Australian Military Aviation Posts
How the F-102 Became a Night Fighter in Vietnam
During the early years of the Vietnam War, the century series of fighters would be deployed to act in a variety of roles, before the mass rollout of the F-4 Phantom. These aircraft - all designs from the early to mid 50s, created to fill gaps realised during the...
The Evolution of Cruise Missiles
Cruise and guided missile had become one of the most decisive precision weapons on the battlefield. Used for the first strikes of Operation Desert Storm, and to a similar effect during the invasion of Iraq. Now, their legacy continues in the Russo-Ukrainian...
Life of a Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot | Oskar Ziesig
Oskar Ziesig, born in 1919 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany near Essen, recounts his life and career as a Luftwaffe pilot during World War 2 in this August 13, 2004 interview conducted in Australia. Interview with Oskar Ziesig, 13th August 2004, Australians at War...
China’s new J-36
In December 2024, images from China confirmed the existence of a new, sixth-generation aircraft in testing. A tailless design, it appeared to be a crewed aircraft, possibly a strike fighter. Now, almost one year later, images confirm that a second prototype has...
F4F Wildcat vs A6M Zero
Discount Code for our F-16 T-shirts: STROKE3 https://peacemaker.fashion/en-aud/products/f-16 December 1941 marked the beginning of the Pacific War. For the US Navy, the role of frontline fighter was chiefly filled by the F4F Wildcat, a simple but robust design. For...
9 Squadron RAAF History Part 2 | The Iroquois
In April 1961, the Royal Australian Air Force ordered eight Bell Iroquois utility helicopters, designated HU-1B, from the Bell Helicopter Company in the United States. The U.S. Army later redesignated these as UH-1B. Known within the RAAF as ‘Bravos,’ these gas...
How good is Venezuela’s Air Force?
Venezuela’s security environment has grown more complex because of U.S. counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean and visible aerial patrols with platforms like the B-52 Stratofortress. In response, Venezuelan officials have accused the United States of...
Every Apollo Mission
We trace the Apollo program from Cold War origins to its collaborative finale, showing how disciplined engineering turned an audacious goal into reality. Let’s start with a list of all the missions: Uncrewed Test Missions Apollo 1 (AS-204) – Intended to be first...
![Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet [A44]](https://raafdocumentary.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/super-hornet1-400x250.jpg)
Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet [A44]
By the mid-1980s, the U.S. Navy faced the fact that its fleet of Grumman F-14 Tomcats and the original F/A-18 Hornets were not going to carry air superiority and strike capabilities into the next century. Programs like the Navy Advanced Tactical Fighter and the A-12...
AIM-7 Sparrow: The Missile That Changed Air Combat
In the 1960s, beyond-visual-range combat would become possible for the first time. Semi-active radar guided technology allowed for an aircraft to locate a target, transmit this information to a missile computer, and then guide the weapon to its target. During...
The Doomsday Planes
In 1960, the United States Air Force initiated Operation Looking Glass, the conversion of five KC-135s into airborne command and control centres. In the case of nuclear war, these aircraft would take off with top military personnel, and from the skies could mirror the...
SAAB Jets
Since the start of the Cold War, Europe’s ability to manufacture military aircraft has decreased dramatically. Today, only a select few fighter aircraft are built on the continent. Large multinational projects have resulted in the Eurofighter, whilst France’s...
Autonomous Force Protection
This video is based on Gregor Ferguson's article of the same name in September's 2025 issue of Wings magazine. Gregor charts how autonomous and uncrewed systems are reshaping force protection in modern air power—from the RAAF’s pioneering MQ-28A Ghost Bat program to...
Clive Caldwell: Australia’s Top WWII Ace Who Took On Rommel and the Japanese
Australia’s highest scoring fighter pilot of WWII By Kristen Alexander Clive Robertson Caldwell received his flying badge in November 1940 under the Empire Air Training Scheme. On 12 January 1941, he was granted his commission and embarked for the Middle East....
How one missile changed air combat: The AIM-9 Sidewinder
Over seven decades ago, a new guided missile system emerged that would come to define modern air combat. Born out of a late-1940s research project to develop guided rockets, this weapon was infrared-guided with only rear-aspect tracking capability in its earliest...
