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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Seeking the memoir of a WWII Luftwaffe pilot
Around 40 years ago, or perhaps a little earlier (say around 1980), I read the memoir (or perhaps the biography) of a fighter or perhaps light-bomber pilot who flew for the Luftwaffe on the Russian ...
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Why no CFM-56 for the E3?
Why did the USAF not upgrade the E3 from TF33 engines to the CFM-56 like they did the KC135? From the Wikipedia page on the E3, the latter variants sold overseas had the CFM-56 from the factory and ...
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How Can I Know If An Airport/ Airfield Is Equipped To Operate During A Power Outage
My buddy was asked this by an IP. Is there a way to see in any publication that an airport is equipped to operate during a power outage? Or a way to see if a airfield has backup power?
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Where can I find crash information/reports based on the aircraft's Bureau Number?
I am writing a book about my military service. I was working the catapults as a final checker and the F-14 lost the shuttle and went into the sea. Both crew survived.
This was with squadron VF-124 in ...
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Has putting car tires over wings ever been used to protect the aircraft from airborne attack?
Recently Ukrainian bloggers have published videos, where Russians have placed the car tires on the wings of they parked strategic bombers (Tu-95), most likely to provide some protection against drones ...
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Why is this plane indicating an altitude of 117,200 feet?
Looking at a plane tracker, I found something where the altitude is crazy high. Could it be a plane masking identity?
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How do engine doors work?
"Doors" here refers to something in or around the engine that can close or open, stopping or allowing the flow of air (or some other gas).
I've heard of such things in a few engines. GE9X ...
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Why did the F-4 Phantom have quite so many stencilled messages?
Anyone who has built a model of a US Navy or Air Force F-4 Phantom will know the misery of attaching literally hundreds of tiny stencilled informational notices all over its body.
Eduard 1:48 Tamiya ...
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accelerated turns in helicopter
In flight Manual of Russian Mi-17 helicopter, it is give that ”max bank permitted in accelerated turns is 45 deg up to 1km altitude”. At the same time it also mention max bank permitted is 30 deg up ...
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What are the problems Ukrainians have with F-16?
Ukraine say they will not be able to operate F-16 till the end of the year, even if they get them. The communication does not explain, why.
It is anything known on what are exactly they problems? Is ...
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What is this thing sticking out under the F-22 Raptor's fuselage? [duplicate]
I was looking through some pictures I took of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor performing a demo flight at Oshkosh 2023 and I noticed this thing sticking out from the bottom of the Raptor's fuselage. ...
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Low and High G snapshot
I'm reading Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering by Robert L. Shaw and ran into this passage which I'm having trouble understanding. I was thinking maybe someone with experience would understand ...
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Did the dog-tooth notches in the wing of the F-8 Crusader really have anything to do with "yaw stability"?
What was the real function of the "dog-tooth" notches in the leading edge of the wing of the Vought F8U crusader?
Wikipedia says:1
Vought's design team... produced... a relatively ...
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How to avoid conflict in VR military training route?
I'm new pilot. I know there is 1 mile distance from cloud above 10000 ft. Because plane can fly as fast as they want.
However I noticed that like VR1203, they're ...
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What capabilities have been lost with the retirement of the F-14?
As in the title. Ideally, I am looking for a study in the public domain that would summarize the US Navy's loss of capabilities with the disappearance of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. I will also accept an ...
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The instrument that show the attitude in the F-16 cockpit in a dive glide slope but nose up attitude what will show? [closed]
An F-16 Fighting Falcon is nose up at 25 degrees angle of attack (AoA) and unable to keep the level flight path but it is in a $600$ feet per minute dive slope. Does the attitude direction indicator (...
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Were there any planes used in WWII that were able to shoot their own tail?
In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, there's a scene where Indiana is piloting a plane and his father is acting as gunner. While shooting at incoming enemy planes, he accidentally shoots his own ...
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Did pilots use the radio in the Spanish Civil War?
Was radio communication used by fighter pilots during the Spanish Civil War?
Fiat CR32, Messerschmitt Me 109 and Polikarpov I-16 were typical aircraft but I have no information about radio ...
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How are the dry lake runways at Edwards AFB marked, and how are they maintained?
In addition to its paved runways, Edwards AFB in California has several runways on the bed of Rogers Dry Lake, famously used in the past for (among other things) Space Shuttle landings. Satellite ...
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What is this military aircraft I saw near Catalina island?
I was wondering if anyone could help me identify this plane. I have researched military id guides, image searched, and asked several naval and Air Force friends with no result.
Location: off shore 20 ...
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Why does this Curtiss Kittyhawk have a Question Mark in its squadron code?
There is a Curtiss Kittyhawk 1V undergoing restoration in the RAF Museum in London, with an unusual squadron marking. A comprehensive history of the aircraft can be found here, which says:
The ...
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Are there altitude limitations for aircraft-carried targeting pods, and are the reasons for those limits known?
In one of the 10-percent True interviews / dialogs with "Starbaby" Petrucha, Starbaby (an F-15E Strike Eagle WSO, among other things) asserts
the targeting pod on the Strike Eagle, at the ...
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Which fighter jet is seen here at Centennial Airport Colorado?
These fighter jets landed at Centennial Airport Colorado today. What type of fighter jet are they?
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What are these planes and what are they doing?
I know next to nothing about planes, so excuse any naivety below…
I live in Denver CO and frequently see military planes in what look to be training exercises. Today I saw two pairs of planes (one &...
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Why is only one rudder deflected on this Su 35?
