@Rushkie: F-16 probably doesn't have the payload capacity or the hard points necessary to launch a 26-foot long scramjet...nor does it have much capability for carrying instrument suites/people to operate them to help monitor/control the launch.

@LankySean: Everybody see this? This guy is thinking.

@SinisterSaracen: Not true. From "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich, the max airframe speed is approximately Mach 6. The engines are redlining in the mid-Mach 3 range. Limiting factors under Mach 6 would likely be fuel heat management (fuel was coolant in the SR...moved fuel to cool parts of the a/c) and potentially cabin heat…

@AtomicSnowCone: That's nothing. It's not uncommon for a BONE to get cleared for a "show of force"...where, instead of dropping live ordnance on an enemy compound, they will come in right down on the deck, supersonic, and boom the enemy. It is said the concussion from the B-1's sonic boom is just as powerful as live…

@aec007: I envy you hardcore. :(

@heroineworshipper: The airframe was said to have a maximum speed of Mach 6 at altitude. The engines, badass as they were, were actually the limiting factor in the aircraft, maxing out at ~M3.5 at altitude. Probably could do 3.7 or so with no sweat, but Pratt and Whitney probably told them it wasn't a wise idea.

@AtomicSnowCone: B-2's hardly fly any sorties. Yeah, the capabilities are great on paper, but the cost, combined with the fact that they're fragile maintenance hogs is a few nails in the B-2's coffin. Talkin bombers, the B-1 or B-52 are probably the most badass.

@nachobel TOTORO!: Air Power!

@Razoky: Isn't it? Lear pilots salivate over that shit. LEAR pilots!

@CommentingpointlesslyisMeh: Aurora was a project code name for the then-top-secret B-2 project.

@laylaholic: And neither the X-15 nor the X-43 count because the SR still holds the "Fastest Air-breathing Manned Jet" records.

@aec007: That's closer than many ever got. Hardened Generals (yeah, they used to be) were often so awe-struck at seeing the Blackbird fly that one even called the sight you saw "The Hammers of Hell". Must've been pretty damn loud, eh?

Well shit. I had a nice big thing typed out here, but thanks to the ever-intelligent web browsers of today, "backspace" means "take that last character out" and "go back a page" in certain circumstances. **** you Opera.

I find this funny. I usually take a long time to fall asleep as well, but since I've been working (ass crack of dawn early) weekends, I've taught myself to power nap at work. My method is to set an alarm on my phone a few minutes from the current time. Doze off, wake up to the alarm. Reset alarm, repeat. Makes the…

It's a Darwin-style filter for idiocy.

Except, uh, the White House uses Verizon. Sorry. :)

Anyone in aviation knows that buttons/switches aren't going away for a long time. At least until glass panels are readily as affordable as an entire steam gauge panel. And even then, you've still got switches for lights, etc. and soft buttons around your glass. :D

@ColbertSuperNationalist: Well, unlike regular pilot slots, a UAV doesn't require a commission to fly. Plus, if you play your cards right, you could pick up a degree during your enlistment and get a commission.