From October, visitors to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles Airport will be treated to the sight of a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the U.S. Air Force’s legendary stealth attack jet. The donation of an F-117A Nighthawk aircraft, the sixteenth example of a YF-117/F-117 to be gifted for […]
The Aviationist•Kai Greet14 Sept
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink announced the popular names for the FQ-42 and FQ-44 Collaborative Combat Aircraft, which will be known as “Vengeance” and “Fury,” respectively. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink formally announced the popular names of the two Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) during his keynote address at the Air & […]
The Aviationist•Stefano D'Urso14 Sept
For the first time, the Weapon Systems Officer of the F-15E Strike Eagle shot down in Iran appeared in public and shared his story. For the first time since the April 3, 2026, incident in which an F-15E Strike Eagle, callsign DUDE 44, was shot down over Iran, one of the crew members appeared in […]
The Aviationist•Stefano D'Urso14 Sept
New official visuals show RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets releasing AGM-158B JASSM-ERs and a P-8A Poseidon striking a target ship with an AGM-158C LRASM during live-fire tests in 2025 and 2026. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has achieved an Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) and the AGM-158B Joint […]
The Aviationist•Parth Satam13 Sept
An odd incident unfolded on Sep. 12, 2026 when Cessna 560XLS+ D-CJMK operated by VistaJet landed at the U.S.-operated RAF Fairford instead of Cotswold Airport (Kemble), just 11 miles to the west. Immediately after the aircraft touched down an emergency response by the base’s security forces was triggered. RAF Fairford is, of course, not only […]
The Aviationist•Kai Greet13 Sept
The UAV-300 had also been carried by the Akinci during a recent UAV-122 firing test, foreshadowing its first live launch. Turkey’s Baykar Akinci Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) achieved a major milestone by firing the İHA-300 (or UAV-300) Air-Launched Ballistic Missile (ALBM) at a maritime target more than 250 km away during a test over […]
The Aviationist•Parth Satam12 Sept
A cryptic teaser from Lockheed Martin suggests that the company is preparing to reveal new details on the development of its Vectis Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Lockheed Martin is teasing a new announcement concerning Vectis, its Group 5 Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) being developed by the Skunk Works division. The announcement comes as the company continues […]
The Aviationist•Stefano D'Urso12 Sept
A Harrier from the VMA-223 “Bulldogs,” the last built for the USMC, was demilitarized and transported to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. Another event marked the bittersweet retirement of the AV-8B Harrier II Vertical/Short Take-Off Landing (V/STOL) jet that took place in June 2026. The last Harrier built for the U.S. Marine Corps, […]
The Aviationist•Parth Satam11 Sept
Michigan ANG pilot Tom Froling was airborne on a routine training mission when America came under attack. Hours later, his squadron was loading live missiles and ammunition for combat air patrols over the United States. We spoke with him 25 years later about that day and what followed. “It was surrealistic. In all my training […]
The Aviationist•Tom Demerly11 Sept
The Swedish and Dutch defense ministers signed a Letter of Intent for the GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft, with a formal contract yet to be signed. The Netherlands will acquire a Saab GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, giving the country its first national airborne surveillance and command capability. To that effect, the country signed […]
The Aviationist•Parth Satam10 Sept
An A-10 Thunderbolt II reportedly lost a wing while around eight F-15s suffered lighter damage during an Iranian missile attack on the U.S. base in Jordan. Multiple U.S. military aircraft were reportedly damaged during an Iranian missile strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, according to people with direct knowledge of the incident who […]
The Aviationist•Stefano D'Urso10 Sept
The Oregon ANG’s 142nd Wing deployed to Nellis AFB for three weeks in support of the U.S. Air Force’s Weapons Instructor Course (WIC), dropping live bombs from operational F-15EXs for the first time. Operational F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets assigned to the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing have dropped live bombs for the first […]
The Aviationist•Stefano D'Urso10 Sept
The Italian Air Force has ordered two additional MQ-9A Block 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft, which will be delivered by the end of 2027 together with new Ground Control Stations. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has announced that the Italian Air Force ordered two additional MQ-9A Block 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The aircraft will […]
The Aviationist•Stefano D'Urso9 Sept
The German Air Force’s first F-35A Lightning II conducted its maiden flight from Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facilities, ahead of the official rollout later this month. Germany’s F-35 Lightning II program achieved a new milestone with the maiden flight of the country’s first F-35A on Sept. 8, 2026. The aircraft flew from Lockheed Martin’s Fort […]
The Aviationist•Stefano D'Urso8 Sept
The new munitions blur the line between low-cost attack drones and cruise missiles, with some apparently derived from the S-71 family. At the El Alamein Airshow in Egypt, which kicked off on Sep. 8, 2026, Russia unveiled a series of stealthy air-launched effects meant to be employed by the Su-57E fifth generation fighter. Rostec, the […]
The Aviationist•Parth Satam8 Sept
A new Congressional Research Service report highlights the growing gap between the U.S. Air Force’s current fighter inventory, its legally mandated force structure, and the much larger planned fleet. The U.S. Air Force is currently operating below the fighter inventory minimum established by Congress, even as the service is seeking to dramatically increase the size […]
The Aviationist•Stefano D'Urso8 Sept
The Royal New Zealand Air Force has boasted impressive availability records with its NH90s, and one of their helicopters has now become the first NH90 to pass the 3,000 flight hour mark. An NH90 TTH helicopter of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) became the first of the type to complete 3,000 flight hours, […]
The Aviationist•Parth Satam8 Sept
After years of little activity, the Ravn X rolled out of a hangar at Long Beach Airport for its very first autonomous taxi tests and caught the attention of local enthusiasts. Designed to launch small payloads into space, its planned first mission in 2021 has still yet to take place. At eighty feet long and […]
The Aviationist•Kai Greet6 Sept
From Sep. 1, the Royal Air Force’s headquarters is now to be known as Air & Space Command, reflecting the still increasing importance of the space domain to national security and the RAF’s role beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Formed in 2007 following the merger of Strike Command and Personnel & Training Command, Air Command has served […]
The Aviationist•Kai Greet6 Sept
Using both turbojet and rocket propulsion, the Douglas D-558 Skystreak and Skyrocket research aircraft set a series of speed and altitude milestones in the years after World War II, culminating in the first flight beyond Mach 2. During a period of abundant experimental record-breaking designs, men and machines were pushed to the edge of the […]
The Aviationist•Darrick Leiker6 Sept