Japan is apparently interested in an F-22/F-35 hybrid. To me, the solution is upgrading the F-22 with much of the F-35s avionics. Perhaps this could coerce a lifting on the ban to export the Raptor finally but I'm not holding my breath.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a19871450/japan-lockheed-martin-f-22-f-35-hybrid/

The Luftwaffe's new NATO Tiger paint scheme.

I imagine the Grim Reaper got an ear full when it came for him.

RIP Gunny.

That'll buff out.

But seriously, glad no one was hurt and I hope they get it back to being operational soon.

https://theaviationist.com/?p=52727

Quote

USAF Major Stephen Del Bagno, Thunderbird #4, Was Experienced Pilot, First Year Thunderbird.

The U.S. Air Force has identified the member of the Thunderbirds flight demonstration team who died in a training accident near Nellis AFB, Nevada yesterday morning while training for the upcoming airshow demonstration season.

USAF Major Stephen Del Bagno, listed as being from Valencia, California by ABC7 News in California, was previously the F-35A Lightning II Chief of Standardization and Evaluation at the 58th Fighter Squadron, Eglin AFB, Florida. He became a Thunderbird demonstration pilot in 2017 for the 2018 airshow season.

Major Del Bagno is reported to have only had the opportunity to participate in one Thunderbird public flyover at the Daytona 500 NASCAR race in Florida on February 18, 2018 prior to his fatal accident. As an experienced tactical aircraft pilot with more than 3,500 total flight hours including 1,400 hours in U.S. Air Force aircraft, Major Del Bagno began flying and rehearsing with the Thunderbirds last year and was experiencd as the Number 4 “Slot” pilot in the Thunderbird diamond formation. He had flown over 30 types of aircraft, civilian and military, during his career.

The official USAF Thunderbird page for Major Del Bagno summarized his impressive career as an exceptional aviator:

“Maj. Stephen Del Bagno is the Slot Pilot for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, flying the No. 4 jet. He is a 2005 graduate of Utah Valley State university, and commissioned from Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. In 2007. Before joining the Air Force, Del Bagno was a civilian flight instructor, corporate pilot, skywriter, and a banner tow pilot. He enjoys snowboarding, water sports and spending time with family and friends. Prior to joining the Thunderbirds, Del Bagno served as an F-35A Evaluator Pilot and Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 58th Fighter Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla. He has logged more than 3,500 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft, with 1,400 hours as an Air Force pilot. Del Bagno is in his first season with the team and hails from Valencia, Calif.”

Major Del Bagno had replaced former Thunderbird #4 slot pilot Major Nick Krajicek, who moved within the Air Force to another assignment. Maj. Del Bagno, callsign, “Cajun”, was the first F-35A Lightning II pilot to fly on the Thunderbirds team in the F-16.

In a February 2017 release, Maj. Del Bagno talked about the capabilities of the F-35A Lightning II he was flying at the time, “This jet is going to take us to 2050 and beyond. As threats evolve, we need to continually stay ahead of them. It’s a multi role platform and this proves how versatile the aircraft can be. We can shoot missiles, we can drop bombs, so we can take the fight to the enemy.”

No further information has been released about the accident. As is common with any military aviation accident a formal investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Air Force.

Great finale and end to the series overall. Left alot of answers still to be found.

The SoTC remake looks gorgeous, especially in the cinematic mode. My one wish though is that they would have thrown in one or two of the removed colossi in as easter eggs.

Seeing this takes me back to Jane's F/A-18. Yes, I know this is the F/A-18C and not the Super Bug.

One of the best edited videos I've seen of the Rafale with plenty of other good aircraft.

Kind of makes me wish the ending to the original book happened in the movie with the whole island getting bombed.

Cue Top Gun soundtrack.

Some interesting stuff still going on at Groom Lake.

An F-16D with an IRST pod. Photos of an F-117 being chased by F-16 earlier were also taken. Probably the same one. Using the Nighthawk to test new sensors.

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/16381/rare-ghost-f-16d-toting-irst-pod-likely-based-at-area-51-spotted-in-jedi-transition

I played the hell out of this at any arcade I probably found it at along with the Playstation version. I'm rather intrigued they're making a movie out of it except that the monsters aren't originally mutated people.

It looks like an F-22 mated with a Draken. Not bad.

22 hours ago, TangledThorns said:

Ridiculous, isn't it? The 1060 GTX I bought last year is now a hundred dollars more that what I paid for.

Yeah. Hoping for a crash in cryptocurrency or the miners just find a better way to mine other than GPUs. Other then that, hopefully they're will be some good deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

I love Chris Roberts' early works in Wing Commander. I still wish they would get back the IP off EA and incorporate into Star Citizen. It's not like they don't have the money now. I sort of stopped following SC though so I don't even know where it is development.

Looked like Star Citizen. Sadly, now is not the best time to upgrade the PC with RAM continuing to climb and GPUs still being up there too.

Hmmm. Been waiting for a Harrier simulator model since SVGA Harrier in the 90s.

Sucks what happened to the Spanish Typhoon and the luck the plane has been having as of late.

On a lighter note, while not an actual aircraft video, thought this was fun to watch.

General Atomics MQ-25 concept arrives.

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15037/general-atomics-is-the-first-to-show-off-its-mq-25-drone-tanker-design

The Typhoon was carrying just alittle too much speed at the end. No chance to eject.

The Rafale demo was awesome. Great finish.

Sadly an Italian test pilot was killed the other day after his Typhoon crashed into the water while pulling a loop.

The Legacy Hornet still has a jump in its step. Swiss Hornet, I know.

Never knew Northrop had been working on this till now. Beautiful bird that will never see service.

The article: http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/14551/these-are-the-best-images-yet-of-northrop-grummans-t-38-replacement-that-could-have-been

Oh hi there YF-23, fancy seeing you at Skunk Works' concepts.

Spent one holiday season during college working at a TRU. Wouldn't do it again but I certainly don't mind wondering around as a customer. There is one next to a now abandoned mall that I walked around last week. I think I was one of only 2-3  customers there. Still, they had some unique toys that I actually wanted to walk away. I remember when they carried Gundam toys and kits 13 years ago. I bought a toy figure of a MS-18 Kampfer at one. I still remember how they used to sell video games when I was kid, when they only showed a pricetag for the game. You'd grab the pricetag and take it to the clerk, they'd fetch the game.