The Aviationist Blog

The end of an era: “Tonka” have returned to RAF Marham from their last tour of duty. On Jan. 31, 2019, the RAF launched the final operational sortie of the Tornado GR4. The aircraft (ZA601/066 [...]

Interesting images of the 180th Fighter Wing’s Vipers flying over KSC. During the cold winter months, the 180th Fighter Wing’s F-16s belonging to the Ohio Air National Guard, based at Toledo Air National Guard Base, [...]

Here are some shots of the F-35B operating at sea in “Bomb Truck” configuration. F-35B Lightning II aircraft, attached to the F-35B detachment of the “Flying Tigers” of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 262 (Reinforced), [...]

Mainstream Media Caught in Case of Mistaken Identity in Christmas Twitter Video. News stories around the world on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018 reported that the U.S. President “… may have revealed the location of SEAL [...]

This image of an Aggressors F-16 provides an opportunity to see heat distortion “at work” and compare it to shock wave distortion. Here’s another stunner. The image in this post was taken on Dec. 20, [...]

What makes this shot really amazing is the distortion caused by the modified index of refraction around the aircraft as a consequence of the shock waves. “Star Wars Canyon” (aka Rainbow Canyon) which empties into [...]

Last year we found rare footage of a Spirit stealth bomber dropping a GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. Here’s a clip showing a B-2 dropping two such bombs. As explained in an article we published last [...]

Author Burnett Provides Previously Unpublished Insights into Special Operations Aviation. The best books do several things. They tell a well-paced, compelling story. They bring the reader into the action. In non-fiction, they tell a story [...]

F-14 Tomcat and F-4 Phantom Jets Among The Highlights of Iran International Air Show 2018 During the last week of November, Kish island hosted the 9th edition of the Iran International Air Show. More than [...]

TLP 18-4 saw the participation of the F-35 Lightning II for the very first time. From Nov. 21 to Dec. 14, more than 900 military from 5 different nations and 50 assets took part in [...]

Hollywood leaks photos of Cruise in snowy set; fan photos show special colored F/A-18F flying though the Star Wars Canyon; F-14 Tomcat appears on set. More “leaked” photos from production of the anticipated 2020 sequel, [...]

A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft from the 124th Fighter Wing at Gowen Field in Boise, Idaho, sport hundreds bomb markings. Here’s what they mean. Bomb and kill markings are a very well-known tradition in military aviation. [...]

Latest Accident Continues Tragic Trend, Underscores Risks of Marine Aviation. “The cause of the crash is under investigation.” It is the boilerplate statement issued in the aftermath of every aviation accident. As U.S Marines maintain [...]

Cockpit Video Brings You Aboard An A-10 Thunderbolt II during Operation Guardian Blitz II A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft, belonging to the 163rd Fighter Squadron of the 122nd Fighter Wing from Fort Wayne, Indiana, have deployed [...]

Private “Red Air” Adversary Simulator Aircraft Crashes Within Sight of Shore. An ATAC private contract adversary Hawker Hunter crashed off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii shortly after takeoff from Honolulu airport close to Joint Base [...]

Or, How to Get Your Press Credentials Revoked in One Easy Lesson… Every aviation journalist gets excited about a big story, especially when they get to bring us hot news from live and on location. [...]

In April 2016 we visited 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus AFB, Mississippi. Here’s our report. In an era when unmanned flying is becoming a normality, the U.S. Air Force is expanding its pilot training [...]

The United States intensified its ISR (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) presence in the Black Sea after Kerch Strait incident. Here’s an analysis. Following the incident in the Kerch Strait near Crimea in the morning of Nov. [...]

Planes from eight different squadrons based out of Oceana, Virginia, deployed to Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base to take part in the historic 21-jet Bush Memorial Flyover. The U.S. Navy paid tribute [...]

Bizarre Photo Shows What Appears To Be A Model Of An Advanced Chinese Stealth Jet Allegedly at Georgia Airfield. File this under, “Too Weird to Believe, Too Bizarre Not to Report”. Late Wednesday, December 5, [...]