The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it entered service with the Navy in 1961 before it was adopted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, and by the mid-1960s it had become a major part of their air arms. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5,195 aircraft built, making it the most produced American supersonic military aircraft in history, and cementing its position as a signature combat aircraft of the Cold War.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames include: "Balalaika", because its planform resembles the stringed musical instrument of the same name; "Ołówek", Polish for "pencil", due to the shape of its fuselage, and "Én Bạc", meaning "silver swallow", in Vietnamese.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, representing the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, manages the project and is the prime customer.
The Israeli Air Force operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. As of April 2022, Aluf Tomer Bar has been serving as the Air Force commander.
Nose art is a decorative painting or design on the fuselage of an aircraft, usually on the front fuselage.
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requiring the use of individual basic fighter maneuvers (BFM) to attack or evade one or more opponents. This differs from aerial warfare, which deals with the strategy involved in planning and executing various missions.
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied but is usually considered to be five or more.
Aerial supremacy is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of command of the sea.
Morón Air Base is located at 37°10′N5°36′W in southern Spain, approximately 35 miles (56 km) southeast of the city of Seville. The base gets its name from the nearby town of Morón de la Frontera, while it is located inside the municipality of Arahal.
The 357th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. The 357th operated P-51 Mustang aircraft as part of the U.S. Eighth Air Force and its members were known unofficially as the Yoxford Boys after the village of Yoxford near their base in the UK. Its victory totals in air-to-air combat are the most of any P-51 group in the Eighth Air Force and third among all groups fighting in Europe.
A multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) is a combat aircraft intended to perform different roles in combat. These roles can include air to air combat, air support, aerial bombing, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and suppression of air defenses.
F-4 Phantom II non-U.S. operators are the non-U.S. nations with air forces that operate or used to operate the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The Phantom II entered service with the U.S. military in 1960 and served until 1996. During this time it was the primary interceptor, air superiority fighter and fighter bomber with the U.S. Navy, Marines and Air Force.
The 9th Attack Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron, assigned to the 49th Operations Group, stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The squadron is a training unit for new pilots and sensor operators for the MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA).
Lee Andrew Archer, Jr. was an African American fighter Ace in the 332nd Fighter Group, commonly known as the Tuskegee Airmen, during World War II. He was one of the first African American military aviators in the United States Army Air Corps, the United States Army Air Forces and later the United States Air Force, eventually earning the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The 56th Operations Group is a unit of the United States Air Force, and the flying component of the 56th Fighter Wing.
Aircraft markings are symbols and annotations painted on aircraft, primarily for visual identification. Types of aircraft markings include:
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon has served the United States and the air arms of 25 other nations. Over 4,400 F-16s have been sold.
Netz 107 is a General Dynamics F-16A block 10 Fighting Falcon of the Israeli Air Force, tail number 107. Netz 107 participated in Operation Opera, bombing the Osiraq nuclear reactor, and was later credited with 6.5 enemy aircraft kills, a world record number of kills for an F-16.
Robert Burdette Westbrook was a United States Army Air Forces lieutenant colonel and a World War II flying ace. Westbrook commanded the 44th Fighter Squadron, and became the leading fighter ace of the Thirteenth Air Force. He is also the ninth ranking fighter ace in the Pacific during World War II and also one of ten United States Army Air Forces pilots who became an ace in two different types of fighter aircraft.
Raymond Henry Littge was an American flying ace in the 352nd Fighter Group during World War II, who was credited with 23.5 aerial victories.
