Questions tagged [military]
For questions relating to military aviation or possible effects of a country's military on other forms of aviation.
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Starstreak Missile system - How do the darts avoid colliding with each other?
There is plenty of detailed info online about how the individual darts fly and manoeuvre but nothing about how they maintain their triangular separation.
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What is this jutting structure in the tail section called and what is its function?
I was wondering if there is a name for this particular structure on Su-27 and F-22 and if they serve any function?
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Why aren't swarms of cheap consumer-level drones a viable anti-aircraft tactic?
In the Russia/Ukraine war, when it comes to cheap, consumer-level drones, I've only heard of them used for reconnaisance, not for anti-aircraft defence. But given that:
In civil aviation, a single ...
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How does a fighter pilot calculate approach/landing speeds?
Let's say an F/A-18C returns to land after expending some payload. Fuel burned and weapons released made the plane lighter. I guess the aircraft computer can tell the pilot the actual weight of the ...
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Is there a modern-day counterpart to the F-20 Tigershark?
A previous question (Would it be feasible to restart production of the F-20 Tigershark?) has established that restarting production of the F-20 Tigershark is not feasible. Given this, I wonder if ...
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Would it be feasible to restart production of the F-20 Tigershark?
This seems unlikely considering the cancellation of the F-20 program, however, the F-20 has been characterized as "the right fighter at the wrong time". As such, I'm curious if F-20 ...
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How was the problem of dive bomber scope fogging resolved during WW2?
During the first half of 1942, US Navy SBD bombers had problems with their bomb aiming scopes fogging over, which reduced the accuracy of their bombing during several early war operations. Was this ...
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Why do some military flight appear on Flightradar but some not?
I often see military flights in the sky, which do not appear on FlightRadar24. I do understand that low-flying military airplanes do no necessarily get picked up by these trackers, and that some ...
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Can foreign military flying hours be counted towards an EASA ATPL in Hungary?
I'm an ex- Indian Air Force helicopter pilot with about 4000 hours of flying experience, including some 2500 hours as captain and about 500 hours as an instructor.
Is there any means by which, I can ...
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Why has Pakistan bought J10C?
Pakistan inducts China-made J-10C fighter jets into PAF
According to the above article, the purchase of J10C was the response to India's purchase of Dassault Rafale.
Can anyone please explain why or ...
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Why does this F18 have the rudders pointing towards each other? [duplicate]
I have seen this when they are parked and when taking off from the carriers.
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Why so many designs of Chinese carrier-based fighter aircraft?
I'm quite confused about all the carrier-based fighter aircraft projects in China. Could you help me determine which are the different acronyms (same of different?).
According to wikipedia, there are ...
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Why do military and tandem seat aircraft have the throttle on the left?
Why do military and tandem seat planes have the throttle on the left? As seen in the photos below of an F18 Hornet and a P38 Lightning. Is there a reason for this layout?
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Did military aircraft in the sixties commonly lack VHF radios?
Investigating the XB-70 cockpit equipment, I notice that it only had (two) UHF radios, of the AN/ARC-50 model, for the 225–399.95 MHz band. No VHF radio that could be used to talk to civilian ATC or ...
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What was the tactical purpose of the unusual flight control system that allowed the Northrop YA-9 to generate sideforce without banking?
What was the tactical purpose of the unusual flight control system that allowed the Northrop YA-9 to generate sideforce without banking? (And, how was the system controlled by the pilot?)
(Image is ...
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Could anyone provide me with the performance charts for Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker?
I am looking for the Long Range Cruise Maximum Operating Altitude performance against the weight of the plane, all engines operating. Would be grateful if someone could point me the way.
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Novel Research: Best way to sabotage a Hawker Hurricane in 1940/41?
Essentially, one of the central events in my work-in-progress novel is the sabotage of a Hawker Hurricane in Malta by a member of groundcrew. I originally had this as him loosening an aileron so that ...
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Can a jet-engine aircraft fly all the way to its service ceiling at its maximum takeoff weight? [closed]
I am trying to understand how high an aircraft can get to at its maximum takeoff weight (minus whatever fuel is consumed in getting to that altitude). Can it make it all the way to its service ceiling?...
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How do fighter jets pre-flight so quickly?
Military fighter jets can get in the air and to their target in minutes and faster than almost all other aircraft. How do they achieve this considering that a normal pre-flight alone takes ~10-15 ...
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How many nuclear weapons have been lost- and not located or recovered-- from aircraft in crashes or other mishaps? [closed]
How many nuclear weapons have been lost- and not located or recovered-- from aircraft in crashes or other mishaps?
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Battle Damage Checks / Procedures [closed]
Studying the damage model of DCS, especially on Warbirds, I encountered an operational doubt about the Battle Damage Checks.
Here is the question:
Suppose that after a sortie you are RTB, and you don'...
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Do jet nozzles reset after the engine is off for a while?
I have seen jet engines with nozzles being able to dilate to adjust for throttle and things of the sort, but the question I have is, if the engine is turned off, does the nozzle "reset" to a ...
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Why are the cargo doors of the C2 Greyhound open during flight, even when not delivering cargo?
You may find this strange, but I have a love for the C2 Greyhound and E2C Hawkeye. I noticed that when flying, the C2 Greyhound often opens its cargo doors. Is this for a better view, training, or ...
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Why doesn't the US Navy utilize seaplanes?
I understand that seaplanes are usually prop planes but for cargo planes it would be beneficial in times where large cargo supply operations need to be carried out on non-carrier operations.
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Why aren't the 'White shirts' in charge of removing the arresting wires on an aircraft carrier?
