Episodes
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The Phantom F-4E in Australian Service
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se8vHkpD-Wo The RAAF operated the F4E as an interim aircraft while awaiting delivery of the F111C from 1970-1973 - this is the story.
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The Real Top Guns | Iranian F-14 Aces
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2_QHdijT7o In the early 1970s, the Imperial Iranian Air Force - as it was then known - sought to procure new fighters to combat potential threats, particularly that posed by the new MiG-25. The new MiG's capability was largely a mystery to the...
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The Psychology of the Fighter Pilot: How Minds Win Dogfights
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9torC3hkQQ The Psychology of the Fighter Pilot – How Minds Win Dogfights In the unforgiving world of aerial combat, victory is not just a matter of aircraft performance—it's a contest of minds under pressure. This video explores the psychology...
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The MiG that flew itself to the West
See the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOLz44Ng5x8 On July 4, 1989, a bizarre Cold War incident unfolded across the skies of Europe. A Soviet MiG-23M took off from Bagicz Airbase in Poland, experienced engine trouble moments after liftoff, and its pilot ejected—only for the aircraft…
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The Mind of the Kamikaze
See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU_ZgxCfoZQ Kamikaze Mindset – The Psychology Behind Japan's Suicide Pilots in WWII In the final phase of World War II, the Empire of Japan turned to a desperate and controversial tactic—kamikaze attacks. This documentary explores the...
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Rockwell B-1A Experimental Bomber
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcJ8EO-QRUo The Rockwell B-1A – America's Forgotten Supersonic Bomber Before the B-1B Lancer became a mainstay of the U.S. strategic bomber fleet, there was the B-1A—a sleek, cutting-edge aircraft that nearly changed the face of American…
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The Red Blizzard | The Soviet Buran Space Shuttle Program
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn2mW1Z6lrw Michael Nelmes steps us through the Soviet space shuttle program.
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The Unrealized Potential of the MiG-29
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSOHKxEIwCQ MiG-29 Fulcrum – The Dogfighter That Never Reached Its Potential Designed at the height of the Cold War, the Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum was once considered one of the finest dogfighters in the world. Compact, fast, and highly agile, it…
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The X-Factor
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qv8YvlXB-4 During World War II the Douglas Aircraft Company in California was approached by Air Technical Service Command, US Air Force, for a design proposal under Materiel, Experimental Project MX-656 to explore the transonic speed regime. A...
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Through The Sound Barrier
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYHXF69oc3M We go back to the beginnings of supersonic flight where the groundwork was laid for future aerospace programs. This story is by Michael Nelmes from the Spring 2022 issue of Wings Magazine - Australia's premier military aviation...
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Top Fighter Squadrons of WWII
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh7XQaksGuU As you can imagine, Materiel losses during world war 2 were massive. According to one source, Germany produced a staggering 119,907 aircraft of all types and most were destroyed or damaged during the war. The United States lost…
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Top Aces of the Vietnam War
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPn_jKpQtPY Find the transcript here https://militaryaviationvideos.com/top-vietnam-war-aces/
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TSR-2: Britain's Lost F-111 Rival
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x0VpEyh2Us From the early 1950s, there was a fixation by military establishments, in both the East and West, for supersonic bombers. Missile technology was still in its infancy, and the pointy end of a strike force was still conventional…
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Turkey's TF Kaan 5th Generation Fighter
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lH7pAjE4O4 On the 21st of February 2024, a new 5th-gen fighter took to the skies. The Turkish Aerospace Industries TF Kaan is Turkey's first domestically built modern fighter, and as we shall see, it marks the beginning of an ambitious program...
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Vampire: Britain's strangest jet
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chum9Gj2eHM Designed during World War 2, the de Havilland Vampire would go on to become a strange looking but effective single engine jet. A multirole aircraft, it would eventually serve with the RAAF, produced at home by the Commonwealth…
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X-62 VISTA | No More Pilots
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2QnrsUPMJs The F-16 VISTA has played a key role in the Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model – Autonomy Flying Testbed program, or VENOM-AFT and has proven itself against human pilots.
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How the Harrier Redefined Modern Air Power
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl4Buy-ZX7k From Cold War hover rigs to the dust-stripped battlefields of Afghanistan, the Harrier Jump Jet redefined the boundaries of combat aviation. Developed by British engineers with the revolutionary Pegasus engine, the Harrier became…
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Viper Zero: Japan's Mighty F-2 Fighter | FS-X Evolution of the F-16 Viper
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLFZNy12p_U Developed from the F-16 but built to Japan's unique strategic needs, the Mitsubishi F-2 stands as one of the most advanced multirole fighters in the Asia-Pacific. This video explores the origins, design, capabilities, and legacy of...
