MilTech Info

          The M1 Abrams main battle tank has been the mainstay of the U.S. Army’s armor branch for more than thirty years. Heavily armored, powered by a gas turbine engine and equipped with a powerful 120-millimeter gun, the M1 has proven an adaptable tank capable of fighting from the rolling hills of southern Germany to the deserts of Iraq. And yet the tank appeared to be a failure at first, caught in a tug-of-war of competing, varied interests that threatened to sink the project completely.           In the late 1960s, the U.S. Army began the search for a new main battle tank. The M48/M60 series of tanks had reached a design dead end, and the Army desired a clean-sheet design to incorporate new technologies, including a gun-fired antitank missile. The Pentagon initially tried to cooperate with West Germany on a new tank, MBT-70, but the project was sunk by technical problems and cost overruns.        ...

     The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) competition in 1972. The Army designated the prototype as the YUH-60A and selected the Black Hawk as the winner of the program in 1976, after a fly-off competition with the Boeing Vertol YUH-61. Source:  Out Of Your Mind           Self-sealing, crash-capable fuel tanks were chosen to limit the threat posed by small-arms fire or hard landings. The tail rotor blades incorporated into the new design were made of ballistically resilient materials to minimize the chance of a tail hit, which would compromise control of the rotorcraft. The main rotors saw a similar treatment, and an armored cockpit was added as the helicopter began to take shape.           Redundant syste...

The importance of thrust reversers greatly increases in the presence of ice or snow, when braking is more difficult. They provide added safety in emergency situations, enhancing not only braking ability, but also directional control. Source:  Out Of Your Mind A thrust reverser, which allows for more rapid deceleration during landing, is a critical component of many jet aircraft. By acting against the aircraft’s forward travel, a thrust reverser system helps the jet slow down just after touchdown. This reduces wear on brakes and facilitates shortened landing distances. Thrust reversers are considered essential to an airplane’s safety and performance. A thrust reverser is contained within the nacelle system, an aerodynamic structure surrounding the jet engine. A nacelle system constitutes the aircraft’s propulsion system and also includes the engine cowling, inlet cowl, fan cowl, core cowl and exhaust system. While there are a number of types, many thrust reversers have clamshell doo...

The F-22 Raptor is one of the Air Force's coolest aircraft - a fast, stealthy fighter that brings serious warfighting capability anywhere around the world extremely quickly. The F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team performs precision aerial maneuvers at airshows across the world to demonstrate the unique capabilities of the world's premier 5th generation fighter aircraft. Many of the shots were taken from a helicopter for the first time ever. (And if you like watching it this way, check it out in this video Source:  Out Of Your Mind The F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team flies the advanced stealth aircraft at air shows around the globe, and its demonstrations include the crowd-pleasing power loop, split and tailslide, as well as high-speed passes and dedication passes—maneuvers that are based on those designed for combat operations but are performed at much lower altitudes that most pilots are certified to fly.

The E4B evolved from the E4A, which had been in service since late 1974. The first B model was delivered to the Air Force in January 1980, and by 1985 all aircraft were converted to B models. All E4B aircraft are assigned to the 595th Command and Control Group at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.  The aircraft was to provide a survivable platform to conduct war operations in the event of a nuclear attack. Early in the E4's service, the media dubbed the aircraft as "the doomsday planes". The E4 was also capable of operating the "Looking Glass" missions of the Strategic Air Command . As Known as ‘the Doomsday plane,’ the aircraft visited the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom Air Force Base. Its program offices are world leaders in developing and fielding command, control, communication, computer, and intelligence  orC4I systems. It Is Out Of Your Mind The E-4B serves as the National Airborne Operations Center and is a key component of the National M...

The Lockheed SR-71 spy plane was and still is the fastest plane on the planet. This aircraft was developed in secret in the late 1950s to cruise to 80,000 feet above the earth, near the edge of space, and out fly any missile that was launched at it. The SR-71 was designed for flight at over Mach 3 with a flight crew of two in tandem cockpits, with the pilot in the forward cockpit and the reconnaissance systems officer operating the surveillance systems and equipment from the rear cockpit, and directing navigation on the mission flight path. The SR-71 was designed to minimize its radar cross-section, an early attempt at stealth design. Finished aircraft were painted a dark blue, almost black, to increase the emission of internal heat and to act as camouflage against the night sky. The dark color led to the aircraft's nickname Blackbird. Source:  Out Of Yor Mind The Blackbird, which first took flight in 1964, could enter hostile airspace, take photographs from those extreme heights l...