The Aviationist Blog

Coordinating with Bell, the Army made extensive efforts on supply chain, production and training to mitigate risks should it go into low-rate production concurrently with prototype testing. The U.S. Army shed more light on its plans to advance the induction of the first MV-75 FLRAA (Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft) beginning in 2027, and is thus […]

The new Eurofighters, set to be delivered between 2031 and 2034, will replace part of the German Air Force’s Tornados. Germany has signed on Oct. 15, 2025, the contract for the acquisition of 20 new Eurofighters (Germany does not use the name Typhoon) as part of the Tranche 5. The order comes a week after […]

GA-ASI and Hanwha Aerospace signed a deal to co-produce the Gray Eagle STOL, following the recent cooperation on joint testing in South Korea. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace have signed an agreement on Oct. 14, 2025, to jointly develop and produce the Gray Eagle Short Takeoff and Landing (GE […]

Boeing and Leonardo will pursue together the U.S. Army’s Flight School Next contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) contract. Boeing and Leonardo announced a new partnership to jointly pursue the U.S. Army’s Flight School Next contract, a major program that will define the future of the Army’s rotary-wing pilot training. The collaboration, announced on Oct. 13, 2025, during […]

Boeing introduced its new Collaborative Transformational Rotorcraft, a modular tiltrotor drone designed to team with Army helicopters. Boeing has unveiled a new large-scale unmanned aircraft concept, dubbed the Collaborative Transformational Rotorcraft (CxR). The new concept was presented during the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) 2025 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13, 2025. […]

The Belgian Air Force has officially welcomed its first F-35A Lightning II to Florennes Air Base, joining the growing European “wall of F-35s.” Belgium’s first F-35A Lightning II to be permanently stationed in the country landed today at Florennes Air Base, Belgium, marking a major milestone in the nation’s transition to the 5th generation fighter. […]

The S-70UAS U-Hawk is a modified UH-60L that removes the cockpit entirely to create an uncrewed, mission-flexible platform designed for logistics, support, and future air-ground teaming missions. After years of experimentation with the MATRIX autonomy suite and the optionally piloted Black Hawk, Sikorsky has now taken the next step toward a fully autonomous utility helicopter: […]

An A-10C was spotted with two Shahed-type UAS shapes painted on the nose while returning to its home base. An A-10C Thunderbolt II of the U.S. Air Force was spotted with two interesting kill markings while returning home from its latest deployment in the U.S. CENTCOM (Central Command) AOR (Area of Responsibility). In fact, the […]

The two British aircraft flew a 12-hour mission along the border with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. In a rare mission, a Royal Air Force (RAF) RC-135W Rivet Joint electronic surveillance aircraft flew a 12-hour-long mission on Oct. 9, 2025, patrolling the entire border along NATO’s eastern flank and the Black Sea. An RAF P-8A Poseidon […]

The joint U.S., British and Norwegian mission saw the A400M transporting a JLTV, simulating a NMESIS system, and infantry in the High North. The Royal Air Force (RAF) revealed on Oct. 9, 2025 a first-of-its-kind operation conducted in cooperation with the U.S. and Norway in late September. As part of the operation, an RAF A400M […]

Royal Marines took aim at the engine of a boat suspected of drug smuggling while flying in HMS Lancaster’s Wildcat helicopter over the Gulf of Oman. £35 million of drugs were subsequently seized. Three skiffs were first identified by the Wildcat helicopter’s crew after launching on an early morning patrol from Type 23 frigate HMS […]

CAOC Bodø was officially opened on Oct. 10, 2025, joining CAOC Uedem, Germany, and CAOC Torrejón, Spain as NATO’s third active Combined Air Operations Centre. Combined Air Operations Centres, or CAOCs – not to be confused with the U.S. Air Force’s 609th Air Operations Centre in Qatar, which is also known as the Combined Air […]

Kizilelma’s live-fire tests come within days of the carriage trials with the TOLUN and TEBER-82 munitions. Baykar’s Kizilelma UCAV recorded another milestone when it dropped two inert munitions, the TOLUN glide bomb and the TEBER-82 guided bomb, in its first live-fire test, the Turkish drone major announced on Oct. 8, 2025. The new milestone comes […]

The MH-139A, slated to replace the older UH-1N Hueys in the nuclear security mission, recently conducted its first search and rescue mission. Boeing announced on Oct. 8, 2025 a new $173 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to produce eight more MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters, raising the total number of aircraft under contract to […]

The 2025–2027 Defense Planning Document confirms Italy’s ambitious modernization, introducing new acquisitions while consolidating major programs. The Italian Ministry of Defense has released the 2025–2027 Documento Programmatico Pluriennale (DPP), the annual multi-year planning document that outlines national defense investments and modernization priorities. The new edition details how Italy intends to enhance readiness, upgrade existing fleets, […]

The RAF notoriously lacks a boom air-to-air refueling capability to support the Poseidon, and the simulated refueling with a KC-135 signals steps are being taken to address the issue. A RAF (Royal Air Force) P-8A Poseidon received fuel mid-air for the first time, or at least simulated the operation, from a U.S. Air Force KC-135 […]

B-2 Spirit stealth bombers launched from Whiteman AFB on a transatlantic round-trip sortie, supported by an E-6B Mercury flying from Ramstein. Let’s look at what happened. The appearance on Sept. 21, 2025, of a U.S. Navy E-6B Mercury over European skies signaled to many enthusiasts who monitor the activities of U.S. strategic forces that they […]

The new variant was designed, developed and tested in 50 days, with the test in the Mojave Desert using a COTS rocket motor. Raytheon has announced the testing of a new ground-launched variant of the GBU-53 StormBreaker munition. The company highlighted that it designed, developed and tested the new variant in 50 days. The test […]

Earning the Spaatz Trophy for being the top Air National Guard flying unit only a month ago, the 104th Fighter Squadron has now officially ceased operations. On Sept. 22, 2025, joined at the Hagerstown Regional Airport by hundreds of former Fairchild Republic employees, former test pilots, 175th Wing personnel, and family and fans, the museum […]

Boeing will transfer two 737-700 airframes to STS Aviation in Birmingham for E-7 conversion in 2026. Boeing will have two rapid-prototype E-7 Wedgetail Airborne Early-Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft converted in the United Kingdom, marking a rare instance of U.S. Air Force aircraft work being performed on British soil. However, questions persist over the program’s […]