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Was the YF-23 superior to the F-22?
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk7wE--gECI In previous videos, we have looked at several experimental US aircraft pushing aeronautical limits, but never saw service. The F-15 STOL MTD, the F-16XL, and the F-18 HARV to name a few. But there is one experimental aircraft that...
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Why the Concord Failed
Find more great aviation videos here https://militaryaviationvideos.com/
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Why the F-117 Has Returned
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN1KwrhZVBY The F-117 Nighthawk is one of the most iconic aircraft in aviation history. It was the world's first true stealth plane, created through the secret Project Have Blue by the Lockheed Skunk Works team. Its unique faceted shape was...
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Why the KF-21 is a game changer
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6X5zuthz-s South Korea's KF-21 Boramae has moved from concept to production in just a decade—an unusually fast timeline for a modern fighter program. As a follow-on from our previous video on the KF-21 • KF-21: Korea's New Fighter we break…
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Why this bomb is used everywhere | The Mark 82
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lsdiOVvHK4 We look at the history and development of the Mark 80 series bombs, a key part of modern aerial warfare. Starting in the 1950s with new aerodynamic designs, these bombs proved themselves in the Vietnam War with versions like the...
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F-18L: the failed land-based Hornet
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Dnped4MwM In the late 1970s, Northrop proposed the F-18L — a land-based variant of the F/A-18, stripped of naval constraints and optimised for speed, agility, and cost. Lighter, simpler, and potentially more capable in several key areas, it…
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The Fall of Rabaul (1942) | A Major Defeat in the Pacific
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaBB764f27Q In January 1942, the Australian outpost at Rabaul stood directly in the path of Japan's advance across the Pacific. Poorly defended, under-equipped, and relying on outdated aircraft, the men of the RAAF and Lark Force faced...
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The Yak-28 | Fast & Terrifying
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSu767rBHhc The Yak-28 occupies a strange place in Cold War aviation history—mass produced, widely used, yet almost completely forgotten. On paper it promised speed, range, and versatility; in reality, it became known for difficult handling,...
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F-100 Super Sabre: a fighter-bomber beast
See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWaQ4PpOdtw The North American F-100 Super Sabre was America's first operational supersonic fighter, but its journey from cutting-edge air-superiority aircraft to one of the most important strike fighters of the Vietnam War was anything but...
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Why this missile was a game changer | The AGM-65 Maverick
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YimT9s2V1gc The AGM-65 Maverick transformed air-to-ground warfare. Developed during the Vietnam War to replace the flawed AGM-12 Bullpup, it became one of the world's first truly effective fire-and-forget precision-guided missiles. We explore…
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Why the A-7D was revolutionary
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q9dLZZ72og The A-7D Corsair II was never intended to become one of the U.S. Air Force's greatest strike aircraft. Originally acquired as a stopgap solution during the Vietnam War, it evolved into arguably the most accurate conventional attack...
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Why Australia needed the F-111
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pYaAQzgyP8 Australia's decision to acquire the F-111 wasn't driven by prestige—it was born from necessity. We explore the strategic realities that shaped one of the RAAF's most important procurement decisions. With the rise of Cold War…
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X-59: NASA's new X-Plane
Published in 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V59ffvGBaiw In 2016, Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract to develop a new X-plane, with the goal of researching low-boom supersonic flight. The result - an aircraft now referred to as the X-59 - has now been completed, and will soon begin...
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LYNX | Rhodesia's deadly Cessna
Find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le1T6f1vZeA In the unforgiving skies of the Rhodesian Bush War, an unlikely aircraft emerged as one of the most effective weapons of the conflict. The Lynx—an improvised, heavily armed version of the Cessna Skymaster—combined simplicity,...
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F-15N | the forgotten 'Sea Eagle'
See the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uheYOBjwUKU What if the F-15 Eagle had gone to sea? In the early 1970s, McDonnell Douglas proposed a carrier-based version of the F-15 for the US Navy. Known as the F-15N, it promised extraordinary speed, a lighter airframe, and more advanced...
