The United States Military is the supreme peace-keeping and war-fighting apparatus on the entire planet. Since the Global War on Terror (GWOT) kicked off, our Special Operations Forces (SOF) have been in the limelight through their daring efforts to remove extremist leaders from the battlefield, as they should be.
We thought it imperative, however, to remind the world about some of our top aircraft that protect our nation and aid the GWOT on a daily basis, along with some ‘oldies but goodies’ that have since been retired.
See how many you know…
C-5 Galaxy: We know it’s not a sexy fighter jet, but we thought it necessary to first highlight the beast of an aircraft that often gets both our brave men and women and the equipment they need into the area of operations, the C-5 Galaxy.
This aircraft not only escorts loads of servicemen and women, but equipment, vehicles and pretty much anything else that you can imagine. 10 light armored vehicles at 12 tons each? No Problem. Six Apache helicopters? No problem. Two M1 Abrams tanks? No problem. This monster can carry anything as long as it fits and doesn’t weigh over 122 tons.
Want more?
You could fit an eight (8) lane bowling alley into the cargo hold of the C-5! And just for good measure, the distance of the first flight made by the Wright Brothers was less than the length of the C-5’s floor.
No matter how you stack it, squeeze it, configure it, the C-5 Galaxy gets the job done.
F-16 Fighting Falcon, AKA ‘Viper’: An oldie but a goodie, introduced in 1978, the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a supersonic air to air combat, air to surface attack plane primarily used by the United States Air Force as well as over 25 different countries. The Fighting Falcon is a staple in the U.S. fighter jet family.
Known for its ‘bubble canopy’ and being highly maneuverable as well as her M61 Vulcan cannon that fires 20mm rounds at 6,000 rounds per minute, the F-16 is still proving to be one of the best fighters of all times.
The F-16 has seen combat in Operation Desert Storm, Operations Northern and Southern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as action in Libya. The Viper is scheduled to remain in service until 2025.
(Interesting Trivia: Many F-16 pilots and enthusiasts call it the “Viper” instead of the “Fighting Falcon” due to its similarity to the Colonial Viper Starfighter from Battlestar Galactica)
F-35 Lightning II: Sticking with the U.S. Air Force, let us present the oft debated F-35, though they aren’t the only customers; the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy both use this new aircraft as well.
While the fighter comes with a sharp, modern look and boasts new capabilities, the program to develop and manufacture it has been the biggest expenditure in military history and has been plagued with design flaws and production delays. Still, we wouldn’t want to be on the wrong team in a fight with the F-35,
F-15E Strike Eagle: Developed by McDonnell Douglas, this all-weather multirole strike fighter is among the best aircraft in our arsenal. The F-15E has been around since the 1980’s and continues to be an effective long range combat and interdiction aircraft. It has seen combat in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya among others.
F-18 Super Hornet: The Navy is the primary U.S. military consumer for this twin engine fighter, which comes in single and double seat variants. The F-18 has a 20mm M61 rotary cannon, and can fire both air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles.
Harrier: The United States Marine Corps love this vertical or short take off aircraft, known as the Harrier Jump Jet. So did Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies…
