BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

Some legends die hard. It seems that nary a week goes by without a mention of the CF-105 Avro Arrow.  Not only is it revered in a historical sense, but many still think it would be the answer to our CF-18 replacement dilemma. Let me get this right out of the way.  I LOVE THE ARROW.  I love the very idea of it.  Canada building a world class interceptor during the hight of the Cold War makes my inner fanboy squeal.  I also think that the Avro Arrow is, without a doubt, the most esthetically pleasing aircraft of all time.  It is simply gorgeous.  It is iconic.  Like the original iPhone , the starship Enterprise , or Jaguar E-Type ; the Arrow has an elegant simplicity to its design that is made even more impressive by the wonderfulness of what lies beneath its skin.  As far as aircraft go, only the Concorde and SR-71 Blackbird come close. Looking back, the Arrow does seem impressive, with a higher top speed than many modern fighters, a...

Happy Halloween everybody! What better way to celebrate than to look at some of the scariest planes ever? Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II  "The Warthog" It's ugly.  It carries 16,000lbs of weaponry.  It shrugs off most damage like it was nothing.  It's built around a 30mm cannon that is bigger than a VW Beetle .  The A-10 is friggin' scary.  It's also badass.  Don't just take my word for it, read the best description ever of the A-10 here:   http://www.badassoftheweek.com/warthog.html Allied ground troops love the A-10, but insurgents have nicknamed it "whispering death" thanks to its distinctive sound and brutal effectiveness.  Yet, for some reason, the USAF wants to get rid of it. Tupolev Tu-95 Bear More than anything else in the Cold War, this aircraft had us scared.  Not because it was ugly.  Not because is was the fastest turboprop aircraft ever put into service...   Or the loudest . What made th...

MiG-31, obsolete aircraft...  But not obsolete concept. Recently, Russian officials have admitted to developing a MiG-31 replacement .  This sparked some interest from aviation enthusiasts who have long believed the MiG-31 "Foxhound" was little more of a remnant of the Cold War and would see retirement as the PAK FA and Su-35 became the prevalent fighters in the Russian inventory. Why does this seem odd?  Because in this age of " multi-role " jet fighters, when even the F-22 Raptor is equipped for ground attack , The Foxhound is decidedly single purpose:  Interception. MiG-25 "Foxbat". Developed from the legendary MiG-25 "Foxbat", the MiG-31 was conceived as a sort of a "Super Foxbat" with better detection abilities, longer range, and the ability to engage low flying targets.  The MiG-25 itself was developed to counter the threat of  the B-58 Hustler and (soon to be aborted) XB-70 Valkyrie bombers.  Oddly enough, early exag...