fighter jets

Believe it or not, this image isn't Photoshopped in any way.

[ Read Full Story ]

I guess Michael Bay was on to something. It may go down as the first $200-million stealth fighter to have its starring roles in action movies outnumber its usages in actual combat before the program bites the dust, but it can certainly throw a pretty sonic boom.

[ Read Full Story ]

After frightening revelations that hackers have already managed to break into the computer systems that control huge swaths of the United States' power grid and other pieces of national infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reports that cyber-spies have broken into the Pentagon's Joint Strike Fighter program -- its costliest initiative -- and made off with several terabytes of sensitive data.

[ Read Full Story ]

Popular Science celebrates the eternal human urge to go bigger! Better! Stronger! Meet three innovations with the need to exceed.

[ Read Full Story ]

A Category 4 hurricane approaches New Orleans, yet “When the Saints Go Marching In” continues to spill out of clubs on Bourbon Street. No one’s worried, because two F4 Phantom fighter jets have just taken off from the nearby Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base to kill the storm before it hits land.

[ Read Full Story ]

An explosion shook the San Diego neighborhood of University City yesterday afternoon when a U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed into a house. The pilot of the plane safely ejected, but a mother, child, and grandmother died when the plane hit their home, and another child is still missing.

[ Read Full Story ]

The South Korean air force showcased its new aircraft testing and evaluation center on opening day, September 8, by coating this F-4 Phantom fighter jet with ice. In the facility, engineers simulate conditions that a plane might encounter at 40,000 feet to determine if the craft’s composite structure—particularly in its wings—can endure the freezing temperatures without cracking.

[ Read Full Story ]

Last April, we dissected the worlds most advanced fighter jet, the F-35B Lightning II, in the pages of our annual How It Works issue. Now military contractor Lockheed Martin is firing up the jets 40,000-pound-thrust engine (the most powerful ever built for a fighter jet) in preparation for flight tests. The jet can soar at supersonic speeds (1,000 mph) and deflect radar signals, but by the end of the month, pilots are expected to show off its most highly anticipated feature: the ability to stop mid-flight and touch down virtually anywhere.

[ Read Full Story ]

Graham Hawkes is best known for his radical winged submarines that "fly" under the sea like spiraling fighter jets. But the British-born engineer is also the inventor of the military's first robotic machine gun. He hit upon the idea after reading about a disastrous police shootout in Philadelphia in 1985. Here's what Hawkes, 57, had to say about how he brought it to life.

[ Read Full Story ]

G-FORCE—WHAT IS IT?
You’ve seen us mention g-forces in articles about new jet aircraft and cars?many times with reference to their being a very serious obstacle to overcome when developing ever faster technology. But what are they? Gravitational force is the force of gravity pulling you toward the Earth. When you undergo a change in speed and direction, that force increases in proportion to the rate of change. To calculate the magnitude of the force you feel as g’s increase, multiply your weight by the number of g’s.

[ Read Full Story ]