Latest news with #MiG-29Fulcrum
India.com
2 days ago
- India.com
World's top 10 fastest military aircraft ever built, the speed of top is..., its name is..., developed by...
New Delhi: The history of aviation has taught us how the aeroplanes have evolved over a period of over 120 years. They have become better, advanced, more efficient, sophisticated, and fast. It is the speed of the aircraft that makes it the most preferable choice for fliers as they cover long distances in a very short time compared to other modes of transport. This is true for passenger, cargo, and military planes, also called fighter jets. Here, we will tell you about the top 10 fastest military aircraft ever built. 10. Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis of USA, speed of Mach 1.06 (1,100 km/h). This is the first aircraft that, on October 14, 1947, made aviation history by becoming the first aircraft to officially break the sound barrier by reaching speed of 1,100 km/h. It was flown by Chuck Yeager. 9. F-22 Raptor of USA, speed of Mach 2.0 (2,470 km/h). Developed by Lockheed Martin, it is one of the most prolific fighter jets ever made. The Raptor can reach speeds of 2,470 km/h while maintaining stealth characteristics that make it nearly undetectable. 8. Mirage 2000 of France, speed of Mach 2.2 (2,700 km/h). It was developed by Dassault Aviation. This sleek delta-wing fighter can reach speed of 2,700 km/h. The Mirage 2000s have been serving air forces around the world. 7. MiG-29 Fulcrum of Soviet Union, speed of Mach 2.3 (2,850 km/h). The MiG-29 Fulcrum was first flown in 1977. It is capable of reaching speed of 2,850 km/h. The MiG-29 has a deadly combination of speed and agility. 6. Su-27 Flanker of Soviet Union, speed of Mach 2.35 (2,900 km/h). it made its first flight in 1977 by the Soviet Union. It can reach speed of 2,900 km/h. 5. F-15 Eagle of USA, speed of Mach 2.5 (3062 km/h). The F-15 Eagle was developed in the late 1960s and remained one of the main aircraft of the US military. Built purely for air combat, it could reach speed of 3062 km/h. 4. MiG-31 Foxhound of Soviet Union, speed of Mach 2.83 (3500 km/h). The MiG-31 Foxhound was introduced in 1981. It is capable of reaching speed of 3,500 km/h. 3. MiG-25 Foxbat of Soviet Union, speed of Mach 3.2 (3920 km/h). The MiG-25 Foxbat was first observed in the 1960s. It could reach speed of 3,920 km/h at high altitudes. 2. SR-71 Blackbird of USA, speed of Mach 3.32 (4067 km/h). The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is regarded as one of the most iconic aircraft ever built. It could reach speed of 4067 km/h. Flying the SR-71 required special pressure suits and training. 1. X-43 of USA, speed of Mach 9.6 (11,760 km/h). The unmanned X-43 achieved an incredible 11,760 km/h using scramjet technology that breathed the supersonic airflow.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Air Force sending ‘boneyard' F-16s to Ukraine for spare parts
The U.S. Air Force is pulling old and nonoperational F-16s out of its airplane graveyard known as 'the boneyard' to send to Ukraine for spare parts. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the donated F-16s are coming from the service's 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. The planes will be cannibalized for parts that Ukraine can use to keep their European-donated F-16s flying, but the service stressed the American F-16s have been gutted of key parts and couldn't be used operationally. 'The [Department of the Air Force] has supported the sustainment of European-donated F-16s to Ukraine by providing disused and completely nonoperational F-16s to Ukraine for parts,' the spokesperson said. 'These F-16s were retired from active U.S. use and are not flyable. Importantly, they lack critical components such as an engine or radar, and could not be reconstituted for operational use.' The State Department also on Friday approved a possible foreign military sale to Ukraine, worth about $310.5 million, to sustain the besieged nation's F-16s and train its pilots and maintainers. The sale includes spare parts and accessories, modifications and upgrades to the jets, ground handling equipment, publications and technical documents, software delivery and support, engineering, technical and logistics support and training for operations, maintenance and sustainment support. The State Department said this will support the U.S.'s foreign policy goals and national security objectives 'by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe.' The equipment and training sale will improve Ukraine's ability to defend itself by making sure its pilots are trained, the department said, and making it more interoperable with the U.S. through training with the Air Force. Since the beginning of Russia's invasion, Ukraine has urged its Western allies to send it modern, fourth-generation fighters to modernize its air force and improve its ability to defend itself. When the war began in February 2022, Ukraine had at most 69 MiG-29 Fulcrum and Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker jets. But the U.S. was initially hesitant to agree to Ukraine's requests. Top defense officials and some lawmakers said it was unclear whether jets such as the F-16 would provide Ukraine enough of an advantage, and the Pentagon instead focused first on providing other assets such as critical munitions. Former President Joe Biden in August 2023 cleared the way for F-16s to go to Ukraine, with the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium either having already donated the jets or pledging to do so. Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command, told lawmakers in a hearing last month that F-16s have helped Ukraine shore up its defenses and that more jets are on the way. 'There are more F-16s prepared to be deployed in [Ukraine],' Cavoli told the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 3. 'There are more pilots in the training pipeline. … The planes are active and they fly every day. They've defeated a large number of cruise missile threats and they've delivered an awful lot of offensive attacks as well' along Ukraine's eastern front.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
Ukraine's Black MiG-29 'Ghost' Fulcrum Showcased In New Video
