X-3 Stiletto’s Best Day

July 28, 1953
At Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., company pilot William Bridgeman pilots the Douglas X-3 Stiletto to the highest speed this grossly underpowered research aircraft will reach, Mach 1.21—and this only comes after he put the aircraft in a shallow dive. The X-3 was designed to fly at sustained speeds above Mach 2 for longer than 30 minutes at high altitudes.

Related Content

B-52 Bombers Make Rare Landing at Civilian Airport

April 18, 2024
Two B-52 bombers made a rare touchdown at a civilian airport earlier this month to practice landing at non-military airfields. The jets from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., landed at Chennault International Airport, La., on April 12. “When it comes to nuclear war, all bets are off and we need…

New Bill Looks to Ease Military Child Care Shortage

April 18, 2024
A new bipartisan law introduced April 18 promises to help ease the nationwide military child care shortage by allowing the Defense Department to create 12 partnerships with private and public child care centers near military bases.

Q&A: Outgoing AFCENT Boss Grynkewich on the Future of the Middle East

April 18, 2024
As commander of Air Forces Central, Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich has been at the heart of almost all U.S. military action in the Middle East, from overseeing airstrikes against Iranian proxy groups to protecting troops as America’s air defense commander for the region. Just before handing over his command to…

DOD Still Has No Plan To Stop Using Russian Gas in Europe

April 17, 2024
The Defense Department has not fulfilled a Congressional mandate to submit a plan for weaning U.S. military bases in Europe off of Russian energy, which could “be helping to fund the Russian war effort to the tune of a million dollars a week,” according to researchers.

Air Force Unveils First Picks For New ‘Quick Start’ Funding Stream

April 16, 2024
Resilient position, navigation, and timing capability and command, control and communications (C3) battle management for moving target indication will be funded with new authority circumventing the traditional lengthy budget process, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall told Congress April 16.