Military

We spent a day at The Range Complex getting to know some our country’s finest, veterans of the U.S. Army’s elite Delta Force unit. We were given just a taste of how they train, and how their Tahoes and Suburbans provide the ideal transportation for their dangerous missions.

Pilot Linkerius posted this incredible seat-of-your-pants footage of a PC-7 trainer aircraft being flown on an extremely low-altitude course. A Nap-of-the-Earth (NOE) flight is designed to help fighter pilots avoid detection by enemies via radar or visual reconnaissance.

GM and the US Army created this badass concept truck for military operations. The 6.5 ft. tall truck runs quietly thanks to a hydrogen-electric 4WD drivetrain, its power pack can be removed to power field operations, and can produce clean drinking water as a by-product.

Awe-inspiring video of dozens of members of the U.S. military’s 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, all packed into C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, then doing a static line jump over a test drop zone at Fort Bragg, NC. It’s mindblowing that nobody’s chutes got tangled doing this.

Pop Chart Lab’s newest print contains an illustration of every (known) United States military combat vehicle that’s currently in service. The 24″x 36″ chart groups the 180 vehicles into several classes, sub-classes and branch.

This military style watch features a black ion-plated stainless steel case with a gun-grip material bezel. Luminous hands make it easy to read at night. Comes with four Cordura camo watchbands and a rugged storage box.

Video of Marines from the 3rd Marine Logistics Group, 9th Engineer Support Battalion showing how they breach a concrete wall, standing their ground against the explosive charge, protected only by a ballistic blanket and each other.

Amazing footage of an F-35 Lightning II fighter jet as it takes off from an insanely short runway that works like a ski jump to angle the plane into the air. Stick around, and you’ll be treated to a vertical landing too.

Awe-inspiring footage captured from the F-18 fighter jet cockpits of The Pukin Dogs of U.S. Navy Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-143 as they skim along close to the ground, mountain tops and water, pulling dizzying rolls along the way.

It’s still cold here, so we’re glad Alpha Industries is offering this classically styled fighter pilot jacket. We like the knit trim and the “Remove Before Flight” keychain. It also reverses to bright orange, making you visible for rescue missions.

The U.S. Navy’s electromagnetic cannon shows off its firepower, tearing through sheets of solid steel like they were tissue paper. And in case you think you could run and hide, it can reach out and touch its target from over 115 miles away.

U.S. Marine Corps Captain William Mahoney recounts the harrowing experience of landing an AV-8B Harrier jet on the USS Bataan without his nose gear. The VTOL aircraft and its pilot were saved by what amounts to a simple hack.

The US Navy’s Laser Weapons System (LaWS) is a ship-mounted beam weapon. The 30kW weapon fires an invisible infrared beam that is powerful enough to take down drones and speedboats while reducing collateral damage.

(NSFW: Language) In this video from late 2013, a group of U.S. Marines came under attack from a Taliban sniper. An otherwise deadly headshot was stopped in its tracks by a life-saving Kevlar helmet. Boy, that was too close. Mirror here.

Le Figaro and Musée de Cluny give us a basic idea of what it was like to fight in full combat armor based on 15th century documents. Dark Souls it ain’t. We bet many battles were shut down because the neighbors complained.

The Telegraph recently presented photographer Thom Atkinson’s series of images featuring British military equipment, from 1066 to 2014. The collection highlights both military-issued tools alongside personal belongings.

The Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate (GUSS) is a US Marines proof-of-concept autonomous vehicle. It can be controlled remotely, follow its remote control, drive to a waypoint and operated like a normal vehicle.

Fly along with a U.S. Navy pilot in an F/A-18F Super Hornet for some dizzying POV footage as his fighter jet conducts a low-altitude training run, starting over the Pacific Ocean then flying over Northern California and Oregon.

If MWC timepieces are good enough for the military and anti-terrorist units, they’re good enough for us. This one is based on a classic 1950’s NATO spec watch, with brushed stainless case and 21 jewel automatic movement.

During a training mission in 1970, the F-106 plane that Retired Maj. Gary Foust was piloting went into an unrecoverable flat spin. He ejected, assuming the plane would crash. And then the plane went into “It’s cool bro, I got this” mode.

We’d love to think that Pacific Rim’s Jaegers are the future of urban warfare, but it’s more likely that we’ll see something like the remote-controlled tanks shown in this simulation. We at least need these in the next Call of Duty.

(NSFW: Language) A PPCLI paratrooper jumps from a plane and finds himself in a very precarious situation. There’s just no avoiding the plethora of trees the wind pushes him into. Fortunately, his luck holds out at the last second.

Brickmania’s incredible recreation of the deadly WWII beach landings at Peleliu, created from over 500,000 LEGO parts. Includes the massive USS LST 325, tanks, airplanes, tons of custom minifigs and weapons, and even a shark.

Turns out precision and versatility aren’t just for Swiss Army knives. The Top Secret Drum Corps out of the historical drumming city of Basel, Switzerland put on an astounding show at the 2012 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

5.11 Tactical created the Tactical Duty Kilt as an April Fools’ Day prank, but is actually thinking of producing it due to popular demand. If nothing else, the Scottish army should make this standard issue. (Thanks Beans!)