UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
April 15, 1986. US Air Force Major Brian Shul streaks through the stratosphere fifteen miles over Colonel Gaddafi’s Libya in his Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. Flying too high for enemy fighters to reach, too fast for missiles to catch, virtually invisible to radar, not a single one has been shot down in over two decades of operation. Continue reading
June 1990. The Soviets were about to do it again. Not since Sputnik had they so dramatically outpaced the West. They were about to deploy the most advanced vertical takeoff and landing combat aircraft the world had ever seen. The Yak-141, NATO reporting name Freestyle, didn’t just outperform the legendary British Harrier—it made it look ancient. Continue reading
In 1963, as Soviet Tu-95 bombers pushed NATO response times to mere minutes, Britain faced a critical defense gap. Budget constraints left the Royal Navy without a modern fighter capable of intercepting threats at supersonic speeds. Facing being outdone by the Soviets, a desperate Britain did the unthinkable: they turned to a foreign warplane for a solution. Continue reading
An aggressor squadron screams across the Baltic sky, closing in on the Swedish Saab 35 Draken at Mach 1.7. By all conventional wisdom, the brand new Swedish fighter should have been trapped—outgunned, outmaneuvered, and seconds away from being another Cold War casualty. But this is no ordinary aircraft. Continue reading
The Miles M.20 was an all-wood lightweight fighter and interceptor from Britain during World War II. This video looks at the idea of an emergency fighter, and the more technologically advanced examples from Germany in WW2, and some more simplistic examples from America. It then moves over to Britain’s example in the M.20, intended to supplant the Supermarine Spitfire and the Hawker Hurricane in an emergency. Continue reading
In early 1969, the dense jungles of Vietnam trembled under the dominion of the AC-47 gunship, affectionately known as Puff, the Magic Dragon. Its aged engines roared like a living beast of the air while its trio of miniguns promised swift justice from above, while its flares made an artificial day out of even the darkest of nights. Continue reading
Ukraine has received Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets from France – but how will they impact the war? These aircraft bring new air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities, forcing Russia to rethink its strategy. While Mirage 2000-5 is not the newest fighter, it offers advanced radar, modern avionics, and upgraded weapons that make it a valuable asset for Ukraine’s Air Force. Continue reading
The bombs slammed into the moving train right where the arclight of John S. Walmsley Jr.’s B-26 Marauder had pinpointed. For a split second, Walmsley felt a rush of triumph as his aircraft climbed away from the blasts, dodging flak and hoping the enemy train was finished. Destroying this train was a massive victory for Operation Strangle, the UN’s mission to choke North Korea by denying them their war supplies. Continue reading