Vertical Ambition: The Harrier and the History of V/STOL Combat Aviation
In the long arc of combat aviation history, few aircraft can claim to have redefined the battlefield paradigm quite like the Harrier. Forged in the crucible of Cold War urgency and engineered with British daring, the Harrier family of Vertical/Short Take-Off and...
The Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale represents a pinnacle of French aerospace engineering, embodying a multirole combat aircraft designed to perform a wide spectrum of missions with precision and adaptability. Since its inception, the Rafale has been a critical...
The forgotten Soviet VTOL jets
The Yakovlev Design Bureau began exploring VTOL concepts in 1960, influenced by British efforts (the Hawker P.1127/Kestrel). In response to a 1961 contract for a single-seat VTOL fighter, Yakovlev proposed the Yak-36 (NATO: “Freehand”) with twin engines, each feeding...
B-21 Raider
The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is the United States’ next-generation stealth bomber – the first new American bomber of the 21st century. Unveiled in December 2022 amid much anticipation, the B-21 is a flying-wing, low-observable aircraft designed to penetrate the...
How good was the P-80 Shooting Star?
Jet and rocket technology saw rapid experimental development during World War II, particularly by Germany, Britain, and the United States. Germany’s jet fighters have become symbols of the era, and Britain’s Gloster Meteor still gets its share of recognition —...
9 Squadron History Part 1
9 SQN The First Era 1925 – December 1944 The history of No. 9 Squadron RAAF and its precursor Units can be categorised into four distinct ‘eras’ of the Squadrons’ operational life: the fleet co-operation squadrons just described; the era of the Iroquois from 1962 to...
Meteor vs Me 262
World War II marked the debut of jet-powered aircraft in combat. By the war’s end, several nations had fielded operational jets in roles from high-speed interceptors to experimental fighters. Among these pioneering machines, two stood out: the German Messerschmitt Me...
Iran’s Missile Arsenal
Introduction On 13 June 2025, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a large-scale air and drone strike against Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. Israeli jets hit sites including the Natanz uranium enrichment complex, the Fordow underground facility, and a...
SU-30 – Russia’s Best Jet?
INTRO Since the late 1980s, the Flanker has stood as one of the most reliable multirole fighter platforms in Russia and across many Eastern nations. Much like the F-15 has come to symbolize Western air superiority, the Flanker has emerged as a defining icon of Eastern...
The Rhodesian Bush War
It is the mid-1970s in Africa. The small land-locked nation of Rhodesia, sitting northeast of its neighbour South Africa, is economically successful but militarily and politically troubled. It is under international scrutiny, with trade to the country limited. The...
Indian vs Pakistani Air Power
On April 22, 2025, a terrorist attack in the Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir marked a sharp escalation in Indo-Pakistani tensions. The attack claimed the lives of 26 civilians, primarily Hindu tourists, and was attributed to The Resistance...
The Mind of the Kamikaze
In late 1944, Japan’s military turned to a deadly and radical tactic: suicide attacks by pilots known as kamikaze, or “divine wind.” These young men, often in their late teens, flew explosive-laden aircraft into Allied ships, sacrificing themselves to delay defeat....
F-105 Thud – Thunder in the Skies
F-105 Thunderchief – Thunder in the Skies The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, known to its crews as the Thud, was a cornerstone of US Air Force strike capability during the early Cold War and Vietnam War. Designed in the 1950s as a supersonic fighter-bomber, it was...
The Psychology of the Fighter Pilot
Fighter pilots operate where split seconds and mental clarity define outcomes. A dogfight—whether in a Bf 109 over the Eastern Front or an F/A-18 in a TOPGUN drill—hinges on three core traits: focus, aggression, and rapid decision-making. These aren’t abstract...
How B-2s at Diego Garcia Change Everything
In late March 2025, The War Zone reported a significant buildup of U.S. aircraft at the British military base on Diego Garcia, a remote British island base in the Indian Ocean. Up to twelve B-2 Spirits were deployed to undisclosed Pacific locations—marking what may be...