The Aviationist Blog

Dignified Tribute to Fallen Heroes is Heart Wrenching to Watch. Aviation journalist and expert Ian D’Costa shared a video on Monday we had to pass on. This Korean news video, originally published on bemil.chosun.com, loosely translated from Korean as “Military News”, is a dignified and heart-wrenching tribute to South Korea’s repatriated fallen soldiers from the […]

You can’t fly lower than this…. We have already posted quite a few videos of Ukrainian Air Force aircraft performing ultra-low level passes. The most famous ones are those of a MiG-29 performing a show of force onpro-Russia separatist blocking rails; a big Ilyushin Il-76 buzzing some Su-25s (and the Frogfoots returning the favor while […]

Royal Navy Commander Nathan Gray and RAF Squadron Leader Andy Edgell were the first pilots to land their F-35 Lightning stealth jets on the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth. In the last 24 hours we have commented two quite different F-35B Lightning II-related news: the first air strike in Afghanistan and the first crash […]

Details of First-Ever F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Crash Are Developing. A U.S. Marine F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter has crashed near Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station outside of Beaufort, South Carolina on the U.S. East Coast. Reports indicate the pilot ejected from the aircraft. His condition is not known at this time. MCAS Beaufort […]

U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightings Of VMFA-211 Hit Targets in Afghanistan From USS Essex. For the first time in history U.S. F-35 Joint Strike Fighters flew in combat on Sept. 27, 2018. Official U.S military sources characterized the mission as “successful”. U.S. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211, the “Wake Island Avengers”, of the 13th Marine […]

Take a look at these photographs of the five RSAF (Royal Saudi Air Force) jet in special livery for the 88th National Day Celebrations. As already revealed in a previous post, on Sept. 23, 2018, Saudi Arabia celebrated the 88th Saudi National Day with five special colored aircraft: an F-15C belonging to the 13th Sqn; […]

The MH-139, a variant of the AW139, has been selected by the U.S. Air Force to take over the role of protecting the ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) bases and transportation of U.S. government and security forces. In what many have defined an upset victory, the United States Air Force announced the selection of the MH-139, […]

Hot-pit refueling is required to operate out of locations with limited support and infrastructures. On Sept. 14, two U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers forward deployed to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPH-H), Hawaii, conducted a routine training over the Pacific in the vicinity of Hawaii. The B-2s are deployed at JBPH-H from Whiteman Air Force […]

All the most interesting “hardware” we have seen at Ostrava Air Show 2018. On Sep. 14 – Sep. 16 we attended the NATO Days event organized in the vicinity of the Czech city of Ostrava. This year marked the 28th edition of this show which is said to be the most important of the Eastern […]

The WH and the Pentagon have a plan to step up offensive cyber operations to deter foreign adversaries. The Trump administration has authorized the use of “offensive cyber operations” as part of a new national cyber strategy that aims at deterring attacks on the U.S. most critical networks, preventing interferences on future elections (in order […]

Photos show Marines F-35B aircraft carrying the external gun pod during exercise off the coast of Djibouti. For the last two weeks, U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs assigned to the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 “Wake Island Avengers”, deployed with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, have undertaken the type’s first operational deployment in international waters off […]

The crash landing has caused some 2M USD damage to the UAVs (unmanned Aerial Vehicles). An MQ-4C Triton experienced a technical failure that forced it to perform a gear up landing at Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) at Point Mugu on Sept. 12, the U.S. Navy confirmed “The Navy says as a precautionary measure, the […]

Hollywood Gossip Site Leaks Photo of F/A-18F With Special Markings. Even though all of us feel the need for speed to get the new Top Gun sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick” released it sounds like Paramount Pictures has requested another flyby even as photos of a newly painted U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet that may be linked […]

This time the Bear bombers were escorted by Su-35 jets. On Sept. 11, at approximately 10 PM EDT, two U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jets “positively identified and intercepted two Russian Tu-95MS A“Bear-H” bombers west of Alaska. Nothing special then, considered that a similar intercept had occurred on Sept. 1. However, this time the Russian […]

Spectators Are Not Allowed to Touch F-35 Jets, But Some in Belgium Got a Lucky Chance. If you are among the millions of people to see a Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter at an airshow since its first public appearance at Joint Base Andrews in the U.S. in 2011, you know there […]

Looks like two F-16s from Aviano were involved in a somehow “mysterious” mission over the Mediterranean Sea during last weekend. As the overnight trilateral strike on Syria on Apr. 13 and 14 has proved, an OSINT (Open Sources Intelligence) analysis based on flight tracking websites ADS-B, Mode-S and MLAT and other information shared via social media, may provide a clear […]

The footage, showing U.S. Army’s elite unit’s helicopters was filmed during the exercises carried out by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) last April. Last April, some MH-60s and MH-6s helicopters belonging to the 160th SOAR “Night Stalkers” carried out a series of exercises in New York City. As reported by Tyler Rogoway at the War […]

Fourth T-38 Trainer Accident in Eleven Months for USAF Talon Crews. A U.S. Air Force T-38C Talon two-seat, twin engine advanced jet trainer from the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas departed the runway prior to takeoff this morning at approximately 10:13 a.m. Both crew members ejected from the aircraft […]

The Air Policing Mission and Homeland Security Since 9/11 Face Adaptive Threat. “Kill one, terrorize a thousand.” Sun Tzu’s quote from “The Art of War” defines the basis for asymmetrical warfare, a conflict where one side uses traditional military doctrine while the other side exploits the vulnerabilities of its adversary in any way available, including […]

The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Aviation Combat Element (ACE) VMM-264 (Reinforced) takes us on board the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) during deployment work-ups. Authoritative voices bark from the loudspeakers on the deck of the U.S.S. Kearsarge, a U.S. Navy Wasp-Class Amphibious Assault ship. Simulated threats are identified, and timely safety reminders regarding deck activity are […]