Why does the aircraft has only one rudder deflected in this picture?
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Why are Search & Rescue aircraft looking for the OceanGate Titan submarine not visible on ADS-B Exchange?
Currently, there is an ongoing Search and Rescue mission being conducted by Canada, the United States, and commercial operators to find and rescue the crew of the OceanGate Titan submersible vessel (...
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Would military aircraft jam TV signals?
Various military aircraft just flew overhead on their way to the Trooping of the Colour in London.
At the same time, my Television's signal went completely dead, and then restored once they had gone. (...
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How free are VTOL pilots to hover?
When piloting a Harrier or F35 can the pilot just hover at will?
Or is this possibly something that will eat up lots of fuel, and should only be done when planned? (like for landing)
Is spontaneously ...
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Why do the arresting gear cables need to be pushed/ guided back?
Also, what is the yellow metal stick officially called?
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Slanted Brown Rectangles on Aircraft Carriers?
What are the rectangles adjacent to the arresting gear on Aircraft Carriers? Are they service hatches?
https://www.kastalon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ford-emals-3.jpg
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Which fighter jet is this, based on the silhouette?
6 to 8 of these planes flew through the Ogwen Valley in North Wales, UK, this morning (2nd of June). Hawks and other training jets are common sights, but I’ve not seen these before and can’t identify ...
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Can I fly RNAV 5 with only INS?
First of all, I'm not a native English speaker, and this is my first question, so please understand that it can be very awkward.
My military C-130H aircraft has DME/VOR, TACAN, ILS, and INS (EGI, LN-...
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Plane Identification (Coast Guard, Air Force base region)
I live in Clearwater Florida and multiple times a day, I have giant multi-prop Coast Guard planes, ans choppers flying low over my home.
However, today as I sat outside, I heard one but it sounded a ...
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How long does it take, in average, to train for a different plane?
During the Russia-Ukraine war, there are considerations about donating F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but there would be problems with providing training for that specific plane. Training for another F-...
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What was the actual cockpit layout and crew of the Mi-24A?
I have spent all morning trawling around the Internet trying to get a definitive answer on this. In the early Mi-2A variant with the large glass cockpit enclosure, what was the actual crew and layout? ...
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According to which rule, the maritime patrol aircraft are categorized?
Generally, maritime patrol missions are conducted by several types of fixed wing and rotor wing aircraft according to its endurance, capabilities and other features such as weapons, sensors ...
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How does AWACS pick up enemy info like speed and altitude without transponder interrogation?
So basically, IFF can pick up friendly vehicles. I'm assuming that enemy planes will have their transponder off to minimize speed and altitude data. How does the AWACS determine enemy info to pass on ...
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Isn't a "land based navy bomber" just an air force bomber?
This wonderful article on the Mitsubishi G4M Betty has the following quote about the Mitsubishi G3M Nell:
the G3M was already considered the best land-based navy bomber in the
world
What in the ...
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Why is there no video of the drone propellor strike by Russia
I've seen lots of videos of the Russian aircraft flying near the US drone, but I've yet to see a video of the reported collision with the drone's propellor. Is there no video of the strike? If not, ...
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Military aircraft deliberate fuel dump capability?
I this question Why would a fighter drop fuel into a drone? it was essentially asked if the SU-27 has the capability to deliberately dump fuel in a controlled manner. My question is if other current ...
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Why was the Ka-50 designed with only one seat?
The Soviet/Russian attack helicopter Kamov Ka-50 Black Shark is unique in many ways, one of which being the only attack helicopter to my knowledge that only seats one crewmember. Generally, attack ...
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Why does the V-Bat not counter-rotate?
V-Bat is a VTOL aircraft built by a company called Martin UAV.
It seems to have a single pusher propeller. But then why does it not counter-rotate to balance the rotation of the propeller?
Any clear ...
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How were military gliders positioned to their departure point?
Modern sailplanes are usually positioned to their departure field using a trailer. How did military gliders get to their departure field?
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The F104 tail pipe is not parallel to the runaway when the aircraft taxi.What is the reason?
The tail section is upward for clearance or to vector up the engine exhaust that will help to rise the nose when the aircraft take-off?
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Is there any way to bring down a large spy balloon without force?
This might seem like a silly question, but I mean it.
A Chinese spy balloon recently flew over the US and was taken down with a missile. Apparently, it was very important to recover its payload safely,...
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Could the US military have harnessed the Chinese observation balloon and accessed it without destroying it?
I guess that if it was possible for the US military to have gained control of the Chinese balloon without destroying it, then they would have, especially since they are trying to gather fragments of ...
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Other than looking cool, what is the reason behind the TSR-2's anhedral wingtips?
Pretty much what the title says. What is the purpose of the TSR-2's anhedral wingtips? I've heard someone say that they use it to counter yawing I think but is this the true reason or is it something ...
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What is the exact blue-green color that used to be popular in cockpits of Russian fighters
Does anybody know the exact name of the color that was used to paint all Cold War era Soviet fighter cockpits? It’s a blue green color but I’d like to get the exact color as I’m currently building a ...
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If a balloon lies within gun range, why would a 21st century warplane shoot it with a missile, instead of rotary guns?
I am not necessarily referring to current events, but you can if you want. Presuppose a balloon is within altitude, and range, of the guns of a warplane made in the 2000's.
Particularly if a military ...
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To what extent is modern "maneuverable spy balloonery" really a thing?
There's a high altitude balloon in the news recently. It seems to have come from the Pacific, passed over Canada and is now over the US. I don't have any official tracking data but notional ...
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