Fighter Sweep

The Future of the Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course

March 30, 2015

The future of the USMC Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course will support the MAGTF and bring integration of new technology and aircraft, like the JSF.

Milestone Monday: Hainan Island Incident

March 30, 2015

On April 1, 2001, a US Navy Lockheed EP-3E Aries II reconnaissance/signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft was operating about 70 miles from Hainan Island, off the Chinese mainland.

The Cornfield Bomber

March 30, 2015

The world of tactical aviation is filled with all sorts of stories–good, bad, ugly, and otherwise. Here’s one I heard about over the weekend and was pretty astounded by it. View More ›

Florida Air National Guard Deploys F-15s to Europe

March 28, 2015

The Florida Air National Guard’s 125FW has deployed to Europe, the first Air National Guard unit to support Operation Atlantic Resolve.

Royal Saudi Air Force: F-15 Down in Gulf of Aden, Crew Safe

March 27, 2015

Two airmen from the Royal Saudi Air Force were plucked from the Gulf of Aden after their Boeing F-15SA went down in international waters. It appears that the crew was View More ›

Burner Friday: Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet

March 27, 2015

On behalf of all of us here at FighterSweep, we welcome you back to Burner Friday! This week’s edition of fire and noise is brought to you by Boeing’s F/A-18F View More ›

An EA-6B Prowler’s Final Flight

March 26, 2015

In the spirit of Throwback Thursday, we’re going to revisit one of the Navy’s recent retirees, the Grumman Iron Works EA-6B Prowler. Not long ago, we posted a photo gallery View More ›

How Germanwings Co-Pilot, Andreas Lubitz, Deliberately Crashed Plane

I speculated yesterday on the possible causes for the horrific tragedy of the Germanwings crash. As a throwaway concept, I included the possibility that the plane could have been brought View More ›

Germanwings: First Officer Andreas Lubitz Destroyed Aircraft

March 26, 2015

French authorities, after initially reviewing the cockpit voice recorder of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed in the Alps, have determined that the captain was outside the cockpit for the entire View More ›

Three Scenarios That May Have Caused Germanwings 4U9525 Crash

March 26, 2015

It is organic to the culture of aviation to discuss a mishap. It is part of the natural process of grieving and shock. This is our work place. The most View More ›