The Aviationist Blog

The Red Wolf Missiles will provide Marine rotary wing platforms with long-range precision strike capability, enabling affordable combat mass for surface strikes in a maritime scenario. L3Harris and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced on Jan. 30, 2026 a major progress in the Precision Attack Strike Munition (PASM) program for the U.S. Marine Corps, with […]

Boeing confirmed that the deal for 24 F-15EX will not proceed, with Indonesia meanwhile signing a Letter of Intent to replace the Hawk with the M-346F Block 20. After some years in a limbo, it appears that Indonesia has abandoned its plan to acquire the F-15EX Eagle II. At the same time, the country has […]

An Iranian Shahed-139 drone was shot down by a U.S. F-35C as it approached the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. An Iranian drone was shot down by the U.S. military on Feb. 3, 2026, according to a U.S. official cited by Reuters. The unmanned aircraft, a Shahed-139, was flying towards the USS Abraham […]

Lockheed Martin completed the first demo of the Sniper Networked Targeting Pod, validating the new real-time data sharing capability between F-16s and ground stations. Lockheed Martin has completed a multi-aircraft flight demonstration of its new Sniper Networked Targeting Pod (NTP), validating the new capability to exchange targeting data in real-time between two F-16 fighters and […]

Carrying a mystic of almost invincibility and pure terror, the Red Baron’s famous mount was anything but perfect, with several faults limiting it below its anticipated performance. Although built in somewhat limited numbers and in service for a short period of time, the most famous mount of the world’s most famous ace, Germany’s Manfred von […]

South Korea is moving to upgrade the ROKAF’s F-15K Slam Eagle fleet to a configuration similar to the F-15EX Eagle II, significantly enhancing its long-range strike and survivability capabilities. Boeing has been awarded a contract for the upgrade of the Republic of Korea Air Force’s (ROKAF) F-15K Slam Eagle fleet. The development follows the launch […]

A newly released video shows RQ-170 Sentinels at Creech Air Force Base, offering also a rare size comparison with an MQ-9 Reaper and nearby pickup trucks. Less than two weeks after the images and video of the mysterious ‘Dorito-shaped’ aircraft flying late at night near Area 51, Anders Otteson, the famous author of the popular […]

During a recent mission, Spanish Air Force F-18M Hornets intercepted a Russian Naval Aviation Su-30SM2 carrying an unusual loadout for operations over the Baltic region. On Jan. 28, 2026, the Spanish Ministry of Defense released details about an interesting mission carried out by Spanish Air Force EF-18M (or F-18M) aircraft deployed to Šiauliai, Lithuania, in […]

The Type 076 is moving rapidly towards becoming the first ship with an EMALS catapult to operate combat drones, with the GJ-21 possibly being prepared for testing. China’s Type 076 Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) was recently spotted with a fully covered collaborative combat aircraft/unmanned combat  aerial vehicle (CCA/UCAV) in visuals that appeared on Jan. 31, […]

The first production representative MQ-25 taxied under its own power at Boeing’s facilities, following a series of rigorous ground trials over several months. Boeing and the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced on Jan. 30, 2026, that the production representative prototype of the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned refueling tanker has started taxi trials at […]

A Wildcat helicopter conducted simulated Martlet missile strikes on moving targets at the National Drone Hub, Predannack, using live data provided by Puma and Providence UAVs.  The trials, involving a Wildcat from 815 Naval Air Squadron (NAS), uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) from 700X NAS at nearby RNAS Culdrose, and support from 847 NAS and industry […]

USAF F-35As deployed to Puerto Rico for the attack on Venezuela might now be part of what Trump called a ‘massive armada’ moving towards Iran. In recent days, a series of U.S. military movements have drawn heightened attention across the Middle East. These developments have coincided with ongoing regional tensions following domestic unrest in Iran […]

Launched between 1971 and 1987 primarily to collect intelligence data on foreign weapon testing, the last satellites in the JUMPSEAT family were withdrawn from service in 2006.  A memorandum dated Dec. 4, 2025 from the office of Christopher J. Scolese, Director of the U.S. National Reconaissance Office (NRO), formally declassified the existence of and some […]

Recently emerged images show a Mi-28NE helicopter in a hangar geolocated in Iran, following reports of multiple Russian Il-76MD cargo aircraft flying into the country. Photos emerged on Jan. 28, 2026, show what has been described as a single Mi-28NE Havoc in an Iranian facility. Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) profiles later geo-located the pictures of the […]

The fifth of five Airbus A300-600ST ‘Beluga’ transports has flown into retirement at Airbus’ Broughton facility in North Wales, where it will be used to promote STEM to schools and community groups.   As the Airbus fleet of Beluga super transporter aircraft readies for withdrawal by 2027 in favour of the larger, more efficient A330-743L BelugaXL, […]