Groupe Dassault consists of several enterprises beyond Dassault Aviation, including Dassault Systèmes, Le Figaro (media and services), Immobilière Dassault (real estate), Dassault Wine Estates (including Saint-Émilion, France-based Château Dassault), and Artcurial (auction house).

Edelstenne rose to lead the French conglomerate on May 28, 2018, following the death of Serge Dassault. Trappier comes into the position having longtime experience with the company. He served as executive vice president, international directorate, leading the company’s successful bid to sell the Mirage 2000-9 fighter to the United Arab Emirates in 1998, as well as the selection of the Rafale fighter following India’s Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft RFP in 2012.

Trappier graduated from Telecom SudParis academy for engineers and then served in the French Navy as an officer. He joined Dassault Aviation in 1984 as a systems engineer in the business unit’s design department. Currently, he also serves as chairman of Dassault Falcon Jet, and he’s a member of the French Légion d’Honneur and Knight of the Ordre National du Mérite.

Dassault Aviation certified the Falcon 6X in 2023 under Trappier’s leadership and continues development of the Falcon 10X with certification anticipated in 2025.

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The report was published in the Chinese journal Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica by a team from the Chinese army’s Aerodynamics Research and Development Center in Sichuan, China.

The paper stated that the dogfight involved two small, unmanned, fixed-wing aircraft—one operated by AI, and the other controlled by a human from the ground. During combat, the AI-backed pilot easily outmaneuvered its opponent—defeating it in a swift 90 seconds.

Initially, the dogfight began with the human pilot making the first move—attempting to gain tactical advantage through various maneuvers, but the AI predicted its move and stuck close behind. The human pilot then nosedived the aircraft hoping the AI would follow and crash. Instead, the AI set the airplane in an ambush position—waiting for the human-piloted airplane to pull up. The AI kept the human aircraft in a constant underdog position and eventually, the simulation was called off.

“The era of air combat in which artificial intelligence will be the king is already on the horizon,” noted the project team involved in the study.

The research highlighted the superior performance possible from AI—as it is not limited by human factors such as excessive gravitational pull, oxygen levels, or fear of being harmed. As stated in the study, “With superior calculation ability it can more accurately predict the development of the battle to gain the initiative in the confrontation.” Scientists also claimed, “Aircraft with autonomous decision-making capabilities can completely outperform humans in terms of reaction speed.”

While China is the first to conduct its aerial dogfight with AI, the U.S. has been pioneering the way for AI technology for years through DARPA, or the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. A month before the Chinese paper was released, the U.S. was conducting its own AI test missions—including several combat drills on a real F-16 fighter.

Additionally, in August 2020, DARPA held its AlphaDogfight trials—a three-day competition to seek out the most capable AI fighter pilot. Of the eight teams, Heron Systems’ F-16 AI dominated the other companies before competing in the main event—taking on an experienced human F-16 pilot. In combat, the AI won five times in a row without the human pilot scoring a single hit.

“The AlphaDogfight Trials were a phenomenal success, accomplishing exactly what we’d set out to do,” said Col. Dan “Animal” Javorsek, program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office. “The goal was to earn the respect of a fighter pilot—and ultimately the broader fighter pilot community—by demonstrating that an AI agent can quickly and effectively learn basic fighter maneuvers and successfully employ them in a simulated dogfight.”

And while AI technology is seemingly the future of aerial combat with its higher precision, quick decision-making, and greater risk-taking, it is not intended to replace human pilots. As DARPA envisions it, AI intelligence will fly the aircraft in partnership with the pilot who will monitor the AI and intervene if necessary.

The post AI-Powered Pilot Dominates Human Rival in Aerial Dogfight appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

However, remembering and placing the notable airplanes, people, and events along the service’s timeline can be difficult. Chuck Yeager broke the so-called sound barrier but when did the first supersonic fighters enter regular service with Air Force squadrons? Did the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II make its first flight in 1958 or ’59? How many different aircraft models have the Thunderbirds used in their aerobatic demonstrations?

Fly-In Aviation Museums

Pilots and other aviation fans seeking answers to these questions and many more might want the immersive experience of visiting a good Air Force museum. Many of those are located on Air Force bases. Can you think of a more appropriate way to mark this major birthday than by flying to one of these museums in a general aviation aircraft?

