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Category: Air Force

F-15C pilot describes how he beat a TOPGUN student in a mock dogfight

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Students from the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) held their graduation capstone event Nov. 18-20, 2022, at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada and five pilots from the 194th Fighter Squadron, 144th Fighter Wing, California Air National Guard were invited to play as opponents.

Exercise Vigilant Shield 16 (19)
USAF, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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PLA’s conflicting views on the threat posed by USAF’s heavy aircraft

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Derek Solen, a senior researcher at the U.S. Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute, wrote this opinion piece on two recent articles by the Chinese military about the U.S. Air Force’s use of heavy planes, like bombers and cargo planes, for different missions than they were originally designed for. The first Chinese article questioned whether these efforts were useful or even possible. However, another article soon followed that argued that these efforts actually pose a threat.

Once the Palletized Munition Deployment System was stabilized under the parachutes, the production long range cruise missile STV and mass simulants were released sequentially, timed for safe separation between munitions. The photo shows a successful separation of a STV from the sabot following the weapon release, followed by the deployment of the STV’s control surfaces (wings and tail). (Courtesy photo)

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