Since at least the summer of last year, the Ukrainian Air Force has been flying an unusual, black-painted MiG-29 Fulcrum. A recently published official video shows the jet in more detail, although it remains unclear exactly why it was repainted in this way. The footage was posted to Facebook on the official account of the Ukrainian Air Force's 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade. The aircraft is shown from above, as well as filmed on the ground surrounded by various support vehicles (of Soviet and Western origin) as well as members of the various personnel groups who support the brigade's wartime operations. A black MiG-29 of the 204th Sevastopol Brigade of Tactical Aviation of the Ukrainian Air Forces. — 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝕯𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝕯𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱△ (@TheDeadDistrict) February 18, 2025 The MiG-29 in question — a single-seat Fulcrum-C — is painted in an overall matte black scheme. There are also blue and yellow markings on the wing leading edges, the flaps and ailerons, and the tailplanes. These are to provide a rapid visual identification, to try and avoid 'friendly fire' incidents. This is especially critical for this jet as many Russian tactical jets also adopt a charcoal gray color scheme. The nose also has a white 'Ghost Of Kyiv' emblem — this motif appeared early on in the conflict as a morale-booster. What's far less clear is why the fighter otherwise wears overall black, although the jet is known to have emerged before August 2024, when photos of the repainted MiG began to circulate on social media. The new paint was added after an overhaul, which is standard Ukrainian Air Force practice, although the black scheme seems to be an anomaly. So far, it's only been seen on the MiG-29, but more than one of these aircraft may have received it by now. Otherwise, most MiG-29s have emerged from in-depth overhauls with different variations of the 'pixelated' camouflage, with different shades of gray. It's worth noting that there have been a handful of other special MiG-29 schemes for refurbished jets, as well, most notably the highly colorful one inspired by the pre-war Ukrainian Falcons display team, which you can see in the video below and read more about here. It seems the patriotic paintwork was added primarily as a morale booster, reflecting the continued ability of the Ukrainian Air Force to fight against overwhelming odds, and of the local maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities to keep the MiGs serviceable, even when facing Russian attacks. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, dozens of combat aircraft (also Su-24s, Su-27, and Su-27s) have been refurbished and returned to service to help address attrition losses and the demands for additional airpower. At least some of these were returned to action after long periods standing dormant or in storage. The MiG-29 fleet has been further boosted by aircraft transferred from Poland and Slovakia, which began to arrive in the spring and summer of 2023. These aircraft have retained their previous colors, with the addition of blue and yellow identification panels. While the pixelated gray colors are optimized to reduce visual conspicuity during daytime sorties, the black scheme would appear to have the opposite effect — making the aircraft even more obvious against the sky. Indeed, the U.K. Royal Air Force paints its training aircraft in (gloss) black specifically to enhance their visual signatures and reduce the chances of collisions. On the other hand, the dramatic-looking black Fulcrum finish may be more connected to the mythical Ghost of Kyiv legend — the popular accounts told early on in the conflict that suggested a single Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot had become ace in a day in defense of the capital. There were rumors, later proven to be erroneous, that the Ghost might have been Stepan Tarabalka, a MiG-29 pilot killed in action in March 2022 and posthumously awarded Hero of Ukraine honors. On March 13, 2022, Major Stepan Tarabalka died heroically during an air battle with the dominant forces of the russian Stepan Tarabalka was awarded the title of "Hero of Ukraine" (posthumously) for the protection of airspace, his bravery and commitment. — Ukrainian Air Force (@KpsZSU) March 25, 2022 A photo of the supposed pilot was even posted to social media by former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. It later emerged that the pilot in that photo was Andrii Pilshchykov, the MiG-29 pilot better known by the callsign 'Juice,' who gave several in-depth interviews about the air war to TWZ. Before his death in a flying accident, Juice had told us: 'Actually, [the Ghost of Kyiv is] from my home base, my unit … I couldn't tell you all the details now, but I think after the victory you will know everything about him.' While Juice maintained that at least some details of the Ghost of Kyiv story were grounded in reality, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has admitted that the idea of a single pilot filling this role is a 'superhero legend,' and that the story 'embodies the collective spirit of the highly qualified pilots.' Clearly, the idea of an avenging MiG-29 pilot sweeping Russian aircraft from the skies, and becoming a national hero in the process, is a potent one, and the Ghost of Kyiv myth has endured, as seen in the use of the emblem on jets and crew patches, for example. It's certainly very possible that the 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade took the decision to paint a single MiG-29 in a ghostly black scheme to continue that myth. On the other hand, the Ukrainian Air Force does have something of a history of painting jets in less-than-standard color schemes. At this point, we don't know for sure but have asked the service for more details. Meanwhile, despite the arrival of the F-16, the MiG-29 is still the service's most numerous fighter, by a fairly considerable margin, compared with other types. While it began the war flying almost exclusively air defense sorties, the arrival of Western-supplied precision-guided munitions means it's now a multirole fighter and it has been widely used for offensive missions. For these, it can be armed with the AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), the Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER), and the French-supplied Hammer rocket-assisted bomb. While the exact reasoning behind the all-black MiG-29 remains mysterious for now, there is little doubt that the Soviet-era fighter remains a very important asset for the Ukrainian Air Force and one that every effort will be made to keep in service via continued refurbishment, even as western 4th generation F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighters trickle into the service's tactical jet fleet. As that continues, we may well see other unorthodox color schemes emerge too. Contact the author: thomas@
