269/11 F-16 Cockpit-Ramming Orders
On 9/11, two F-16 pilots received orders to take down United Flight 93 using their unarmed aircraft. One pilot was to ram the cockpit, while the other would "take the tail off." The government intended to destroy the plane, but U.S. civilians onboard took control and crashed it before they had the chance.
27. On September 13, 1985, the U.S. military achieved the first successful air-space missile attack. An F-15 fighter jet launched an ASM-135 missile, which destroyed the Solwind P78-1 satellite in low Earth orbit. This event created orbital debris, prompting NASA to enhance debris shielding for its planned space station.
28. Only six common tools, readily available at commercial hardware stores, are required for standard maintenance on the F-22 Raptor's engines.
29. The MiG-25, one of the great Soviet-era fighter jets, used vacuum tube electronics instead of microchips, enabling a more powerful radar system and immunity from EMP devices.
30. In 1997, the pilot of an A-10 attack jet turned off his radio and transponder for unknown reasons, flew hundreds of miles off course during a training mission, and eventually crashed into a mountainside in Colorado. Nobody ever found an explanation for the pilot's actions.
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31F-22 Tricks Iranian F-4 Jets
In 2013, two Iranian F-4 Phantoms made an attempt to intercept a drone that two F-22 Raptors were escorting. An F-22, with its small radar cross-section, maneuvered beneath an F-4 to discreetly observe its weapons. It then flew next to the F-4 and radioed, "You really ought to go home."
32. The Russian Su-34 fighter jet is equipped with a toilet and a kitchen.
33. In 1985, during Concorde's trial test flights, British Airways offered NATO an opportunity to practice intercepting a high-flying supersonic bomber. All modern fighters, including the F-14, F-15, and F-16, failed to reach the target, except for the 1950s EE Lightning, which intercepted the Concorde with ease.
34. At least nine fatal crashes involving F-16 fighter jets and an A-10 attack jet were attributed to pilots having issues with urinating mid-flight.
35. The SR-71 "Blackbird" was so fast that its standard evasive maneuver against a detected SAM missile was simple: outrun the missile. None of the 12 Blackbird losses were due to enemy fire; all resulted from accidents.