READ MORE: Flying into History: Five Storied Airports

Doing so can be thrilling, but will require planning—lots of it. It is a good idea to start a month or so ahead of time to make sure you get all of the necessary paperwork in order. Bases typically require visitor passes for civilians coming through the gates. Getting your aircraft safely and legally onto the ramp requires a Civil Aircraft Landing Permit, or DD Form 2401. On the form, pilots must provide personal and aircraft information, and explain why they want to land on the base. Officials can turn down your request. But would they do that to a pilot who wants to look at historically significant aircraft?

The following are a few museums with impressive collections of Air Force hardware, located on or near Air Force bases.

Robins Air Force Base (KWRB)

Museum of Aviation

Warner Robins, Georgia

One of those legendary, retired SR-71 spy planes wound up here. So did many other interesting Air Force machines that you don’t see every day, like the Convair F102A Delta Dagger, Douglas VB-26B Invader, North American P-51H Mustang, and Martin B-57B Canberra. The museum also offers tours and hosts birthday parties.

Eglin Air Force Base (KVPS)

Air Force Armament Museum

Fort Walton, Florida

A broad range of aircraft, from piston and jet fighters and bombers to observation airplanes and helicopters add to the diversity of this collection, which also includes weapons, munitions, and other artifacts. Boeing’s B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress are here as well as lesser-known models like the Northrop F-89D Scorpion all-weather interceptor and McDonnell F-101B Voodoo.  

Travis Air Force Base (KSUU)

Travis Air Force Base Aviation Museum

Fairfield, California

There are plenty of fighters and bombers in this museum’s collection, but the number of transport aircraft on hand is especially notable. Rarely do you see a Douglas C-54 Skymaster and its improved version, the C-118 Liftmaster, in one place. The same goes for the C-7A Caribou and the C-124K Provider. Other rare birds include a Cessna AT-17 Bobcat, sometimes called the Bamboo Bomber, and a C-119G Flying Boxcar.

Ellsworth Air Force Base (KRCA)

South Dakota Air & Space Museum

Rapid City, South Dakota

This self-described “major national repository of Air Force airplanes” got its start in 1942 as Rapid City Army Air Base, a training field for crews of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. After World War II, the base transitioned to Air Force use as home to B-29 Superfortress units. Today, the museum’s collection includes a B-29, B-52D Stratofortress, B-1B Lancer, FB-111A Aardvark, T-33 Shooting Star, and dozens more.

Barksdale Air Force Base (KBAD)

Global Power Museum

Bossier City, Louisiana

This base’s history dates to the early 1930s, when military aviation technology was developing rapidly. It was named for Eugene Hoy Barksdale, a World War I aviator and test pilot who died in 1926 while spin-testing a Douglas O-2 observation aircraft. The museum focuses on the history of strategic bombing and is home to the 2d Bomb Wing, the oldest bomb wing in the Air Force. The unit took part in Gen. Billy Mitchell’s historic 1921 test of aerial bombing against ships.

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The movie was the biggest to land on theater screens in 1986, becoming a one-hour, 40-minute recruitment ad for the U.S. Navy and military aviation.

According to one U.S. Air Force official who saw it the year he graduated flight training, “it left a mark.”

“It was probably the most realistic flying movie that I’d seen, and it just left a mark on me,” Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown said in August during an event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.  “I was out of pilot training, and I was already going to fighters, so it was one of those where you kind of go ‘that’s pretty realistic.’”

• READ MORE: Before Top Gun, Other Aviation Movies Inspired Us

Nearly four decades later, the long-anticipated sequel Top Gun: Maverick is primed to do it all over again. The movie is again expected to lead box office hauls, raking in up to an anticipated $395 million in the U.S. alone, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

And much like 36 years ago, the military is also banking on the Hollywood blockbuster inspiring a new generation of recruitment.

“Our FY22 recruiting goals are to bring more than 40,000 enlisted and more than 3,800 officers into our active and reserve components,” U.S. Navy Commander Dave Benham, Navy spokesperson, told FLYING. “Our recruiters nationwide are working tirelessly to meet those goals and to meet the manpower needs of our fleets. We think Top Gun: Maverick will certainly raise awareness and should positively contribute to individual decisions to serve in the Navy.”   

Just how powerful was the original movie when it came to fighter pilot recruitment?

