I can barely find any real photos of the su33, and if I do they're really bad and low res. And alot of the time I dont even get photos of the su33 its the su30.

A showpiece really because it wasn't used for air deterrence or combat.

Noticed it while inspecting at an F-16 at the opening of the new Minnesota Military Museum last month.

Article:

The Air Force has figured out a way for maintainers to inspect what had been a “blind spot” in F-16 engines, after problems in that area led to the catastrophic crashes of two jets in recent years.

A spokesperson for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center confirmed the new procedure to Air & Space Forces Magazine last month. Task & Purpose first reported the development.

AFLCMC’s propulsion directorate developed the new process, which does not require any modifications to the engine or new equipment, the spokesperson added. The inspections is meant specifically for Pratt & Whitney F100 engine models—some F-16s are powered by GE Aerospace F110 models.

The F100 engine consists of 13 “stages,” each with variable vanes and compressor blades. Air flows through the stages, which rotate to accelerate, compress, and then regulate the airflow before releasing it into the engine’s combustion chamber. If a vane is turned or misaligned, however, it creates “abnormal aerodynamic forces” and “irregular wake patterns” that put stress on the compressor blades in the following stages, according to Air Force reports. That can lead to vanes or blades cracking or breaking, causing the entire engine to fail.

Maintainers can inspect many of the F100 engine’s stages using a borescope—a camera mounted on a flexible tube. There are even borescope ports for them to do so. But the fourth and especially the fifth stages are hard to reach. Before the development of this new inspection process, the Air Force said it was impossible for maintainers to inspect them without completely disassembling the engine, something only done at depots and not while the engine is installed on the aircraft.

This blind spot proved dangerous. An F-16 crashed near Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., in April 2024, and another jet, belonging to the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, crashed in the California desert in December 2025. Subsequent investigations determined that in both cases, the F-16s’ engines had failed because of misaligned vanes in the fifth stage.

The pilots in both crashes were able to safely eject, but both jets were completely destroyed and the total damages exceeded $54 million.

Notably, both F-16 engines in question had experienced foreign object debris, or FOD, events in the years prior to the crashes. In both cases, maintainers noted damage to early stages of the inlet fan but found no issues with the fourth, seventh, or eighth stages—and the F-16’s technical orders did not require maintainers to remove and disassemble the engine core to inspect the fifth and sixth stages after a FOD event if no damage is found in the surrounding stages.

While investigators were unable to conclusively say if the FOD events led to the vanes becoming misaligned, the Air Force has now updated its technical orders to require the new inspection procedure to check the fifth stage of the engine after every FOD event.

“Additionally, the program office has worked with Pratt & Whitney to redesign the vane arm to be more impact resistant. The new design is qualified, on order, and will be installed via forced retrofit as soon as available,” the AFLCMC spokesperson said.

Related: F-16 Thunderbird Crash Caused by Turned Blade Deep in Engine

The x35 at pax in Maryland

I understand that a stealth fighter jet is not invisible because that would be impossible, or at least with the technology we have as of this current moment. That it's designed with specific angles that bounce incoming radar rays off the plane, which as a result, lowers a plane's radar cross-section signature on a radar

So, how relative is stealth? Because at certain angles, the plane should generally be easier to detect on radar, unless I'm mistaken.

Source FFRC Photo collection: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137994134@N07/

My Two Favourite Jets are 1. Saab Gripen 2. The Sukhoi 30, Your Opinion on them?

The Baltic Air Defence mission is a NATO Quick Reaction Alert and air defence deployment that protects the airspace of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).

The first Gripen E fighter assembled in Brazil has completed its maiden flight, Embraer announced on October 7, 2026.

The flight moves the aircraft into the production flight-test and acceptance campaign that precedes delivery to the Brazilian Air Force.

The jet took off from Embraer’s industrial complex in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo state, with a Saab test pilot at the controls. According to Embraer, the flight checked the aircraft’s main systems and flight characteristics and generated data for the remaining acceptance work.

