“Vintage Aviation News staff did not write this article; the content comes via our partners who wish to help $upport our website.”
Military aviation is a field that is just a young century or so old. Despite its limited timeline, the rapid advancement of technology has seen it go from simple powered flight to AI-led systems capable of covering tens of thousands of kilometres without any human interaction.
Indeed, the history of military aviation is as fascinating as it is surprising, as you will soon discover with this article. So much so, it’s had an impact on many other aspects of the general history of mankind – including online games, believe it or not! Did you know, there are even online slots based on this interesting topic? NoDepositWorld has an entire catalogue of licensed operators offering such games centralized around this theme, so we suggest you check them out.
Today, we cover the most influential moments in military aviation’s history, from the beginning up until now.
1. The Wright brothers take off
Aviation history was born in 1903 when the Wright brothers achieved the world’s first powered flight. The internal combustion engine allowed the first-ever flight to last for a grand total of 12 seconds and 120 feet, which was shortly followed by another flight lasting 59 seconds and 852 feet. Obviously, the second flight was the one that managed to capture the world’s attention. Both Orville and Wilbur went on to further the aviation community even more, although Wilbur passed away just nine years later from Typhoid.
2. World War I
Even though powered flight was still in its infancy, World War 1 proved to be a testing ground for air-to-air combat. Initially, aircraft were not equipped with munitions, with the battle being done simply with guns held by humans, but soon enough these were mounted to make life easier for those in the air. Dogfights were born in World War 1.
3. Aircraft carriers come in to land
In the late 1910s and early 1920s we saw the first naval aircraft carriers emerge. These massive ships were designed specifically to carry aircraft. Back in the times, we didn’t have large aircraft so for lengthy and geographically disparate operations, there was a need to deploy ships.
4. The jet engine
The 1930s and 40s were when the jet engine was invented, with Frank Whittle being the inventor of the turbojet engine. It wasn’t until later that jet engines were used in fighter jets, which became the weapon of choice during World War II. For countries that had jet-powered fighter jets, they were able to outplay their enemies during air battles.
5. Atomic bomb dropping
In the mid-1940s the devastating atomic bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man, were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. These two bombs were both deployed by Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers which had been redesigned to make room for the bombs themselves. The effects were devastating for the people of Japan and the fallout from the bombs persisted for many, many decades. In the context of technology for the military, the nuclear race was on.
6. US Air Force Space Command
The U.S. Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), established in the 1980s, signalled a move towards more long-range capabilities and defense needs for the United States. The agency, now rebranded as the US Space Force in 2019, is in charge of such fields as satellite military operations, early warning systems, and other long-range communication systems. Now, 40 years later, long-range complex communications are more important than ever.
7. September 11
September 11, 2001, marked a significant time in military aviation history. It was the first time that multiple commercial airliners were hijacked in unison for shared common suicide missions. The methods the coordinators went to in organizing the extremely complex operation ensured that commercial aviation worldwide changed forever. We now have far more strict rules for screening in airports everywhere.
8. UAVs go long-range
The MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper of the 90s and early 2000s were the first UAVs that really showed off what unmanned drones were capable of in actual military operations. While the general public was stunned by these aircraft’s capabilities, those within the military community were not surprised to see the release of these drones in practice. From these first deployments, UAVs have not skyrocketed in their capabilities, making for a large component of many operations.
9. Advanced air defense systems
Along with military aircraft, comes the need to counter air-based attacks. While air defense systems have been around since military aircraft were first released, it was until the past few decades that advanced air defence systems like Integrated Air Defence Systems (IADS) have become more sophisticated. These systems rely on complex networks, systems, radar tech, and missile defense munitions to deflect modern air attack systems.
10. AI for military aviation
The emergence of AI from research and development over the last 20 years means that military aviation has come along in leaps and bounds, particularly within the realm of UAVs. AI systems such as tactical decision aids, image recognition, anomaly detection, and even data-driven maintenance. This is expected to grow exponentially over the next 10 to 20 years as we enter the golden age of AI.
“Vintage Aviation News staff did not write this article; the content comes via our partners who wish to help $upport our website.”
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