According to Military History Now, interest in U.S. Navy flight training rose 500 percent in 1986, the year Top Gun was released.

A similar claim was made about interest in fighter pilot training in the U.S. Air Force, according to Leslie Brown, spokesperson for Air Force Recruiting Services (AFRS). However, neither service has data to validate the claims.

“We can’t find in the Air Force where that’s true,” Brown told FLYING.

There is some anecdotal evidence, however, that indicates there was a needed boost in recruitment. In 1979 and the early 1980s, USAF missed recruitment goals, however, “1986 wasn’t as tough,” Brown said.

The service is hoping to once again tap into the movie magic.

“This is a year that we’re struggling,” she said.

It couldn’t come at a more critical time for the service, which earlier this year said it was ramping up strategies to accelerate training and improve retention as it faces a shortage of more than 1,600 pilots. 

• READ MORE: Air Force Strategies Chipping Away at Pilot Shortfall

The Air Force is hoping to harness some of its own Top Gun energy with a new “Own The Sky” commercial set to run before the movie in theaters. The slick minute-long ad features Air Force pilots pulling Gs while flying high-speed maneuvers in F-35 Lightning IIs and F-22 Raptors.

“The intensity of this spot is stunning, so hold on to your popcorn because we are bringing the Air Force to your seat,” Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas, AFRS commander, said in a statement. “There are more than 130 career options an Airman can take on their full or part-time journey to defend our skies. The air superiority in this video just gives you a glimpse of a small percentage of what is possible when you join us.” 

Even though Top Gun: Maverick is Navy-centric, all branches of the military will likely see a lift from the film in what is the toughest recruiting market in more than 20 years, Thomas added.

“It’s a math problem,” Thomas said. “The national labor shortage is driving millions of unfilled jobs. The nation is bigger. The military is smaller. Few people today know someone who has served. Eligibility to serve has dropped to just 23 percent due to obesity, medical, or other issues, and less people are generally knowledgeable enough about the military to know what a great way of life serving in the military can be.” 

• READ MORE: To Become a Better Pilot, Master the Top Gun Debrief

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The DOD is planning to buy up to 152 F-35 aircraft annually, despite the fact the program remains stalled in operational testing due to holdups in developing the F-35 simulator that is crucial in determining the performance and reliability of the fighter, the GAO said. 

The delay in officially moving into full production, however, hasn’t stopped the DOD from buying the aircraft at near full production rates, the GAO said. By the time the F-35 advances from the final development milestone, the DOD will have already acquired about a third of the fighters it intends to buy.

“[I]t means that more aircraft will need to be fixed later if more performance issues are identified, which will cost more than if those issues were resolved before those aircraft were produced,” the report said. “At the same time that DOD is purchasing aircraft at these high rates, those that are already in the fleet are not performing as well as expected.”

A three-year delay in the F-35 Block 4 modernization schedule aimed at upgrading the fighter’s hardware and software systems is also leading to cost overruns, the GAO said. In 2021, Block 4 development costs jumped $741 million in the span of a year, to $15.14 billion, the report said.

The DOD intends to buy 2,470 of the stealth fighters as part of fleet modernization for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. To date, more than 700 of the aircraft have been delivered by Lockheed Martin to the U.S. services, and foreign military customers, according to the GAO.

Central to the delay in the program moving from operational test and evaluation to full-rate production phase is the lack of an aircraft simulator, which runs mission systems software and software models to simulate complex scenarios for testing.

“The program office completed the final remaining open-air weapons trial in June 2021 but needs to complete 64 simulated test trials in the simulator before initial operational testing will be finished,” the GAO said. “Before DOD can conduct the final 64 simulated test trials, the simulator must be fully developed.” Program officials have also not determined when that simulated testing could be completed, it said.

The post Snowballing Delays In F-35 Development Lead To Increased DOD Risk, GAO Says appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

During the incidents, the Crimea-based Russian fighters flew along the Black Sea toward NATO territory before turning away, reported Air Force Magazine.

“You have more Russian aircraft flying around the Black Sea,” Spanish Lt. Gen. Fernando De La Cruz Caravaca, commander of the NATO Combined Air Operations Center, told the magazine. “We react to them anytime any Russian aircraft flies in the Black Sea,” he added. “We need to be sure that we are there, ready, in front of them, just in case.”

