War Is Boring

by CRAIG SCANLAN Writing about the Republic of Korea’s rapid advancement in military prowess generally points towards the positive, the country having accomplished great leaps in a short span of time, but when this topic veers to that of ROK Air superiority, the current South Korean state of affairs can be lumped in with what [...]

For two months, the U.S. Air Force has been without its newest jet fighter. But the situation could be far worse — and likely will be in coming years as the Air Force trades the robustness of a diverse fighter fleet for the supposed cost savings of a more homogenous one.

by DAVID AXE It’s an arms race Beijing claims it doesn’t want, Russia can’t afford, the United States believes it can’t afford and Japan probably isn’t prepared for on its own. All the same, the intensifying competition to build radar-evading jet fighters has had a powerful effect on the politics, industry and military forces of [...]

Growing threats from China and North Korea, plus the aging of Cold War hardware, mean Japan is due for a revamping of its air power. But Tokyo’s aerospace needs are complicated by constitutional restrictions, a costly natural disaster and general economic stagnation.

It was as though the Pentagon knew what was coming – and had prepared.

I’m chilling at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, awaiting a flight to Logar province. Outside, F-15Es roar down the runway on their way to provide close air support to ground troops. The noise reminds me of a story I read in the latest Combat Aircraft, about a U.S. Air Force F-15 jock who had an unusual encounter during the 1991 Gulf War. To quote author Steve Davies.

It’s been just three weeks since China unveiled its new J-20 stealth fighter, and already the U.S. Air Force has plans well underway to defeat the mysterious plane from Chengdu.

Just two years ago, the U.S. Air Force expected to buy 381 F-22 Raptors and bring more than 1,700 smaller F-35 Lightning fighters into service beginning around 2013.

by DAVID AXE In November 2007, a Missouri Air National Guard F-15 fighter broke apart in flight and crashed, injuring the pilot. The Air Force grounded all 600 of its F-15s until it could inspect and repair them. The work was done at the Air Logistics Center at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, where 8,000 [...]