The Aviationist Blog

The agreement was signed as the UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, visited Ankara and met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan while touring Turkish aerospace facilities. An official release by the UK Government says the deal will guarantee the retention of as many as 20,000 British jobs and sustain the Typhoon production line at […]

The existence of the 9M730 Burevestnik was first made official in early 2018 as a part of six new strategic weapons, including hypersonic and ballistic missiles and a nuclear-capable torpedo. The Russian Chief of General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, revealed on Oct. 26, 2025, that his country’s Strategic Rocket Forces tested the 9M730 Burevestnik (Russian […]

The U.S. Pacific Fleet has confirmed the safe rescue of all personnel after an MH-60R Sea Hawk and an F/A-18F Super Hornet from USS Nimitz both crashed into the South China Sea just 30 minutes apart. Five personnel, three on board an MH-60R Sea Hawk, and two in the F/A-18F Super Hornet, were recovered safely […]

The ceremony, held in Trieste, coincided with the 71st anniversary of the city’s return to Italy and marks the ship’s transition toward full operational service. The Italian Navy’s newest amphibious assault ship, LHD (Landing Helicopter Dock) Trieste, received its battle flag during a ceremony held onboard at Molo Bersaglieri, in Trieste, northeastern Italy, on Oct. […]

The Sichuan is the only amphibious assault Landing Helicopter Dock in the world to feature an Electromagnetic Launch System. The catapult aboard China’s massive Type 076 LHD (Landing Helicopter Dock) amphibious assault ship, the “Sichuan,” has been tested for the first time,images that appeared on Oct. 22, 2025 seem to suggest. The photos show the […]

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, […]