The news is the latest as Russian bombers and fighters continue to operate near or into NATO airspace following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.

“Almost six weeks ago, the war in Ukraine started, and the war in Ukraine continues to rage, devastating lives and destroying cities,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday at the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Foreign Ministers. “We continue to apply unprecedented pressure on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to end the war, and reiterate our ironclad commitment to defend every inch of Allied territory.” 

In late March, NATO reported that allied jets scrambled 10 times in one day to shadow Russian military aircraft over the North Atlantic, North Sea, Black Sea, and Baltic Sea, intercepting six groups of aircraft near Allied airspace in less than six hours.

“Intercepting multiple groups of Russian aircraft demonstrates NATO forces’ readiness and capability to guard Allied skies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year,” Brig. Gen. Andrew Hansen, deputy chief of staff operations at Allied Air Command, Ramstein, Germany, said following the March 29 incidents.

The intercepts come as NATO countries continue to focus on bolstering the alliance’s eastern flank, while also supplying military aid to Ukraine’s military. The U.S. has increased its troop level in Europe to more than 100,000 troops, up from 80,000 in mid-February, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Friday.

“There’s nothing easy about anything with respect to Ukraine, not for the Ukrainians, certainly, not for NATO, not for individual nations, like the United States that are trying to support Ukraine,” Kirby said. “Nothing’s easy about this. And we are working incredibly hard at an unprecedented scale, to help another nation defend itself.”

• READ MORE: U.S. Marine Corps Units Deploy to Lithuania, Poland in Support of NATO

Last week, the U.S. Marine Corps deployed a command and control unit of 200 Marines to Siauliai, Air Base in Lithuania in support of NATO’s defense posture. The Corps also repositioned 10 F/A-18C Hornets and two KC-130J Hercules aerial refuelers, along with 200 Marines from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 312 and Aerial Refueler Training Squadron (VMGR) 252 to Lask Air Base in Poland.

“These deployments will bolster our deterrent and defensive presence alongside our NATO Allies,” a spokesperson for United States European Command (EUCOM) told FLYING in an email.

• READ MORE: Tactical Combat Drones Play a Role in Ukraine Air Defense

The deployments are the latest repositioning of U.S. military forces to the Baltic region in support of NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.

Who The U.S. Has in the Region

Military officials have announced the following aircraft units are among those currently in the region to support NATO, either through pre-planned deployments or in response to the current situation in Ukraine:

Marine Corps

• Marine Air Control Group (MACG) 28 based at Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, N.C., deployed 200 Marines to Siauliai Air Base, Lithuania
• Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 312 based in Beaufort, S.C., deployed 10 F/A 18C Hornets, 200 Marines
• Marine Aerial Refueler Training Squadron (VMGR) 252 based at Cherry Point repositioned two KC-130J Hercules

Navy

• Six EA-18G Growlers assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 134 at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington specialized in electronic warfare missions were deployed to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany in late March 

U.S. Air Force

• 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron based at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota deployed B-52 Stratofortress to participate in Close Air Support Training near Poland on March 31, as well as operations in Czech Republic. The unit also flew to the North Sea off the coast of Norway to support an ongoing NATO exercise.
• 92nd Air Refueling Wing based at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington deployed four KC-135 Stratotankers and 150 personnel to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany on March 9
• 31st Fighter Wing based at Ramstein Air Base in Germany deployed two F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft to 91st Air Base in Croatia on March 16
• In early March, B-52 aircraft attached to the 5th Bomb Wing from Minot AFB also conducted a series of integration flights over central Europe to meet up with Romanian Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, and also practiced bilateral operations and bomber aircraft intercept procedures with Italian and Greek military aircraft.
• In late February, six F-35 Lightning IIs from the 48th Fighter Wing based at Royal Air Force Lakenheath deployed to Estonia and Lithuania. Six F-35s assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron from Hill Air Force Base, Utah were also forward deployed to air bases in Lithuania and Romania.
• Since late February, eight F-15 Es assigned to 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina and six KC-135 Stratotankers from the 100th Aerial Refueling Wing, based at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, U.K. were also deployed to Germany.
• In mid-February, the 52nd Fighter Wing from Spangdahlem AFB, Germany deployed personnel, support equipment and a number of F-16 Fighter Falcons to Romania. The 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath, U.K. also deployed F-15 Eagles to Poland.

