The Aviationist Blog

2026 will see two new display pilots join the RAF Red Arrows to replace those who have completed their tour with the team, while 2024’s Red 6 returns to the squadron as Red 10. Two brand new pilots will join the Red Arrows beginning with next year’s display season, while one of the team’s most […]

The Blue Angels’ C-130J will return once again to Marshall Aerospace in the UK to have its center wing box replaced, adding decades to its lifespan. Marshall Aerospace has announced that the U.S. Navy Blue Angels’ C-130J, better known as “Fat Albert,” will return once again to the company’s Cambridge, UK, facilities for maintenance. Specifically, […]

The Dutch and Romanian governments signed the formal handover of the Netherland’s last F-16AM/BM Fighting Falcons to the Romanian Air Force for the symbolic price of €1. The 18 former Dutch F-16s had already been received in the country, flying for the European F-16 Training Center (EFTC) used to train both Romanian and Ukrainian pilots […]

Aviation Week reported on a memo by the head of AFGSC that recommends a shift from current plans for two pilots on the B-21 Raider to a pilot and weapon systems officer (WSO) combination. “Unleashing the Raider’s full potential demands a complex blend of skills: airmanship, weaponeering, electromagnetic spectrum operations, sensor management, real-time battle management […]

A B-52 with test markings was spotted carrying a mysterious payload that resembles the rendering of the AGM-181 LRSO, the Air Force’s next-gen stealth nuclear cruise missile. A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress has been captured while flying over the Owens Valley, California, with two units of an unidentified weapon under its right wing. The […]

The Gambit 6 UCAV will add air-to-ground capabilities to international Collaborative Combat Aircraft programs. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has unveiled the latest iteration of the Gambit Series of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAV), named Gambit 6, at the ongoing International Fighter Conference in Rome, Italy. The new UCAV joins five other variants based upon […]

GA-ASI has flown a second YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, following the type’s first flight in August. Two months after the type’s first flight on Aug. 27, 2025, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems revealed on Nov. 3 that it has flown a second YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). The company released photos of the second aircraft together […]

As deliveries continue, the JASDF has now started training operations with the F-35B Lightning II at Nyutabaru Air Base. The JASDF (Japan Air-Self Defense Force) officially began its training operations with the F-35B Lightning II at Nyutabaru Air Base on Nov. 4, 2025, marking a significant milestone in Tokyo’s move towards a more modern Self-Defense […]

Australia will be the first global P-8A operator to receive Increment 3 Block 2 modifications, few months after the U.S. Navy started testing the upgraded jet. Boeing has announced the induction of the first Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) at its facilities to implement the Increment 3 Block 2 […]

Indonesia has ordered two A400Ms, which will potentially receive a fire-fighting kit, and the government is planning to soon begin negotiations to buy four more aircraft. The Indonesian Air Force (TNI Angkatan Udara) received on Nov. 3, 2025, the first of two Airbus A400M transport aircraft at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, Jakarta. The second aircraft […]

Flying at altitudes and speeds unheard of for contemporary jet aircraft, the Blackbird family required a fuel with unique properties to perform in the extremes the aircraft would be subject to. The Mach 3+ speeds of the Lockheed A-12, M-21, YF-12A, and SR-71 would heat fuel up to 350 degrees, and, lacking insulated fuel tanks, […]

Originally struggling to achieve success in the China Burma India Theater, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress made its mark once tactics were changed and incendiaries were used. Originally operating out of the China Burma India Theater with disappointing results, costly losses, and constant supply issues, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress was struggling to achieve success in its […]

Believed to be a naval variant of the GJ-11, the GJ-21 is expected to operate from the Type 006 Sichuan LHD after mockups of the drone were spotted on test-sites representing the ship. China’s GJ-21 UCAV was captured while flying overhead in what is considered to be its first clear image in flight. Believed to […]

The UK’s Metropolitan Police Service is deploying UAS to London in a new trial hoping to provide police officers with a new intelligence gathering capability. The United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has unveiled their Drone as First Responder (DFR) program, which aims to deploy a UAS to arrive at the scene of an incident […]

The mission was supported by the Royal Danish Air Force, underscoring Denmark’s contribution in the security of the Arctic, and Greenland’s role in the defense of North America. In the second such deployment this year, U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs, a KC-135 Stratotanker and F-16 Fighting Falcons deployed to Greenland’s Pituffik Space Base. This […]

Finnish Air Force personnel are currently undergoing training at Eglin AFB, while extensive infrastructure upgrades and renovation works are underway at home to support the F-35s. Exactly one year after the Finnish Air Force’s first F-35A Lightning II entered production at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility in Texas, airframe JF-501 moved out of the final […]

The CH-47F Block II has improved efficiency, payload and fuel capacity, critical for the Army’s heavy tactical lift missions. Boeing announced on Oct. 21, 2025 two contracts from the U.S. Army, worth $461 million, for nine CH-47F Block II Chinook helicopters. Covering Lots 4 and 5, these contracts take the number of the Block II […]

Italy has launched the parliamentary process to approve the acquisition of a new batch of AW249s, which will complete the fleet of 48 attack helicopters. Italian Parliament’s documents show that Italy has launched the approval process for the acquisition of another batch of the new AW249 Fenice attack helicopter for the Italian Army. This batch […]

The Yak-130M sports a host of upgrades, including an advanced AESA radar, avionics, radio communications and targeting suites. One year after Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) presented the upgraded Yak-130M trainer and light fighter aircraft concept, the company unveiled its second manufactured prototype. The aircraft ‘002’ sported a light and dark-grey pixelated livery with UAC […]

A Chinese research paper on an ejectable cockpit for high-supersonic flight has drawn attention after a mysterious blended-wing test object appeared at the Gaobeidian radar range. Experts have linked a Chinese scientific academic paper about a crew escape module for a “high supersonic aircraft” to an unidentified flying dart-type aircraft that appeared at China’s RCS […]