I understand that the green shirts are in charge of catapult maintenance, but why are they the ones that remove the arresting cable on US aircraft carriers? White shirts are the landing officials, so ...
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Does 'Fat Albert' Have any significant modifications?
The Blue Angels use a C-130 known as 'Fat Albert' in some of their shows. Other than the paint job and smoke, are there any significant differences between 'Fat Albert' and a standard C-130?
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What is the proper protocol in the US regarding abandoned aircraft not deemed safe to fly? [closed]
Security forces in Guatemala detected a plane entering airspace on 4 Nov 2021. They followed through and found it abandoned, with evidence that it transported illegal drugs. After an assessment by ...
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What does "closed traffic" mean?
I'm a Japanese ATC working in Japan.
I want to ask about "closed traffic". I checked 7110.65 for this.
Question 1: What is successive operation?
One day I was on duty and the air force pilot ...
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Can anyone help identify this turbine blade?
At the local army/navy surplus store and found this in a "junk" box. Got it for $1. Would live to know what airframe this came off of. Im new to this so compressor blade? Compressor turbine?
...
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Are there any airworthy or transportable A-7 Corsair 2 aircraft as of October 2021?
I'm assisting in organizing an Aviation Open House, and we are searching for an A-7 Corsair 2. The only examples we can find are static ground displays, none of which can be easily transported. As ...
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What is the meaning of these stencils, usually found on military planes?
I am wondering what these markings (which I found both in the French Super Etendard and in the British Tornado) indicate? They may be something relevant for the maintenance crews.
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How does in‑air refuelling work from a strategic point of view?
There's plenty of articles explaining how in‑air refuelling works from a technical point of view, and this is not what I'm after.
What I'm struggling to understand is what's the point to begin with.
&...
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Is it possible to graduate from ADFA and then apply for an airline job? [closed]
I am a current year 10 student wanting to become a pilot. I am choosing between going to ADFA (Australian Defence Force Academy) to take a course in aviation and the airforce fast jet pilot and going ...
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Countermeasures taken to prevent reverse engineering of military fighter jet technology? [closed]
Inspired from this news -
The immediate question after reading the news will arose in the minds of novice people like me that - How the aircraft manufacturers cope with this issue? Which leads to ...
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What were the typical military training aircraft of the mid- to late-1930s in USA?
I am writing a novel that includes 1939 to present. I am interested in what pilots in training first used when they were entering flight school during the mid-late 1930s in USA. Can you advise me?
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Did WWII fighters do a roll before engaging to identify themselves to radar operators?
There's some folklore in the radar world about the Nazi fighters doing a roll before engagement to mark them to a German radar operator. This makes a lot of sense because it allows you to change your ...
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How is radar used to help aiming a gun on fighter jets?
I know gatling gun is fixed mounted to the airframe of the plane, thus cannot be rotated left/ right or up/down. However watching DCS pilots dogfighting with opponents they sometimes mention their ...
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Do any RAF helicopters have skids instead of wheels?
Are there any current, or Cold War-era, Royal Air Force helicopters fitted with skids as standard?
I seem to recall hearing, when I served, that RAF helicopters only ever had wheels, whereas skids ...
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How effective was the computer-controlled gunnery on the B29?
The Boeing B29 Superfortress was equipped with multiple gun turrets which were linked to a central
computerised fire control system. This training film covers the gunner's control interface, which ...
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Did the last US plane to leave Afghanistan have support from the control tower?
CNN's says says that
The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, announced Monday at the Pentagon. The US departure marks the end of a ...
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Is there a procedure for canopy static discharge before the pilot egresses from the cockpit?
Is there a procedure for canopy static discharge before the pilot egresses from the cockpit?
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Can anyone identify this 1920's era biplane bomber?
What is the aircraft in this photo? My great uncle is in the back row second to the right. He was born in 1900, so I think this photo is from around 1920. I think he was based at Kelly Field in San ...
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Why do the B-2 Spirit's split elevons seem almost always deployed?
Looking at images and videos displaying B-2 spirit, it seems like split elevons are most of the time deployed, even at high speed. Why is it so?
Having some aerodynamic surface deployed generates drag ...
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Why did the Soviets not make radio contact with Korean 007?
I was reading recently about the shootdown of Korean 007 and it is clear that it was very tense times between the American and Soviet governments.
The one point which struck me as weird throught the ...
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Is Sapphire Stone Used as Windshields on Military Aircraft?
The optical clarity of of colorless sapphire stone and its unique refraction of light and strength for example, is not comparable to the clarity, etc. of amorphous/glass laminates.
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What is the origin of the following aviation slang terms?
I'm researching some aviation slang terms. I have difficulty in finding the origin of the following words and phrases. I would be grateful if you can help me. The words and the phrases and their ...
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Why don't militaries use ram-air parachutes?
Military parachutes for use by humans (both paratroopers and distressed aircrew) tend to be of simple round or (more recently) cruciform design:
(Image by the United States Army, via Wikimedia ...
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How does drone reliance on GPS make it 'semi-stealthy'?
I saw this on CNN today.
For months, US intelligence and military personnel in Iraq have been raising alarms about the risk to American forces from these newer, more sophisticated Iranian-made drones....
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Why was the C-5 considered the largest plane possible?
We started to build the C-5 and wanted to build the biggest thing we could
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-5_Galaxy
The An-225 is 50% larger and has a shorter life.
Did they mean the C-5 was ...
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What kind of injury would force a Navy EA-6B pilot to stop flying and take a desk job?
Currently, I'm writing up a character bio for a game, where the character is a former naval aviator who becomes a JAG Corps lawyer who can be quite active during investigations and combat.
I've been ...
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