The Grumman F6F Hellcat reversed American fortunes in the Pacific, earning a 19-to-1 kill ratio and destroying Japan's carrier air arm.
TaildraggerNAVAIR released footage of Castelion's Blackbeard hypersonic missile on an F/A-18F Super Hornet, advancing the U.S. Navy's push for affordable, carrier-deployable hypersonic strike capability.
TowerHow a crashed Japanese Zero in an Alaskan bog gave American engineers the intelligence to build the F6F Hellcat - the Pacific War's most lethal carrier fighter with a 19-to-1 kill ratio.
TaildraggerCongress is calling for a long-term study into whether repeated catapult launches and arrested landings are causing cumulative brain injuries in Navy carrier pilots.
TowerHow a crashed Japanese Zero in an Alaskan swamp shaped the Hellcat's design - and fueled the most lethal air combat record in US Navy history.
TaildraggerThe USS Abraham Lincoln departed Thailand after a five-day port call, returning to Indo-Pacific operations - a news peg that opens a window into the world's most demanding aviation environment.
TowerThe U.S. Navy has formally asked defense contractors to propose autonomous carrier-based strike aircraft capable of carrying up to 10,000 pounds of ordnance - a landmark step toward unmanned combat aviation.
TowerThe USS Abraham Lincoln completed 286 consecutive days at sea, including seven months of combat operations, before arriving in Thailand on September 2, 2026 - a deployment that tests both aircraft and aviators to their limits.
TowerThe U.S. Navy has issued a Request for Information for a carrier-based autonomous combat aircraft capable of catapult launches, arrested landings, and carrying up to 10,000 lbs of weapons.
TowerHow Eric 'Winkle' Brown flew 487 aircraft types and made the first jet carrier landing in history.
TaildraggerThe Grumman F6F Hellcat reversed American fortunes in the Pacific by out-engineering the Zero, achieving a 19-to-1 kill ratio and accounting for over 60% of all naval air victories.
TaildraggerThe Navy's MQ-25 Stingray lets F/A-18 pilots command an unmanned aircraft from their own cockpit, reshaping carrier aviation.
TowerThe US Navy continues to rely on the F/A-18 Super Hornet because it delivers unmatched multirole flexibility from a carrier deck at a fraction of the F-35C's cost.
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