The Aviationist Blog

As the Tornado completes its final days of service with the Royal Air Force, which is about to become the first operator to retire the type, we have looked at the how the Italian Air [...]

The Italian Lightning II are involved in their third deployment to Decimomannu airbase. Six ItAF F-35As out of the eight currently in Italy (two more ones are at Luke Air Force Base in the U.S.) [...]

“AOPA estimates that more than 2,000 airports—home bases to more than 28,600 aircraft—are located within the area’s lowest airspace contour.” GPS has become increasingly important to our lives. Not only do Waze, Uber, and many [...]

Long live the Legacy Hornet! On the very same day the U.S. Navy bid farewell to its last operational “Legacy Hornets” at NAS Oceana, Virginia, the U.S. Marine Corps Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 11, 3rd Marine [...]

MH-6 Little Bird and MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters involved in a urban training exercise in downtown Los Angeles. U.S. Army helicopters are conducting realistic military urban training in the greater Los Angeles and Long Beach [...]

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 [...]