The Aviationist Blog

The Italian Air Force will get new tankers, SIGINT and CAEW assets while also continuing the development of special C-27J variants, as disclosed in the new multiyear defense planning document. The Italian government published the [...]

The post Italy Increasing Tempest Funding And Planning New Support Aircraft Acquisitions appeared first on The Aviationist.

U.S. spyplane operating around Kabul as the Afghanistan air bridge continues. Media images from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan showing scenes of chaos as people try to crowd onboard departing aircraft in an [...]

The post ‘Greater Stability’ After Chaos At Kabul Airport as U.S. and Coalition Forces Continue Evacuation From Afghanistan appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Russian Navy Be-200 was the first one ordered by RF Navy and crashed during a firefighting mission in southeastern Turkey. A Russian Beriev Be-200 aircraft crashed near near Kahramanmaras, in southeastern Turkey, during a [...]

The post Russian Beriev Be-200 Amphibious Firefighting Aircraft Has Crashed In Turkey appeared first on The Aviationist.

The RAF Sentry fleet will retire later this year after 30 years of service, freeing resources for the E-7A Wedgetail which is set to enter service in 2023. A Royal Air Force E-3D Sentry AEW1, [...]

The post RAF E-3D Sentry Return To Waddington After Final Operational Mission appeared first on The Aviationist.

This Agile Combat Employment event during exercise Northern Strike 21 represents the first time in history that the Air Force has purposely landed modern aircraft on a civilian roadway in the US. The U.S. Air [...]

The post A-10C Thunderbolt IIs And C-146A Wolfhounds Conducted First Ever Highway Operations In The US appeared first on The Aviationist.

Flight Demonstration by Luftwaffe’s Air Transport Wing 62 Showcases A400M. It was a weekend of firsts for air show fans in Michigan this past Saturday and Sunday at Willow Run Airport for Thunder Over Michigan. [...]

The post First-Ever North American Luftwaffe Airbus A400M Atlas Demo at Thunder Over Michigan appeared first on The Aviationist.

Thunder Over Michigan: New Show Format That Combines Two Air Shows Per Day Gets Strong Reviews. Under the gun, behind the eight ball and facing the resurgence of a 14-month global pandemic along with massive [...]

The post Thunder Over Michigan Introduces New ‘Matinee’ Style Drive-In Air Show appeared first on The Aviationist.

The company showcased the technology that will allow the in-flight recovery of the Sparrowhawk SUAS, as well as a first look at the new Longshot drone being developed for DARPA. Last year, General Atomics (GA-ASI) [...]

The post General Atomics Provides Detailed Look At Sparrowhawk Air-Launched And Air-Retrievable Small UAS appeared first on The Aviationist.

AEC Skyline is a European Red Air private contractor providing adversary services. Among the participants at the multinational military exercise Adriatic Strike 2021 there was also a private company: the Netherlands-based AEC Skyline. To know [...]

The post Let’s Have A Look At The Activities Of Dutch Red Air Provider AEC Skyline appeared first on The Aviationist.

Red Flag 21-3 saw the participation of all services from the U.S. Armed Forces to train next generation joint warfighting against more modern, stronger and dangerous threats, including Aggressor F-35s. Blue air participants of Red [...]

The post Aggressor F-35s Joined The Fight During First Next Generation Red Flag Exercise appeared first on The Aviationist.

A prototype of the Su-75 Checkmate is going to be assembled for static tests. Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant (KnAAPO or KnAAZ; Russian: Комсомольский-на-Амуре авиационный завод) will build a prototype of the Checkmate fighter, destined for static [...]

The post Russia To Build Prototype Of Its New ‘Checkmate’ Light Tactical Fighter for Static Tests appeared first on The Aviationist.

The NF-16D VISTA aircraft is currently being upgraded to remove some limitations and better support autonomy testing for the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Skyborg program. The NF-16D VISTA (Variable In-flight Simulator Aircraft), operated by the [...]

The post NF-16D VISTA (Variable In-flight Simulator Aircraft) Changes Name To X-62A Ahead Of Skyborg Testing appeared first on The Aviationist.

The live fire event is the first in a series of development test events that will ensure AARGM-ER can meet required objectives as it is about to enter Low Rate Initial Production. The U.S. Navy [...]

The post U.S. Navy Launched An AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range For The First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

The ARRW missile’s rocket motor failed to ignite after it was released by the B-52 over Point Mugu Sea Range. The U.S. Air Force conducted its second AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) booster flight [...]

The post First Flight Test Of Hypersonic AGM-183A ARRW (Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon) Fails, Again. appeared first on The Aviationist.

Some 150 soldiers and two C-130s of the Israel Defence Forces visited Slovenia to commemorate Hannah Szenes and the Israeli paratroopers that fought in WW2. An Israeli delegation landed in Cerklje ob Krki AB, Slovenia, [...]

The post Israeli Paratroopers Perform Multiple Jumps Over Slovenia To Commemorate WWII Hero Hannah Szenes appeared first on The Aviationist.

With this new contract the Tempest programme will now progress to the next phase that will shape the final design and capabilities of the 6th gen aircraft. The British Ministry of Defence awarded BAE Systems [...]

The post United Kingdom Signs Contract To Formally Start Tempest’s Concept And Assessment Phase appeared first on The Aviationist.

The 20-day-long campaign allowed to validate the French Mirage 2000’s Mid-Life Upgrade and the new podded cannon in realistic conditions. The Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (French Air and Space Force) recently completed a [...]

The post French Air Force Completes Upgraded Mirage 2000D Test Campaign In Djibouti appeared first on The Aviationist.

The historic event follows the recent delivery of the third F-35B to the Italian Navy and the Ready for Operations test campaign in the USA earlier this year. An Italian F-35B Lightning II, belonging to [...]

The post Italian F-35B Lands For The First Time On Italy’s ITS Cavour Aircraft Carrier appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Il-22PP Special Mission Aircraft were intercepted over the Baltic Sea for the very first time. Some pretty interesting close encounters between NATO fighters supporting BAP (Baltic Air Policing) mission and Russian aircraft flying in [...]

The post NATO Fighters Intercepted Two Rare Russian Il-22PP ‘Mute’ EW Aircraft Over The Baltics For The Very First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

The new UH-60V helicopters are the result of an upgrade program for the UH-60A/L, aimed to increase commonality and interoperability with the newer UH-60M. The Pennsylvania National Guard’s Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site [...]

The post First UH-60V Black Hawk Helicopters Delivered To The U.S. National Guard appeared first on The Aviationist.