The Aviationist Blog

The aircraft would replace the Swedish Air Force’s old C-130Hs Sweden is looking to replace its six old C-130Hs (Tp84 according to the Swedish MoD designation) with four second-hand C-130Js from Italy, as the procurement [...]

The post Sweden Might Acquire Second-Hand C-130Js From Italy appeared first on The Aviationist.

The full-size mockup was built by the Skunk Works to be as realistic as possible for the filming of the Darkstar scenes. One of the topics most discussed after the release of “Top Gun: Maverick” [...]

The post Darkstar Mockup Used For ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Unveiled In New Behind-The-Scenes Video appeared first on The Aviationist.

The F-35A jets of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) will be based in Büchel, in the Eifel region of western Germany. The Bundeswehr (the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany) have decided that [...]

The post All The German F-35s To Be Stationed At Büchel Air Base appeared first on The Aviationist.

The aircraft that scored the first aerial victory by an American F-16 as well as the first kill for the AIM-120 AMRAAM, now sports a desert brown color scheme. The F-16D Block 42 #90-0778 is [...]

The post ‘MiG Killer’ F-16D Has Been Given A New Retro Camouflage Color Scheme appeared first on The Aviationist.

The claims follow the latest exercises during which the IAF simulated a future strike against Iran’s nuclear sites. In response to Iran’s continued development of nuclear capabilities, the Israeli military is boosting its capabilities and [...]

The post Israel Claim Its F-35Is Can Now Reach Into Iran Without Air-to-Air Refueling appeared first on The Aviationist.

Here’s the first Aggressor Lightning II of the 65th AGRS (Aggressor Squadron). On Jun. 9, 2022, the U.S. Air Force reactivated the 65th Aggressors Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The unit, apreviously flying [...]

The post First F-35A in Aggressors Paint Scheme Unveiled At Nellis AFB appeared first on The Aviationist.

The video, released by the Ukrainian 45th Separate Artillery Brigade, shows the downing of the UAV after it completed its artillery spotting mission. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, social media are [...]

The post Ukrainian UAV Records Its Last Seconds Of Life As It Is Hit By Russian Missile appeared first on The Aviationist.

RCAF CF-18 Demo Hits Bird in Michigan In A Scene That Seemed To Be Right Out Of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’. It was like a page torn from the script of the new Hollywood blockbuster, “Top [...]

The post RCAF CF-18 Demo Pilot Saves Aircraft After Real-Life ‘Top Gun’ Incident at Airshow appeared first on The Aviationist.

The first VH-139A was delivered to the 31° Stormo at Ciampino airport 10 years ago. On May 31, 2022, the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force), celebrated the first 10 years of service of its VH-139A [...]

The post Italian Air Force Celebrates 10 Years Of Service Of Its VH-139A Helicopters appeared first on The Aviationist.

U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth AFB landed at Andersen AFB in Guam amid growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. Four B-1B Lancer bombers (aka “BONEs” from B-Ones) have deployed to Guam, the U.S. [...]

The post Four B-1Bs Have Deployed To Andersen Air Force Base in Guam For A Bomber Task Force Mission appeared first on The Aviationist.

The video shows the fighter unsuccessfully firing its gun at the helicopter, which however was later reportedly shot down off-camera with an air-to-air missile. A short video recently made the rounds on Telegram, showing what [...]

The post Watch A Russian Flanker Engage A Low Flying Ukrainian Mi-14 Helicopter In The Odesa Oblast appeared first on The Aviationist.

If you are plane crazy about WWII warbirds, you must attend this annual air show held in Reading, Pennsylvania USA. Three glorious rain free days, with mild temperatures, provided absolute perfect weather and flight conditions [...]

The post The Weather Gods Shined Upon This Year’s ‘World War II Weekend’ Air Show appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Chinese fighter jet cut across the Poseidon’s trajectory while releasing chaffs, some of which where ingested by the engines. The event occurred in international airspace. The Australian Ministry of Defence just disclosed that a [...]

The post Engines Of Australian P-8 MPA Ingest Chaffs Released by Chinese J-16 During “Very Dangerous” Intercept appeared first on The Aviationist.

The test marked the fastest recovery of a monorail sled in over 30 years, and the first time a planned reusable sled was ever recovered at those speeds. The test paves the way for more [...]

The post Rocket Sled Traveling At 7,200 km/h (4,363 mph) Successfully Stopped During Hypersonic Test At Holloman appeared first on The Aviationist.

There’s an enigmatic hint in their words: “Darkstar’s capabilities could be more than mere fiction. They could be reality…” About a week after the long-awaited Top Gun: Maverick finally hit the theaters, the Skunk Works [...]

The post Skunk Works Release Details About Top Gun: Maverick’s Darkstar Hypersonic Aircraft appeared first on The Aviationist.

The test, the first for Lockheed Martin’s HAWC prototype, happened last month but was kept under wraps to avoid escalating tensions with Russia. DARPA and the U.S. Air Force recently completed a free flight test [...]

The post DARPA Discloses Second Successful Flight for Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept appeared first on The Aviationist.

A new video shows a Russian Aerospace Forces Ka-52 Alligator destroyed by a Ukrainian ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile). Not only are Ukrainian MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense Systems) a significant threat to the Russian Ka-52 [...]

The post Footage Emerges Of Russian Ka-52 Alligator Gunship Shot Down By Ukrainian Anti-Tank Missile appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Su-35S crashed near Izium, Ukraine. It looks like it was configured for SEAD (Suppression Enemy Air Defenses) mission. Images of the wreckage of an aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) have started to [...]

The post First Russian Su-35S Flanker-E Confirmed Destroyed In Ukraine appeared first on The Aviationist.

Using ballistic rocket-launching tactic didn’t save this Russian gunship helicopter. Just yesterday, we commented a video posted by the Russian MOD that proved that the Ka-52 Alligator helicopters are still lobbing unguided rockets at targets [...]

The post [Updated] Video Emerges Of Russian Mi-28 Shot Down By MANPADS After Lobbing Rockets Over Eastern Ukraine appeared first on The Aviationist.

An impressive raid was carried out by the Ukrainian Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters on an oil facility in Belgorod, Russia. According to reports surfacing early on Apr. 1, 2022, at least two Ukrainian Mi-24 gunship [...]

The post Ukrainian Mi-24 Gunships Slipped Across The Border With Russia To Carry Out Attack On A Fuel Depot appeared first on The Aviationist.