“Thus far, nobody has been rotated out; everybody that the Secretary has ordered in, is going to stay in,” Kirby told reporters earlier this month, adding that the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is still on a scheduled deployment in the Mediterranean, where it will stay until the Secretary of Defense decides it’s time to rotate it out.

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Five days into its launch of the bloody invasion of Ukraine and Russia troops had yet to take control, according to U.S. defense officials.

“The Russians have not achieved air superiority over the whole country,” a senior defense official told reporters Monday. “Ukrainian air defenses remain intact and viable both in terms of aircraft—and missile defense systems—and they’re engaged.”

• READ MORE: European Union, Canada Close Airspace To Russia

U.S. defense officials, however, say it’s too soon to make sweeping conclusions.

“Make no mistake, Mr. Putin still has at his disposal significant combat power,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Monday afternoon. “He hasn’t moved all of it into Ukraine, but he’s moved the majority of it. He still has a lot that he hasn’t moved into Ukraine. It’s combined arms. And it’s not insignificant.”

Despite initial setbacks, “the Russians will learn from this,” he added.

• READ MORE: How Russian Oligarchs Conduct Business in the Air

Combat Air Power

How does Russia’s air force compare to others?

When it comes to combat air power, the gold standard is the U.S. Air Force, which, according to the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA), has the highest rating based on modernization, logistical support, and attack and defense capabilities.

“The USAF features a broad mix of aircraft types as well as balance strengthened by overall numbers [quantity],” WDMMA said. “Many of its products are locally sourced thanks to the U.S.’s massive industrial base. It also maintains dedicated strategic-level bombers, CAS aircraft, a sizeable helo and fighter force [of which many are multirole types], and hundreds of transport aircraft to reach anywhere in the world. 

• READ MORE: Ukrainian Officials Reveal Fate Of World’s Largest Cargo Aircraft, ‘Mriya’

“Beyond this is a large training, tanker, and special-mission force. The service is also set to be reinforced in the near-future with hundreds of units still on-order.”

In its most recent ranking of 124 air services in 98 countries, WDMMA ranked the U.S. Air Force as the top air service owing to its “TrueValueRating” (TVR), or a value formulated by assessing an air service’s strengths and weaknesses.

U. S. Air Force  – 5,209 active aircraft inventory:

• Attack aircraft: 1,976 units

• Support aircraft: 1,692 units
• Training aircraft: 1,541 units
• Future: 2,419 units
• TVR: 242.9

Russia Air Force – 3,829 active aircraft inventory

• Attack aircraft: 1,507 units

• Support aircraft: 1,837 units
• Training aircraft: 485 units
• Future: 820 units
• TVR: 69.4

Even with its size, Russia’s air force inventory is less than that of just the U.S. Army Aviation division, which has a reported current active inventory of 4,328 aircraft, according to WDMMA. 

The post How Russia’s Air Force Inventory Compares appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Finland’s Ministry of Defence signed a letter of offer and acceptance on February 11 for the aircraft and their maintenance services.

“The procurement contracts include the deliveries of 64 multi-role fighters in 2025-30 that represent the F-35A Block 4 configuration, aircraft engines and maintenance equipment, systems, spare parts, replacement equipment, training equipment, and servicing needed for use and maintenance,” the ministry said in a statement announcing the signing. “The agreements include F-35 type training for the Defence Forces’ flying and technical personnel.”

In December, Finland announced it had selected the F-35 stealth fighter jet for the Finnish Air Force as a replacement for its aging fleet of F/A-18 Hornets, which is set to be phased out starting in 2025.

“The Finnish Air Force will receive 64 F-35A aircraft, a sustainment solution tailored to Finnish security of supply requirements, and a comprehensive training program,” Lockheed Martin said. “With a combination of stealth, sensor fusion and unmatched situational awareness, the F-35 will ensure Finland’s airspace for decades to come.”

The first F-35s are expected to begin service in the Finnish Air Force in 2025 as part of training in the U.S., with aircraft delivered to Finland in 2026, the ministry said in December. The F-35 is expected to fully replace the F/A-18 by 2030.

The news comes as Finland’s eastern neighbor, Russia, continues to amass forces along its southern border, ratcheting up tension with Ukraine.

