Ronin

Did you know that while early YF-16s were strictly limited to WVR dogfighting, the prototype F-20 Tigershark was already fully wired for BVR combat? The lightweight jet could pack up to four AIM-7s under its wings. Northrop didn’t stop at air-to-air superiority either; they aggressively flight-tested the F-20 with heavy strike hardware, proving it could lug AGM-65s and hunt ships with the AGM-84. It was the ultimate "what if" fighter, offering true 4th-gen lethality on the cheap.

🇺🇸B1-B "Lancer" aka the "Bone"

🛫 Valentine’s Day, 1991... Desert Storm. An F-15E Strike Eagle crew from the 335th Fighter Squadron “Chiefs” pulled off one of the most unique air-to-air victories in aviation history… with a bomb. Capt. Richard “TB” Bennett and his WSO Capt. Dan “Chewie” Bakke (callsign Packard 41) were on a Scud patrol when AWACS vectored them onto Iraqi Mi-24 Hind gunships that were landing troops and threatening a U.S. Special Forces team on the ground. Under AAA fire, the crew locked the lead Hind with their LANTIRN pod. Instead of going for missiles, they rolled in hot and pickled a 2,000-lb GBU-10 laser-guided bomb. The big bomb slammed into the Hind at roughly 800 feet, punched through the spinning rotors and cockpit, and detonated underneath completely disintegrating the helicopter. The special forces team egressed safely. The next day, headquarters personally called to thank them for saving lives. This remains the only air-to-air kill ever credited to an F-15E Strike Eagle… and it was scored with a bomb. Incredible crew, incredible jet, incredible moment. These are the stories that remind us why the Eagle earned its reputation. 🇺🇸🦅#F15E #StrikeEagle #DesertStorm #USAF #AviationHistory

A U.S. Navy F-4S Phantom II assigned to the Chargers aboard the USS MIDWAY NOV1981 (d.c. maclean)

AC-130A Gunship departing Nakom Phanom RTAB for a mission on the Trail.

USMC F-4N Phantom 150632 VMFA-112. Sep 1981

The A-10 scored two air-to-air kills against Iraqi helicopters during Desert Storm.

6 FEB 1991: The first air-to-air kill in A-10 history. Capt. Robert Swain downed a Bo-105.

15 FEB 1991: Capt. Todd Sheehy downs an Mi-8.

On approach to Da Nang AB

US Navy F-4B Phantom from VF-51, the “Screaming Eagles,” flying over NAS North Island on Coronado Island, San Diego 1970

credit In Flight F4

A U.S. Navy F-4N Phantom from VF-111 “Sundowners” in flight during a mission from the USS Coral Sea (CVA 43) in September 1972

HU-16 Albatross