Great pic from MAA. Berthed are four aircraft carriers, the Coral Sea, the Hancock, Oriskany and the Big E to the far right. Notice the differences in design, deck structure and size?

Woah that's big.

That's what she said! Haha, sorry, couldn't resist.

For those of you who've never been near a supercarrier before, you're probably wondering... is it really that big? Or are the pictures taken at angles or from a crazy perspective to make them look that way? 

Well, the above is a pretty cool picture I found a while ago of a B-52 Stratofortress doing a low pass near the USS Ranger, circa 1990. There were 2 B-52s in the vicinity of the carrier, during a military exercise. The pilots asked the carrier air boss if they could perform a fly-by and were granted the approval. When the BUFFs were 9 km out, the observers on the carrier's island still couldn't see the big grey birds. Till they got closer. Then only were they able to make out the shape of these massive planes, right above the water; their engines kicking back a spray from the ocean. 

If you've ever been up close to a B-52 at an air show, you'll know it's a pretty big plane. Now, look at the picture. Woah. Right? 

Better than Top Gun?

Check out this mega-ultra super awesome video of flight deck ops aboard the supercarriers of the US Navy!

Mav, out.

Discovery's last ride

Today, the first operational space shuttle to be decommissioned and retired, Discovery, was flown over to Dulles International Airport in Virginia, to be placed as an exhibit in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (the annex to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum). It's spent a total of 365 days, 22 hours, 39 minutes and 29 seconds in space, and has traveled approximately 148,221,675 miles during its  27 years of successful service! If you're ever in the DC area, and you've got time to spare to travel over to the Udvar-Hazy center, DO IT! Don't miss an opportunity to see one of the greatest flying machines of our time!

Super-Subs

If you're the commander in chief of a modern naval force, you'd have very little to fear in terms of an attack on your ships. You'd have defense nets set up around your bigger cruisers and submarines to enforce the grid. But, your comfort will probably be short lived as soon as sonar reports multiple torpedoes in the water, heading your way, right out of the blue.

The nuclear-powered grim reaper: America's newest generation of "super-subs", the Virginia class attack submarines. Quieter than their predecessors, the Los Angeles and Seawolf clas boats, Virginia subs are undoubtedly the most dangerous fish swimming in the ocean. They are faster, armed to the teeth, able to deploy US Navy SEALs, fire Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles against land-based and sea-going targets, and are able to carry out their orders, then slip away leaving the enemy in a confused and vulnerable state.

A lot of details about these super-subs are kept under wraps, for good measure, so we don't know the extent of their abilities, but from what information has been released to the public we can gather that a deadlier vessel hasn't yet been built.

Can we pretend that airplanes

In the night sky, are F-80 Shooting Stars?

I could really use a wish right now...

Call the Ball

Awesome footage of the air wing landing aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) for its last cruise! You also get to see a few cat-shots, and some of the flight deck operations.

The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

I'm sure a lot of you, by now, have heard of, and seen the trailers for, the movie Act of Valor. It's a movie about the infamous secretive special warfare group, the US Navy SEALs, and their (fictionalized) fight against a drug-smuggler and a Chechen terrorist. Get this, the guys playing the SEALs.... are real-life active SEALs! You get an unparalleled and highly accurate insight into the way the SEALs operate. Here's the thing though, a lot of it, is in fact, extremely watered down. That's not a bad thing, I found the movie to be an instant favorite, not to mention one that drove me to tears! Watered down, as in, the movie is highly accurate, but the true way SEALs operate is kept from public view, for obvious reasons

It is an amazing testament to the sacrifice these special warfare operators make, and the fact that they're always at war in the defense of the United States. Truly amazing. I highly recommend this movie, to all of you! Take a box of tissues, or a handkerchief... you'll definitely shed a tear or two!