The Aviationist Blog

The United States Air Force held its first Red Flag of 2021 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, readying forces to confront potential near-peer opponents like China and Russia. The first Red Flag exercise of [...]

The post Red Flag 21-1 Kicked Off This Year’s Training Exercises Focusing On “Great Power Competition” appeared first on The Aviationist.

The re-activated 495th Fighter Squadron, part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, will be called the “Valkyries” and operate the F-35A. The 48th Fighter Wing, based at RAF Lakeheath, UK, has made it [...]

The post The 495th Fighter Squadron, The First Overseas-Based F-35A Squadron, Will Be Called The “Valkyries” appeared first on The Aviationist.

Never Before Seen Video Showcases Development of New “Air Force One”: Boeing 747-8 as VC-25B. It is hidden behind what may be the tightest security screen on earth. It is the most visible mobile projection [...]

The post Nat Geo Provides Unprecedented View of New Air Force VC-25B “Air Force One”. appeared first on The Aviationist.

The quite unlikely Typhoon’s “Beast Mode” configuration might hint at a possible “missile/bomb truck” role in support of 5th and 6th gen. fighter aircraft. Last week the Eurofighter website published the latest edition of its [...]

The post Eurofighter Shows Typhoon In “Beast Mode” With 14 Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-To-Air Missiles appeared first on The Aviationist.

Poland designated the airbase that will host its F-35 Lightning II jets. According to an interview that the Polish Press Agency (PAP) conducted with the head of the MoD, Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, the Polish F-35 [...]

The post Polish F-35 Jets to Be Stationed At Lask Air Base in Central Poland appeared first on The Aviationist.

With the new aircraft the USAF will triple the E-11A fleet, one year after a fatal crash in Afghanistan left the service with only three airframes. The U.S. Air Force announced that on January 21, [...]

The post The U.S. Air Force Is Planning To Get Six New E-11A With The Battlefield Airborne Communication Node Payload appeared first on The Aviationist.

The 2021 air show schedule for the Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team was cut by about one-third because of engine issue. The F-35 Demo Team will not display the capabilities of the F-35A [...]

The post F-35 Demo Team Forced To Cut Airshow Appearances Due To Fleet-Wide Engine Issues appeared first on The Aviationist.

Some interesting details can be found in the first photos of the F-15EX, which are useful also for a comparison with the F-15C that will be replaced by the new fighter. The first F-15EX built [...]

The post Here Are All The Details We Noticed In The Photos Of The New F-15EX During Its First Flight appeared first on The Aviationist.

Two Tu-160 Blackjack strategic missile carriers performed a mission over the neutral waters of the Barents, Greenland and Norwegian seas, a region where U.S. B-1 Lancer bombers are going to operate in a couple of [...]

The post Russian Tu-160 Bombers Fly Over Barents And Norwegian Seas As U.S. B-1Bs Prepare For Norwegian Deployment appeared first on The Aviationist.

The B-2 Spirit was part of the first-of-its-kind trifecta flyover during the National Anthem performance at the LV Super Bowl. As you already know by now, the Super Bowl LV, in Tampa, Florida, saw a [...]

The post Check Out These Jaw-Dropping Shots Of The B-2 Spirit Refueling From a KC-135 After The Super Bowl Flyover appeared first on The Aviationist.

The little known EC-27J JEDI (Jamming and Electronic Defense Instrumentation) aircraft is the only non-American asset flying the Electronic Support and Protection mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). The EC-27J JEDI is a variant [...]

The post The EC-27J JEDI EW Aircraft Achieves 5,000 Flight Hours Fighting Daesh In The Electromagnetic Spectrum appeared first on The Aviationist.

A U.S. Army MQ-1C Gray Eagle landed on on the ground in Niger, with a live Hellfire missile on the left wing pylon. Photos have started to emerge on social media on Jan. 24, 2021, [...]

The post Armed U.S. Army MQ-1C Gray Eagle Drone Performs Emergency Landing In Northern Niger appeared first on The Aviationist.

Spike of Chinese “incursions” and presence of H-6K bombers (able to carry Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles) inside the south-western corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) amid escalating tensions in the region. Thirteen Chinese combat [...]

The post Eight Chinese H-6K Bombers Flew Inside Taiwan’s ADIZ As U.S. Aircraft Carrier Entered South China Sea appeared first on The Aviationist.

A Look Back at the Air Domain Procurements of the Polish Armaments Inspectorate. The Polish MoD’s armament procurement body, also known as the Armament Inspectorate, is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year. The body has [...]

The post Polish Armaments Inspectorate Celebrates 10th Anniversary. Here’s A Look At All The Procurements In The Air Domain appeared first on The Aviationist.

Fatal USAF E-11A crash caused by engine failure and subsequent aircrew mistake. On Jan. 27, 2020, a U.S. Air Force’s E-11A, serial 11-9358, crash landed in a field in Ghanzi Province, Afghanistan. The aircraft was [...]

The post Deadly U.S. Air Force E-11A Crash in Afghanistan Last Year Caused by Pilot Error Leading To Dual Engine Shutdown appeared first on The Aviationist.

UAE has inked an agreement with the U.S. to purchase 50 F-35 jets and up to 18 MQ-9B drones. Few hours before Biden’s inauguration, “the UAE has signed an agreement with the United States to [...]

The post About One Hour Before Biden Takes Office UAE Signs Deal With U.S. To Buy 50 F-35s and 18 MQ-9s appeared first on The Aviationist.

Some new details about the theft of equipment from Russia’s Il-80 Doomsday Plane have just emerged. On Dec. 7, 2020, we reported the news that thieves had broken into an Il-80 Maxdome and stole radio [...]

The post Suspect Of Theft Of Radio Equipment From Russia’s Il-80 Doomsday Plane Arrested appeared first on The Aviationist.

The F-16V will continue flight testing before being ferried to the U.S. for final upgrades and certification. The first F-16V of the Hellenic Air Force flew for the first time after the end of the [...]

The post First Greek F-16V Performs Maiden Flight After Block 72 Upgrade appeared first on The Aviationist.

The new Multi-Domain exercise follows the lead of the last summer’s drills, while continuing to increase the presence of the United States in the Black Sea region. The U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air [...]

The post U.S. Forces Conduct A New Multi-Domain Exercise With F-16s, KC-135s, P-8A And RQ-4B Over The Black Sea appeared first on The Aviationist.

First hand account of a test pilot’s first flight in a Eurofighter Typhoon prototype, 25 years ago. Editor’s note: Fabio Consoli is a former Italian Air Force test pilot and USAF Test Pilot School distinguished [...]

The post Eurofighter Typhoon: a Test Pilot’s Tale appeared first on The Aviationist.