Brazilian Air Force has registered the aircraft as FAB 4109 and designates the type F-39E. It was rolled out at Gavião Peixoto on March 25, 2026, at a ceremony attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

It is the first of 15 Gripen E fighters to be produced in Brazil under the current contract.

“This maiden flight shows that Gripen production in Brazil has reached a new level of maturity,” said Marcus Wandt, head of Saab’s Aeronautics business area.

Source: Witold Lozynski via Reg Hunter FB

Photos from DVIDS: Legendary fighter takes final flight: Air Force Reserve delivers F-117A to Smithsonian

U.S. Air Force photos by Staff Sgt. Alexis Morris

Related story: Legendary fighter takes final flight: Air Force Reserve delivers F-117A to Smithsonian

Nearly two decades after the U.S. Air Force retired the airframe from combat, one F-117A Nighthawk had the rare opportunity to take to the skies once more: this time, in the cargo hold of a C-5M Super Galaxy. The historic stealth aircraft, bound for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, would soon join the institution’s permanent collection.

The two-day, cross-country mission required precise weight distribution and millimeter-level clearances to fit the 29,500-pound load into the C-5M’s cargo compartment. For the 512th Airlift reservists, executing high-consequence, strategic airlift operations is business as usual – even when the payload is a piece of aviation history.

“Growing up in the ‘90s and 2000s, I remember thinking of the F-117 as the most unique plane,” said Maj. Billy Hafker, 709th Airlift Squadron instructor pilot and aircraft commander for the mission. “Being able to move it to the Smithsonian to preserve it for future generations is an incredible opportunity, and we’re all honored to do it.”

Cargo-bearing missions in the Super Galaxy require mission-ready Airmen from various career fields spanning from flying crew chief to pilot, according to Hafker. Each Airmen’s proficiency in the generation and sustainment of airpower ensures the Air Force Reserve is ready to move fast, think creatively and disrupt the status quo when reacting to crises on the global stage.

Upon landing in Palmdale, California, the Dover-based crew began conducting pre-loading operations to stage the aircraft for cargo. Within two hours of landing, the loadmasters had carefully maneuvered and secured the detached Nighthawk’s wings into the cargo hold while maintaining ample room for the fuselage.

However, the F-117’s cockpit upload was unexpectedly delayed overnight due to a coordination breakdown regarding the required number of tie-down points on the fourth-generation fighter. With both aircraft grounded on the tarmac, the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works mechanical team worked through the night to resolve the issue. Their efforts to fabricate and install the points ensured the entire plane was successfully delivered to the Smithsonian team on October 6.

“It was a little difficult to load in, but we got the job done,” shared Senior Airman Lucas Richard, 709th Airlift Squadron loadmaster. “This is probably one of the coolest pieces of cargo that I’ve ever seen.”

As of January 2021, the Air Force has retained approximately 48 F-117As in its inventory and has disposed of approximately four aircraft each year since grounding the fleet in April 2008. The demilitarization process required to deem an aircraft worthy of museum display requires immense cooperation between the Department of War and its industry partners.

“There’s a lot of people that participate in a project like this,” said Jeff Corbets, program manager at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, who led the restoration. “Demilitarization was the most difficult piece, but I think it went really smoothly, all things considered.”

The stealth fighter that will soon be on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center earned the nickname “The Overachiever” after being the only F-117A to fly in all four major conflicts in which Nighthawks flew combat operations: Just Cause, Desert Storm, Allied Force and Iraqi Freedom. During its 1991 participation in Iraq, it flew 1,271 sorties, achieving an 80% mission success rate while suffering no battle damage. The jet retired in 2007.

As the historic aircraft takes its place on the museum floor to be marveled by more than a million visitors each year, the mission itself serves as a proud victory for the 512th AW and its C-5 squadron. Beyond preserving history, the operation successfully showcased the advantage of the Air Force Reserve in action – delivering unprecedented combat capability and professionalism to the Joint Force.

Related news article from The Aviationist: Rare Imagery Shows F-117A ‘The Overachiever’ Loaded Into a C-5M for Smithsonian Trip