“This is another clear sign of how serious Finland has always been about its national defense,” Mikko Hautala, Finland’s ambassador to the U.S., said in a statement, Reuters reported. Hautala added that the F-35 purchase “is part of our long-term planning and has nothing to do with the current situation as such.”

• READ MORE: UAE Says It Will Suspend Talks to Purchase F-35s from US

While Finland is not a member of NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization), it is buying NATO-compatible aircraft and military equipment to allow for “greater cooperation,” Reuters said.

Last month and amid pushback from Russia against NATO expansion, Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Finland retained the right to join the alliance. 

“Finland retains the option of applying for NATO membership,” she said, according to Yle, Finland’s national radio. “We should uphold this freedom of choice and make sure it remains a reality, as this is part of every country’s right to decide on its own security policies.”

• READ MORE: Royal Thai Air Force Seeks To Modernize Defense With F-35 Buy

Last year, Switzerland also announced it had selected the F-35 as part of its air defense modernizations. The U.S., U.K., Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Norway, Denmark, and Canada are international F-35 program partners. The militaries of Israel, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Belgium, and Singapore are also operating the F-35.

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By day’s end, the American Volunteer Group (AVG)—better known as the “Flying Tigers”—would go on to down nine out of 10 Japanese bombers in the first of many air battles in a seven-month campaign that helped block Japanese expansion into China.

The Flying Tigers’ legend is one that continues to represent military cunning and a special brand of American grit. It is a story of how an irascible commander trained a group of U.S. volunteer military pilots to beat an adversary that was better trained and outfitted through exploiting weakness, all while wearing the patch of another country.

Here are five things you should know about the Flying Tigers:

1. One man was behind the genius of the AVG’s winning air strategy: Claire Chennault.

U.S. Army Air Corps aviator Claire Chennault is remembered for many things, among them being opinionated and more than a little daring.

“Captain Chennault was known to fly his P-12 upside down under the Highway 31 bridge on his way home for lunch,” Fred Schramm, Air University History Office historian, once said. “He would also take his P-12 to Louisiana for the weekend on hunting expeditions,” he added. “He would load his dogs in the cargo section of the plane and fly home with his game strapped to the wing of his plane.”

Chennault was also not known to have an agreeable relationship with his superiors in the Army Air Corps. As he exited military service on a medical discharge in 1937, the Chinese government recruited him as an adviser for its air force.

“The day after he left the Air Corps as a captain, he was on his way to the West Coast to head to China and to become their air adviser,” said Tripp Alyn, chair of the Historical & Museums Committee AVG Flying Tigers Association. “They gave him the title of the rank in China of colonel, so an American captain suddenly becomes a colonel in the Chinese Air Force.”

When he arrived in China, Chennault was given a Curtiss P-36 Hawk, which he flew during reconnaissance missions observing Japanese air operations.

“In this aircraft, he went up and he observed the Japanese, and made copious notes,” Alyn said. “He observed their formations and their attack doctrine,” including their altitude, airspeed, direction, and how they attacked. “The Japanese were true to their doctrine, and they were very consistent and very predictable.”

The experience led to Chennault’s theories of defensive pursuit.  

2. The AVG was created to defend China. 

In the late 1930s, Japan’s expansion campaign in China raged on. Japanese bombers attacked Chinese cities, killing civilians indiscriminantly.

“Japan always thought they were invincible,” Alyn said. “They flew against the old aircraft of China with impunity.”

Chennault and a delegation of Chinese officials turned to the U.S. to ask for help.

“They reached out to us for help, but we couldn’t send them our units or we’d be at war,” said Bob van der Linden, a curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. “The United States was desperately trying to stay neutral, and stay out of wars, but also … trying to keep the Nazis at bay and trying to keep the aggression of Imperial Japan at bay,” he said. “[President] Roosevelt understood that Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan were a threat. But he also knew we could not declare war.”

• PHOTO GALLERY: The Flying Tigers

Roosevelt could, however, support the Chinese government in its defense against Japan in another way that would also help keep China in the war. The U.S. would support the creation of the American Volunteer Group, an all volunteer unit of 100 reserve military pilots who would be allowed to resign their commissions to travel to China to serve.

