The Afterburn Podcast

Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/sJdOot0ti2ETaiwan’s first two F-16 Block 70 fighters have landed at their new home, plus the US Air Force is weighing new-build F-16s for the first time since 2005. Today we discuss the Block 70, the proposed F-16G, Viper Shield, and the fighter shortfall driving it.Sources:The War Zone: https://www.twz.com/air/new-build-f-16s-for-the-usaf-is-an-idea-that-wont-go-away-for-good-reasonAir and Space Forces: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-eyes-new-build-f-16s-to-boost-fighter-force/The first two of 66 F-16 Block 70s ordered by Taiwan in 2019 touched down at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung on October 2, 2026, after a ferry flight from Lockheed Martin’s Greenville, South Carolina line that stalled in Hawaii for more than a month. Today we discuss what that roughly $8 billion package actually contains, from the APG-83 AESA radar and Link 16 to smart bomb tail kits, towed decoys, and the integrated offensive and defensive electronic warfare suite that L3Harris Viper Shield answers. Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/ 🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫 Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off 🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺 Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/4Er8ciSvT84KC-135 battle damage repair: Air Mobility Command commander Lt Gen DanielTulley revealed how maintainers saved a Stratotanker loaded with 200,000pounds of fuel after an enemy attack during Operation Epic Fury.Ogden Air Logistics Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUDBQ8fmr8Ek Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/ 🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫 Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off 🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺 Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Watch on Afterburn Defense YouTube: https://youtu.be/F21BnqlbCowToday we discuss the Air Force naming its first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the FQ-42A Vengeance from General Atomics and the FQ-44A Fury from Anduril, plus the plan for 1,000 drones by 2032.On 14 September 2026, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink announced a target of roughly 1,000 autonomous combat aircraft by 2032: 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft and 500 Massed Modular Aircraft. The F in FQ-42 and FQ-44 is deliberate. These are being designated as fighters, not surveillance drones.Vengeance has been delivered to Creech Air Force Base and has already flown in formation with the F-35 and the F-15E Strike Eagle. Fury fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM at a digital target in July with a human retaining oversight of the shot. Contract award to first flight ran about 18 months, a pace almost unheard of in defense acquisition. Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/ 🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫 Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off 🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺 Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/DZTWj7NfOgcToday we discuss the SR-71 Blackbird that vanished from NASA Armstrong. Tail 844, the last Blackbird ever built and the last to fly, is gone from its display and NASA will not say where.Aviation Week: https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/nasa-quietly-removed-sr-71-storage-amid-x-plane-pushThe Warzone: https://www.twz.com/air/a-sr-71-blackbird-has-vanishedAviation Week defense editor Steve Trimble broke the story using satellite imagery showing the aircraft missing since at least 17 May 2026. Joseph Trevithick at The War Zone followed up, and NASA's response was that it has no additional information to share, while noting it continues to explore opportunities to build on that legacy. Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/ 🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫 Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off 🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺 Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brad Young spent six years in the Air Force as a Korean linguist, including time at the National Security Agency in Hawaii, before an inter-service transfer put him in Army warrant officer flight school. He flew the AH-64D and then the AH-64E for just shy of 17 years across four combat deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, and retired in 2025 out of 5-17 Air Cavalry in Korea. His unit at Fort Lewis was the first to receive and combat deploy the Echo model.Brad's book "Full Blooded Apache: An Attack Pilot’s True Story of Family, Faith and the Fight" https://amzn.to/4hOLb1j0:00 The most feared helicopter in the world0:48 From Air Force linguist to Apache pilot4:37 9/11, a schoolteacher, and four recruiters8:58 The DLAB: learning a made-up language11:25 Korean linguist at DLI and NSA Hawaii13:16 How a Google Earth search ended in a kill cam16:51 Crossing over to Army aviation22:45 Army aviation paths and flight school24:38 The dunker and stress inoculation30:01 TH-67 primary and the airframe selection board34:09 Please bless daddy to get Apaches34:47 AH-64D vs AH-64E: what the Echo changed40:55 APKWS and the counter-drone fight43:19 Drones hunting helicopters44:34 The Apache 30mm and its new proximity fuze48:30 FPV drones vs helicopters49:40 Staying over the shoulder of ground forces50:57 Hit twice near Jalalabad53:18 The round that nearly brought him down55:02 Counter tech and the 3 to 1 advantage57:25 Two cockpits that can't see each other59:52 Flying night combat through one eye1:03:00 Front seat vs back seat sensors1:04:48 Why he wrote Full Blooded Apache1:07:20 Four Hellfires in eight minutes1:12:55 Wrap-up Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/ 🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫 Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off 🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺 Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.