The Aviationist Blog

We visited NOAA Air Operations Center in Lakeland, Florida to discuss the impending Atlantic Hurricane season. On May 1, 2017, the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) moved its Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) [...]

The post NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters Ready to Face the 2021 Hurricane Season appeared first on The Aviationist.

Detroit’s Metro Airport Yields Great Photos of Air Force One aircraft and Motorcade. Local spotters, aviation photographers and aircraft enthusiasts were treated to spectacular views of a U.S. Air Force VC-25A presidential transport aircraft operated [...]

The post A Close Look at Air Force One’s Visit to Detroit and the Presidential Motorcade. appeared first on The Aviationist.

The F-15QA (Qatar Advanced) that left the runway forcing the crew to eject at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, has been recovered. As already reported, a Boeing F-15QA was involved in a ground ejection incident at [...]

The post Here Are Some Photos Of The F-15QA Being Recovered After Ground Incident At Airport Near St. Louis appeared first on The Aviationist.

The former Israeli F-16 flew from the Top Aces’s facilities at Phoenix Mesa Gateway airport and is the first 4th generation fighter flown by private “Red Air”. The Canadian company Top Aces performed on May [...]

The post Top Aces Aggressor F-16 Flies For The First Time In The U.S. appeared first on The Aviationist.

Images show a Boeing F-15QA on the ground after the crew members ejected. A Boeing F-15 was involved in a ground ejection incident at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport around 07.30AM LT on May 18, 2021. [...]

The post Pilots Eject From F-15QA At MidAmerica St. Louis Airport appeared first on The Aviationist.

B-52H Stratofortress bombers have arrived at Moron Air Base, Spain, for a European deployment. Four U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers of the 2nd Bomb Wing from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, arrived at Moron [...]

The post Four U.S. B-52 Bombers Have Just Landed In Spain For A Bomber Task Force Deployment appeared first on The Aviationist.

Blackjack will create a cheaper, easier to upgrade and less vulnerable autonomous satellite network for military communications, navigation and possibly early warning. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Northrop Grumman a 13.3 [...]

The post DARPA And Northrop Grumman Working On Blackjack Network’s Payload To Reduce Impact Of GPS Jamming appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Italian F-35 jets deployed to Estonia, scored their first intercept under NATO command in the Baltic region. On May 14, 2021, the Italian Air Force F-35 aircraft deployed to Ämari Air Base, Estonia, to [...]

The post Italian Air Force Identifies Russian An-12 Off Estonia In First Ever Intercept By F-35 Supporting NATO BAP appeared first on The Aviationist.

Infamous B-1B “Spectre” Retired To Become An Advanced Maintenance Trainer at Tinker Air Force Base. The U.S. Air Force disclosed a few days ago that, in early April, the B-1B Lancer 86-109/DY, nicknamed “Spectre”, has [...]

The post “Spectre”, The B-1B Involved in Famous Failed Ejection Incident Following On Board Fire in 2018, Retired appeared first on The Aviationist.

The second Spotter Day of NATO Tiger Meet (NTM) 2021 was held yesterday at Beja Air Base, Portugal. And here are some gorgeous shots. The flying segment of this year’s edition of NATO Tiger Meet [...]

The post Take A Look At These Amazing Photos Of Yesterday’s NATO Tiger Meet 2021 Spotter Day appeared first on The Aviationist.

As part of Project Strike Rodeo, an F-15E Strike Eagle was loaded with five AGM-158 JASSMs. The U.S. Air Force continues to work on expanding the F-15E Strike Eagle‘s already impressive capabilities. The 85th Test [...]

The post F-15E Strike Eagle Loaded With Five AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs) For The First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

The new Helicopter Training Academy will provide training for both pilots and maintenance crews on the AW119, AW169, AW139 models and, in a near future, the new AW609 tiltrotor. Leonardo announced that a new state-of-the-art [...]

The post Leonardo Inaugurates A New State-Of-The-Art Helicopter Training Academy In The United States appeared first on The Aviationist.

The selection of the P-8 Poseidon emerged during a parliamentary interrogation after the United States approved a possible Foreign Military Sale of five aircraft to Germany. The Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (BMVg), the German Federal Ministry [...]

The post Germany Set To Replace Its P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft With The P-8A Poseidon appeared first on The Aviationist.

Wanna know what’s behind the trademark BRTTTTT noise of the A-10 Warthog’s GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling Gun? Then, watch this. Dubbed Warthog, Hog or just Hawg, the A-10 Thunderbolt II is, basically, an airplane built around the GAU-8 Avenger 30-mm [...]

The post Crazy Cool Video Shows In Detail How The A-10 Thunderbolt’s GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling Gun Works appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Italian Navy and Air Force intervened in international waters off Libya after a Libyan Coast Guard patrol boat shot at Italian fishing boats. Two Italian fishing boats were involved in an incident about 30 [...]

The post Libyan Coast Guard Shoots At Two Italian Fishing Boats: Italian Frigate And P-72A Surveillance Plane On The Scene appeared first on The Aviationist.

The new CIRCM system will equip all the service’s current helicopters, beginning from the UH-60M Black Hawk, and the Future Vertical Lift helicopters in development. The U.S. Army awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to begin [...]

The post The U.S. Army Clears Full-Rate Production Of Northrop Grumman’s CIRCM (Common Infrared Countermeasures) appeared first on The Aviationist.

Our correspondent David Parody went to Beja, Portugal, for NATO Tiger Meet 2021. NATO Tiger Meet (NTM) is one of Europe’s most famous and loved among the aviation enthusiasts community, multinational exercise attended by squadrons [...]

The post We Have Been To NATO Tiger Meet 2021 And Here Are The Most Interesting Aircraft We Found There. appeared first on The Aviationist.

17 F-35Bs have already landed aboard British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth ahead of CSG21 deployment. As already reported 10 USMC F-35Bs aircraft, belonging to the VMFA-211 Wake Island Avengers, based at MCAS (Marine Corps [...]

The post Nine U.S. Marine Corps And Eight RAF F-35Bs Have Embarked On HMS Queen Elizabeth appeared first on The Aviationist.

In the last 10 years, we have collected the description of someone who was in Afghanistan and saw the secret MH-X Stealth Black Hawk helicopter recover after the raid. While its shape is still a [...]

The post 10 Years Ago Today We Learned About The Stealth Black Hawk Used In OBL Raid. Here’s The Updated Rendering. appeared first on The Aviationist.

It’s the first time 5th generation aircraft take part in BAP mission. On Apr. 30, 2021, four Italian Air Force F-35A Lightning II jets landed at Amari Air Base, Estonia, to take over the NATO’s [...]

The post The Italian F-35As Have Deployed To Estonia For NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission appeared first on The Aviationist.