“At the time, the American public was quite pacifist and non-interventionist through the late ’30s,” said Gene Pfeifer, curator and historian at the National Museum of World War II Aviation.  “It was very difficult for [Roosevelt] to see a way where he could meaningfully help the Chinese before we got into the war with the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor. And this was one way that he felt he could make a meaningful contribution to checking Japanese expansionism in the Pacific.”

By the summer of 1941, the AVG began to mobilize in Burma as Japan launched a massive bombing campaign against Chinese cities. One such bombing occurred on December 19, 1941.

The next day, on December 20, the AVG received an alert that 10 Japanese bombers were en route. Information relayed by spotters confirmed their course toward Kunming. Recognizing the play, Chennault sent two squadrons up—one orbiting over the city of Kunming at an altitude that could be seen by the Japanese pilots, and the second ready to pounce.

“What he did was ingenious,” Alyn said. “They knew that an attack was eminent on them,” and they jettisoned their bombs as they turned to return to their home base.

“Because of the note locations, Chennault knew where they would be jettisoning their bombs,” as well as the course they would take and the altitude. 

A squadron was ready for them, attacking from out of the sun so that the Japanese bombers would never know what hit them.

“Chennault taught the AVG to use a diving attack, to dive, shoot, then dive away,” Alyn said. The strategy maximized the rugged speed of the P-40s while limiting the time an adversary could fire back.

At the end of the day, only one of the 10 Japanese bombers made it back to their base.

“When the Americans returned to Kunming, the Chinese people were so thrilled. For the first time the Japanese had been shot down,” Alyn said. “The newspapers reported, ‘They’re fighting like tigers—Flying Tigers.’”

3. The AVG operated for only about seven months.

By July 1942, the AVG reportedly shot down or destroyed 297 enemy aircraft for a ratio of 20-to-1 and produced 20 ace pilots who shot down five or more. The Flying Tigers, which was composed of 311 pilots, ground crew and trainers, suffered 23 losses, including 22 pilots.

“It’s only seven months, but that was perhaps the most precarious seven months of the war in the Pacific,” van der Linden said. The U.S. had suffered an attack at Pearl Harbor and lost the Philippines. The U.S. Navy had been “knocked back on its heels,” and the Japanese Navy was operating unopposed in much of the Pacific.

The Flying Tigers turned the tide.

“Yes, they were fighting for nationalist China, but national China was our ally. And that was just fine. And they were striking blows against the Japanese,” van der Linden said. “America was still fighting back, and that was an extraordinary morale booster at home.”

4. The P-40 and AVG helped prove Chennault’s theories of defensive pursuit. 

On paper, the deck was stacked against the AVG. They were going up against Japanese Navy fighter pilots flying Mitsubishi A6M2 Zeros, a fast and nimble single-seater monoplane.

The AVG, by contrast, had Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, a ground-attack aircraft that was plentiful, but flirting with obsolescence.

“It performed very well throughout the war, but most of the aircraft it went up against were better either in terms of visibility or firepower,” and were slower than other fighter aircraft, van der Linden said. The P-40 couldn’t turn with the Zero. What it did have, however, was a good range, coordinated controls and flew well.

The P-40 was “very much a pilot’s airplane,” he said.

“What the tactics of the Flying Tigers under Claire Chennault showed was that yes, the Zero is a better fighter than the P-40, but if you use the P-40s advantage in terms of speed, diving ability, and firepower and don’t turn with them, you can defeat them,” van der Linden said. 

The AVG turned into a living laboratory for Chennault’s theories on defensive pursuit, which ran counter to the more prevalent offensive strategies centered on heavy bombers. Despite the success of the strategies, defensive pursuit wasn’t readily embraced by military leaders back in the U.S.

“The rise of really fast and well-armed bombers in a world that had emerged from the First World War with a certain set of experiences and beliefs and so on, meant that the Second World War started with those beliefs being carried over,” said Doug Lantry, chief historian of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

“[There was] a real faith among many powerful leaders that these new fast bombers would always get through to the target and that they were invulnerable. And they just couldn’t be stopped,” Lantry said. “And so pursuit aviation was, in a lot of cases, just put on the back shelf and ignored.”

5. Let’s talk about that iconic aircraft nose art.

The Flying Tigers began with 100 P-40 aircraft supplied by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s plant in Buffalo, New York.

