The Aviationist

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 Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER), the country’s defense department announced on Sep. 11, 2026. The release added that

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 an active U.S. Air Force facility, but is currently – and controversially among some – hosting B-1B Lancer strategic bombers which h

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 Black Sea. The company and its chief technology officer Selçuk Bayraktar released a video of the trial on Sep. 11, 2026. The UAV-300, also referred to

A shadowy aircraft in Lockheed Martin’s latest teaser appears consistent with published Vectis designs, hinting at a possible update on the Skunk Works 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 work on the prototype, which is targeting its first flight in 2027. The company has posted on its social media

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, BuNo 166288, which was assigned to Marine Attack Squadron 223 (VMA-223) “Bulldogs,” travelled to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, where it

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 and career, I could have never imagined something like this happening. In a matter of hours, what I was doing changed so dramatically.” After an 08:50 hrs local takeoff fro

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 a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Sweden on Sep. 10, 2026. According to the Dutch Ministry of Defense (MoD), the Royal Netherlands Air Fo

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 spoke to CBS News. The attack occurred overnight between Sept. 8 and 9, 2026, during the latest round of Iranian retaliatory attacks following U.S. strikes

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 time, achieving what the service defined as “a historical milestone.” The bomb drops were recorded when the 142nd Wing’s fleet of F-15EXs operated at Nellis AFB, Neva

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 be delivered by the end of 2027, together with an unspecified number of Ground Control Stations (GCS). “Italy has been a very important p

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 Worth facilities, days after being rolled out of the assembly line and receiving its final livery. Local aviation photographer Eric Kilpatrick captured p

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 state-owned holding company of all Russian defense enterprises, had previously announced unveiling the one-of-a-kind weapons, as the country aggressively pushes the

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 of its combat-coded fighter fleet over the next decade. The issue is highlighted in a new Congressional Research Service (CRS)

The Royal New Zealand Air Force has achieved impressive availability rates with its NH90 fleet, and one of its helicopters has now become the first NH90 in the world to surpass 3,000 flight hours. 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 service said in a Sep. 7, 2026 release. The service said the feat was achieved “this week” and later mentioned “on Wednesday,” although the official photos and Airbus’ pres

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 with a wingspan of sixty feet, the Ravn X is a huge autonomous aircraft said to pack two afterburning turbofan engines that allow high subsonic flight up to an altitude of 60,000 feet.

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 as the office of the Chief of the Air Staff (the professional head of the Royal Air Force) and the effective headquarters for the whole

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 envelope in ever increasing speeds and altitudes. The Douglas D-558 series aircraft played a major role in aircraft experimentation and development, eventual

An F-4AUP Phantom of the Hellenic Air Force crashed during a flying display part of Athens Flying Week. There are no signs of the pilots ejecting. On Sept. 5, 2026, at around 15.00 LT, an Hellenic Air Force F-4 Phantom (01504) crashed at Tanagra Air Base, near Athens. Videos shared online show the aircraft impacting the ground and exploding into flames close to the airport. While the status of the aircrew has not been disclosed yet, the footage does not show the two aircrew members ejecting from

Now back on its own wheels ready for the next phase of restoration, the Bristol Type 170 Freighter, built in Britain but now the only surviving example in the whole of Europe, is due to eventually take pride of place in Aerospace Bristol’s new outdoor exhibit area.  Aerospace Bristol, a rapidly growing aviation museum founded in 2017 on the site of Bristol Filton Airport, is most well known for being the home of G-BOAF, the last Concorde built and the last to ever fly, but has taken o

The first eight of a dozen Vermont Air National Guard F-35As are returning home from their combat deployment in the CENTCOM area of operations. Split into two flights, the first eight F-35A jets of the Green Mountain Boys of the Vermont Air National Guard 158th Fighter Wing/134th Fighter Squadron, arrived in the UK on their way back to their homebase at Burlington Air National Guard Base, Burlington, Vermont, on Sept. 4, 2026. Flying as TABOR 81-84 and 91-94, the eight Lightning II aircraft were