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A-37 Dragonfly | Cessna's forgotten fighter
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZij7I_d04c The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly earned a reputation as one of the most effective close-support and counter-insurgency aircraft of the Vietnam war. From a small jet trainer, the "Super Tweet" was transformed into a heavily armed CAS…
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SUKHOI 27: Russia vs Ukraine
We look at the important differences between the Ukrainian and Russian Su-27s, which are still in use by both sides in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWV_oiNvMWM Please consider supporting this channel by becoming a member: https://peacemaker.net.au/
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The Rhodesian Bush Ware
See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4NdqeV0o4U The Rhodesian Bush War (1965-1980) pitted outnumbered Rhodesian forces against ZANLA/ZIPRA insurgents amid UDI sanctions, using innovative Fireforce tactics and air power with Hunters, Canberras, and Lynx in strikes like Operation...
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F-14D
See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Erj6dlR2Q Why the F-14D Could Have Been the Ultimate Fighter The Grumman F-14 Tomcat was one of the most iconic fighter aircraft of the Cold War—renowned for its variable-geometry wings, twin engines, and long-range AIM-54 Phoenix missiles.…
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F-5: The best dogfighter of its time?
Made possible by our members—this is what keeps the channel independent and ongoing ✔ Merch & Members ► https://peacemaker.net.au From Cold War necessity to Top Gun legend, the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter became one of the most agile and influential lightweight fighters ever built. Originally...
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Why was the A-5 Vigilante forgotten?
See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDdlkD7QfM8 Made possible by our members—this is what keeps the channel independent and ongoing ✔ Merch & Members ► https://peacemaker.net.au Was the A-5 Vigilante one of the most advanced, and most overlooked, aircraft ever to serve with the US...
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AIM-7 Sparrow
See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eMl93Oo65c From its rather unreliable debut in Vietnam to a much more reliable missile in Desert Storm, the AIM-7 Sparrow has been critical in the evolution of radar-guided air-to-air combat. Out of U.S. Navy experiments in the late 1940s, the...
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The AIM-9 Sidewinder
See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY1nRMQ0m18 For nearly 70 years, the AIM-9 Sidewinder has been the West's most iconic air-to-air missile — from its humble 1940s origins at China Lake to its latest AIM-9X incarnation with helmet-cueing and thrust-vectoring agility. This...
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The Battle at Milne Bay - RAAF Memories Of A Pivotal WWII Battle
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5UP97oIZF0 The Battle of Milne Bay (from August 25 through to September 7, 1942), was the defence of the eastern New Guinea by Australian and US forces against a Japanese invasion. It would become the first time that Japanese forces had been...
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BAC Strikemaster
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dA5e1pIzgQ In the 1960s, a small, unique, and capable ground attack aircraft was designed by British Aircraft Corporation. This aircraft, the BAC 167 Strikemaster, would go on to serve with a number of countries across the world.
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B-36 Peacemaker: Cold War's Piston Giant
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk4AcUM2lt0 The Convair B-36 Peacemaker remains one of the most extraordinary aircraft ever built—an enormous six-piston, four-jet-engine bomber designed to strike deep into enemy territory long before aerial refuelling or advanced missiles made...
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B-24 Liberators of the RAAF
The only heavy bomber flown by the RAAF against Japanese forces, the B-24 Liberator, played a significant role in victory in the Pacific. See the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS7IgABDCrI
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The B-21 Question: Why Australia Didn't Buy America's Most Advanced Bomber
Australia joining the B-21 Raider program was considered, by some, to be the right strategic move—but ultimately policy makers walked away from the long-range bomber option. Was that the right decision? In this video, we break down the strategic, financial, and operational arguments behind...
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Why the B-21 Raider is untouchable
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOaneGWOCic The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is the United States' first new bomber in over three decades—a next-generation, long-range stealth aircraft designed to penetrate advanced air defenses and strike global targets with precision. In…
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A short history of AWACS
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlFzkRYQBZo AWACS: The Eyes in the Sky – A History of Airborne Early Warning Aircraft From the earliest airborne radar tests in WWII to today's cutting-edge E-7 Wedgetail, this documentary traces the evolution of airborne early warning...
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A Compatible Force - ADF Helicopters
Find the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFU4NWL0ixk Australia's helicopter fleet is undergoing a striking reset—bringing in Apache, Black Hawk, Chinook, and Seahawk platforms that are, in some cases, older than the aircraft they replace. So why make that choice? Greg Furguson breaks...
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Battle of the Aces
See the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0qhnTQ9sYk Become a member here https://peacemaker.fashion/ During World War II, two ace pilots emerged who were considered unmatched for their skill and combat record. They were Erich Hartmann - highest scoring ace of all time - and…
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