“They had to be taken from the plant down to Brooklyn and put aboard ships,” Alyn said. “Three different ships sailed for Rangoon, Burma with 100 aircraft destined for the AVG.” Their arrival in the capital of what is now Myanmar took an ominous turn when a crane unloading a ship dropped one of the aircraft in the harbor, instantly reducing the fleet to 99 aircraft before operations began, he said.

The iconic shark’s mouth paint scheme came later. According to Alyn, the idea for the fierce face came after AVG pilots were visiting with friends and spotted a photo of an airplane painted in the scheme on the cover of Illustrated Weekly of India sitting on the coffee table. They took the idea back to Chennault, who gave them permission to do it. 

“He liked it so much that he said he wanted all their aircraft painted that way,” Alyn said.

For today’s military, the legend of the bravery and effectiveness of the AVG underdogs endures.

“What they did show was that you need to be open-minded and ready to adapt to the circumstances. And Chennault was very smart in this, like, you take what you have–in this case a P-40–and you emphasize its strengths and minimize its weaknesses,” van der Linden said.

Then there was the role they played in lifting the spirits of the U.S. in the dark months following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“They were honestly no more than a pinprick in the side of the Japanese but let them know that they weren’t going to get away with it without some payback,” van der Linden said. “The real importance was for the folks back home.”

“They came together in a very cohesive and very effective flying force that served as the model for what we continued to do in China after their service was over,” Pfeifer said.

Mostly, the AVG was an opportunity for an aviator from rural Louisiana who dared to challenge established military thinking to be proven right, historians say.

“The bottom line is that over time [Chennault] was proved correct,” Lantry said. “He was proved correct that bombers needed long range escort. And he was proved correct that a wide and continuous early warning network was vital for pursuit aviation. And he was proved correct that operating as tactical teams instead of individuals yielded better results,” he said.

“Here’s a few people as volunteers who have shed rigid military authority in favor of this kind of informal adherence to a charismatic, but demanding teacher and leader. And the legend is that they really did more with less,” Lantry said. “They really achieved a lot in a short period of time, against really huge odds. They could not have been favored in that fight, and yet they came out of it winners.”

The post 80 Years Later, the Legacy of the Flying Tigers Endures appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Future U.S. Air Force combat readiness will rely on a streamlined fleet of four fighter aircraft platforms, a top USAF commander said Wednesday.

The retooling of the USAF aircraft fleet comes as the service looks to reposition for potential conflict with China, which it says is actively seeking to exploit limitations created by European basing and decades focused on the Middle East.

“For decades, the United States military organized, trained and equipped to fight a peer adversary: the Soviet Union,” USAF Air Combat Commander Gen. Mark Kelly said Wednesday at the Air Force Association’s Air Space Cyber Conference. “The requirements of every single fighter designed and built for the United States, from the F-86 to the F-35, were designed against this peer adversary to maintain a technical advantage to operate from European basing,” Kelly said.

“We now must truly pivot a force that has spent 30 years in the Middle East to face a new challenge,” he said.

By 2030, the USAF will focus its fighter fleet from its current seven platforms to “4 + 1″:

• The F-35
• The F-15EX
• The F-16
• Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) platform, considered to be vital portion of the future fleet force, which is under development, plus
• The A-10

“We must keep the F-22 dominant for air superiority in a highly contested environment, and facilitate a hot handover to our next generation air dominance capability,” Kelly said. “The F-35 will be the cornerstone of our contested environment force, and the F-15EX will provide the big range, big weapons and disruptive avionics and sensors to complement the F-35 in the contested environment,” he said.

The streamlining of fighter platforms is a continuation of a dramatic evolution in fleet size in recent decades. Since the height of the Cold War, the USAF’s fighter fleet has decreased by 47 percent, Kelly said.

In 1961, for example, the USAF had a fighter fleet of 3,938 aircraft spread across 108 combat squadrons, with an average aircraft age of 4.5 years. By 2003, the USAF fighter fleet inventory had dipped to 2,526 aircraft, averaging 18 years across 85 combat squadrons.

This year, the USAF fleet includes 2,094 aircraft, averaging 28.6 years across 54 combat squadrons, Kelly said.

China is watching the numbers.

“They know that our fighting force has gotten much older, and they know that our fighting force has gotten significantly smaller,” Kelly said.

In the 20 years the U.S. military spent in Afghanistan, China has organized, trained, and equipped its military, and it is “singularly focused and singularly invested in fighting us,” he said.

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