The Aviationist Blog

The new missile will complement the AIM-120 and AIM-9 in the Air Force’s inventory On Sept. 16, during the Air Force Association’s annual National Convention in Washington, Raytheon unveiled the mockup of its new Peregrine [...]

The name, Red Hawk, honors the legacy of Tuskegee Airmen, and pays homage to their signature red-tailed aircraft from World War II. On Sept. 16, acting Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Donovan announced the [...]

Strike Has Strategic Implications, Amplifies Asymmetric Drone War Relevance. Yemen’s Houthi “Ansar Allah” forces have claimed responsibility for two coordinated unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities near the cities of [...]

This is how one of the most famous jet engines works. Videos like the one below are interesting for several different reasons. They show the raw power of a jet engine working at different throttle/thrust [...]

The AMX Ghibli in Italian service turns 30 and the Italians have celebrated the anniversary in style. On Sept. 13, 2019, the Italian Air Force celebrated the 30th anniversary of its AMX “Ghibli” fleet and [...]

Once again, some really interesting participants made Zeltweg airshow worth the trip. And here’s our report. For the 9th time already, the Austrian Armed Forces, Red Bull and the Province of Styria hosted an airshow, [...]

The Washington D.C. area was treated to a rare appearance by the Royal Air Force Acrobatic Team lately. As you probably already know by now, the Royal Air Force Red Arrows are currently on their [...]

Poland to buy the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, becoming first ex-Warsaw Pact member to get the stealth jets. The US State Department issued a clearance for Poland to acquire the F-35 fifth-generation aircraft in a [...]

Aircraft Enters Low Altitude Flat Spin with Attempted Recovery Before Crash. An unidentified German aerobatic pilot who was also a “former Lufthansa pilot” according to reports, died on Saturday, June 15, during the 7th Air [...]

Today, the oldest national flag in the world turns 800 years. Here’s how the Royal Danish Air Force celebrated the “Dannebrog”. On Jun. 15, Denmark celebrates Valdemarsdag, the anniversary of King Valdemar’s victory in the [...]

The Top Gun sequel’s F-14 has returned to her home. And we have obtained some interesting shots of the Tomcat that expose  her movie “costume”. The fact that an F-14 will appear in “Top Gun: [...]

The U.S. Air Force F-35A deployed to Aviano for Astral Knight 2019 shared data with the Italian Air Force F-35A using the Multifunction Advanced Data Link during the recent European Defense drills. One of the [...]

Two Hellenic Air Force F-4E “Phantom” jets will take part in the Dutch Air Force Days 2019. One of them, has markings that celebrate the attendance to the airshow in Volkel. On Jun. 13, 2019, [...]

The Italian Air Force will replace its aging fleet of MB-339s with the “new” M-345HET. Following an initial contract for five aircraft, Leonardo has signed yesterday a contract with the Armaments and Airworthiness Department of [...]

Six VH-92As will be delivered to replace aging VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) on June 10, 2019, awarded Lockheed Martin a $ 542 million contract to build six VH-92A presidential helicopters. [...]

Spangdahlem’s 480th Fighter Squadron deployed to Monte Real Air Base earlier this year. And this is a video showing what they have done in Portugal. The “Warhawks” have been travelling quite a bit lately. As [...]

The 11th “Warbirds Over the Beach” air show not only featured a wonderful assemblage of aircraft from the Second World War, it had some truly rare planes, in the form of a JU-52, FW-190 and [...]

41 helicopters formed up across the runway at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar for a massive readiness exercise that celebrated also the 75th anniversary of D-Day. We have reported about several “Elephant Walk” exercises in [...]

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) has published a statement about the loss of a F-35A. According to the report, the pilot likely suffered spatial disorientation before he crashed. Would Auto-GCAS have helped? On Jun. [...]

U.S. Marine Corps and Hellenic Air Force aircraft have joined Italian Air Force F-35, T-346, Typhoon, CAEW and many other Italian assets involved in Joint Stars 2019. From May 13 to 31, 2019, dozens of [...]