Now Playing Tracks

English Electric/BAC Lightning : Proposed Swing-Wing Variant

A navalized Lightning proposed was made in the late 1960s with an improved long-range derivative of the AIRPASS radar in a solid nose; side-mounted air intakes; variable-geometry outer wings (“swing wings”) like those of the Soviet Su-17 to permit carrier landings; greater fuel capacity and less thirsty, more powerful engines; and armament of four missiles, not just two.

The proposal never got past the early design phase.

Drawing via AirVectors; Model via Fred’s Model Website

Proposed F-4(FV)S Phantom II Swing-Wing Model

With the F-111B in a death spiral and the F-14 Tomcat but a glimmer in the future, McDonnell company offered an unsolicited solution, a variable geometry wing variant of the hugely successful F-4 Phantom II. An assessment of this proposal, given the provisional designation F-4 (FV)S, revealed that this it was lacking in several key areas, notably combat effectiveness: the AN / AWG-10 radar and AIM-7F missiles would be a significant downgrade from the desired AN /AWG-9/AIM-54 combination. Scorned by the Navy, McDonnell offered the aircraft to Britain as a cheaper alternative to the Anglo-French AFVG then under consideration. This aircraft would have been powered by the British Rolls-Royce RB-168-27R  and given the designation F-4M (FVS).

via Hush-Kit

Hind Heist: Mount Hope III - 1987 CIA/Air Force Mission to “Acquire” an Abandoned Libyan Mi-24D Hind Helicopter in Chad

The 160th Special Operations Group, the “Night Stalkers,” used CH-47 Chinooks to recover a Mil Mi-24D Hind helicopter left behind by Libyan forces at a base within Chad during the border war between the two nations. The recovery team kept clear of nearby Libyan forces and endured a sandstorm to sweep in and recover the helicopter for intelligence purposes.

Story at TacAirNet

US Army 12th Aviation Battalion - Airlift for the Military District of Washington (MDW)

The most visible component of the 12th Aviation Battalion are the fleet of VIP VH-60 Black Hawks of the Executive Flight Detachment (Photos 1 & 2). These are used to transport the Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs, and other Pentagon civilian leadership in and around Washington, DC. The interior of these VH-60s rival the President’s Marine One (Photos 3 & 4).

The 12th Aviation Battalion also flies UH-60 Black Hawks and UH-72A Lakotas for it’s other primary mission: evacuation of government and military officials from Washington, DC in the event of emergency. The 26 helicopters of the battalion participated in a simulated evacuation in 2014, flying their helicopters through Washington, DC air space (Photos 6 & 7).

via Foxtrot Alpha

We make Tumblr themes