Kapil Kajal

Kapil is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience. Reported across a wide range of beats with a particular focus on air warfare and military affairs, his work is shaped by a deep interest in twentiethโ€‘century conflict, from both World Wars through the Cold War and Vietnam, as well as the ways these histories inform contemporary security and technology.
385 Articles

Grounded Dreams: ATG Javelin – The Mach 0.8 Dream That Ran Out of Fuel

ATG Javelin MK-10 aimed to bring fighter-like performance to personal jets, but funding failure and…

Grounded Dreams: Yakovlev Yak-36 – The Soviet Jump Jet That Defied Gravity

Yak-36 was the Soviet Unionโ€™s first VTOL jet, proving vertical flight concepts but cancelled due…

Boneyard Files: Grumman S-2 Tracker – From Carrier Deck to the Desert Floor

Grumman S-2 Tracker, the US Navyโ€™s first single-aircraft anti-submarine hunter-killer platform, served globally before retirement…

Flight Test Files: Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird – Managing the Expansion of the Titanium Skin

NASA used the SR-71 Blackbird in the 1990s to study high-speed flight, propulsion, sonic booms…

Aces of the Great War: Bruno Loerzer: The Fokker D.VII Master of 1918

WWI ace Bruno Loerzer scored 44 victories and later rose to Generaloberst in WWII, linking…

Grounded Dreams: Ryan XV-5 Vertifan: The High Speed Hovercraft That Time Forgot

Ryan XV-5 Vertifan tested ducted-fan VTOL flight in the 1960s, proving key concepts but failing…

Grounded Dreams: KB SAT SR-10 – The Forward Swept Future That Vanished

Russiaโ€™s SR-10 forward-swept-wing jet trainer showed strong performance but lost funding and competition, ending as…

Flight Test Files: F-84F Thunderstreak – Testing the Limits of the 40-Degree Sweep

The F-84 Thunderjet evolved into the swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak, aiding early jet research and NATO…

Aces of the Great War: Michel Coiffard – The Spad Specialist of the Cigognes

Michel Coiffard, a French WWI ace, scored 34 victories, including 24 balloons, becoming one of…

Grounded Dreams: Carmier-Arnoux Simplex – The Tailless Wonder of 1922

The Carmier-Arnoux Simplex was a tailless racing aircraft that showed promise but was lost in…