Aviation

First X-47B carrier launch 1

First X-47B Carrier Catapult Launch

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Tuesday, May 14, 2013, has gone down as an historic day for U.S. naval aviation, with the first launch at sea of an autonomous, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Off the …

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P-8 Poseidon and P-3 Orion

From the P-3C Orion to the P-8A Poseidon Plane-changing at a price

Here’s what “bittersweet” means:

A promising new naval aircraft is taking its place on guard in the Western Pacific but at a price: U.S. Navy sailors will now begin to …

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A P-8A Poseidon conducts flyovers above the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group during exercise Bold Alligator 2012, Feb. 3, 2012. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Daniel J. Meshel

The P-8A Poseidon Adventure: Training, Transition, and Deployment Part 3 of 3

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The P-8A Poseidon’s debut deployment will be to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa with detachments all over the western Pacific. Poseidon basing requirements are a bit different. Getting a P-8A …

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A P-8A Poseidon aircraft from Patrol Squadron (VP) 16 flies over Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 28, 2013. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gulianna Dunn

The P-8A Poseidon Adventure: Flying and Fighting the Poseidon Part 2 of 3

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While walking around the P-8A Poseidon on the ramp at Andrews, we asked VP-16 commanding officer Cmdr. Molly Boron how long the trip up from Jacksonville had taken. About an …

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FA-XX Unmanned variant

Boeing Reveals Updated F/A-XX Concept

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Boeing is continuing to refine its concept for a next-generation F/A-XX advanced jet fighter to follow the present-day F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Just in time for the Navy …

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A P-8A Poseidon assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 16 is seen in flight over Jacksonville, Fla., Feb. 6, 2013. U.S Navy photo by Personnel Specialist 1st Class Anthony Petry

The P-8A Poseidon Adventure: Preparing for a First Deployment Part 1 of 3

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By the time the parody-worthy screen thriller The Poseidon Adventure was released in 1972, the Navy’s P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft had been on duty for a decade. Last year, …

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The U.S. Navy airship K-69 launches from the deck of the escort carrier USS Mindoro (CVE 120), April 26, 1950. National Museum of Naval Aviation photo

A Very Short History of Postwar Military Airships

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When the U.S. Navy disbanded the last of its blimp fleet in 1962, it marked the end of the first era of military airships. It had lasted roughly half a …

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An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator aircraft is transported  on an aircraft elevator aboard the aircraft carrier Harry S Truman (CVN 75). U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman by Alan Radecki

X-47B UCAS Deck-handling Testing Success An important non-event

December’s first at-sea test of the Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS-D) was historic, but in a way, it was also a non-event. The Northrop-Grumman X-47B hoisted aboard the USS …

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Chance Vought F7U-1 Cutlass

Book Review – Chance Vought F7U-1 Cutlass Chance Vought F7U-1 Cutlass, by Tommy H. Thomason; Ginter Books; 128 pages.

Nowadays, most fighters have twin engines and tail fins. When these features were introduced on the U. S. Navy’s F7U-1 Cutlass fighter of the late 1940s and early 1950s, they …

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Lt. j.g. Arthur "Hawk" Hawkins

Arthur “Hawk” Hawkins Was Navy Air Ace and Blue Angels Pioneer

Arthur “Hawk” Hawkins was “smart, aggressive and absolutely fearless,” said retired Navy Capt. Bill Dixon, who flew with Hawkins in crucial battles in the western Pacific. Hawks eventually became a …

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