prototypes led to two Mystère IIA prototypes, powered by the Tay and armed with four 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano cannon; and then four Mystère IIB prototypes, which traded the four 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon for two 30 mm (1.181 in) DEFA revolver-type cannon. A Mystère IIA was the first French aircraft to break Mach 1 in controlled flight (in a dive), on 28 October 1951.
The eleven preproduction machines that followed were designated Mystère IIC, nine of which were fitted with the SNECMA Atar 101C axial-flow turbojet, rated at 24.5 kN (5,500 lbf) thrust, while two were experimentally fitted with the afterburning Atar 101F, with an afterburning thrust of 37.3 kN (8,400 lbf).
The French Air Force ordered 150 Mystère IICs, with the first production machine flying in June 1954, being delivered in October of that year. The production aircraft featured the twin 30 mm (1.181 in) DEFA cannon, an Atar 101D turbojet with 29.4 kN (6,600 lbf) thrust, increased tail sweep, and revised intake trunking and internal fuel tank arrangement. Top speed was 1,030 km/h (560 kn; 640 mph) at low level. Details of external stores are unclear, but a reasonable assumption would be that they were similar to those of the Ouragan.
The last Mystère IIC was delivered in 1957, by which time the type was already being relegated to advanced training duties. Aircraft design was moving very quickly in the 1950s and even as the Mystère IIC was becoming operational, the better Dassault Mystère IVA was flying. The Mystère IIC was very much an interim type, though it did persist in the training role until 1963.
There were no foreign buyers for the Mystère II. As noted, the Israelis wanted to buy 24 but changed their minds and bought Mystère IVAs instead. It appears that the Mystère II was never used in combat.
This outstanding former RAF interceptor of the '60s and '70s is mounted on a plinth on the premises of Castle Air just off the A38 near Liskeard in Cornwall.
It is 32 years since this plane took its last flight in November 1987. According to Wikipedia, the Lightning remains the only UK-designed and built fighter capable of Mach 2. It was designed, developed, and initially manufactured by English Electric and was operated by the RAF, the Kuwait Air Force and the Royal Saudi Air Force.
The Lightning was initially designed and developed as a high speed interceptor to defend the V-bomber airfields from attack by anticipated future nuclear-armed supersonic Soviet bombers such as the Tupolev Tu-22, but it was subsequently also required to intercept other bomber aircraft such as the Tupolev Tu-16 and the Tupolev Tu-95. The Lightning had an exceptional rate of climb, ceiling, and speed but was limited by its fuel capacity. Later developments provided greater range and speed along with aerial reconnaissance and ground-attack capability.
Source: Wikipedia