The Aviationist Blog

A P-8A Poseidon of the secretive VPU-2 squadron has been modified with the addition, among all other things, of the MUOS UHF-band SATCOM dome. On Dec. 12, 2023, our reader Jeffrey Stoermer, spotted a pretty [...]

The post Another VPU-2’s ‘Mystery’ P-8A Poseidon Equipped With The MUOS UHF SATCOM Hump appeared first on The Aviationist.

One of the U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider aircraft involved in an exercise has been filmed as it fired at training targets through an IR sensor. The AC-130J Ghostrider, a 5th generation gunship that has [...]

The post Watch An AC-130J Ghostrider Firing Its Cannons Through IR Vision appeared first on The Aviationist.

The aircraft, the first of 34 on order, will be delivered next year and based at Luke Air Force Base for training. Lockheed Martin rolled out of its production facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, the [...]

The post First Belgian F-35A Rolls Out Of Factory At Fort Worth appeared first on The Aviationist.

The new RPA was delivered, along with a new Mobile Ground Control Station, as part of a Mid-Life Modernization of the Italian fleet of Predator RPAs. General Atomics just disclosed that on Nov.9, 2023, the [...]

The post First MQ-9A Block 5 Delivered To Italian Air Force appeared first on The Aviationist.

The F-16, belonging to the 8th Fighter Wing, crashed into the Yellow Sea off South Korea, during a routine training mission. On Dec. 11, 2023, at around 08.43AM LT, an F-16 Fighting Falcon jet, assigned [...]

The post U.S. F-16 Crashes Into The Yellow Sea Off South Korea. Pilot Ejected Safely. appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Fleet Air Arm unit will be jointly operated by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, similarly to the other frontline unit, the 617 Dambusters Squadron. The Royal Navy’s 809 Naval Air Squadron has [...]

The post 809 Naval Air Squadron Returns As UK’s Second Frontline F-35B Squadron appeared first on The Aviationist.

F-16 Fighting Falcons of the RNLAF 312th Squadron took part in a readiness exercise at Volkel Air Base. On Dec. 8, 2023, the 312 Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) held an impressive [...]

The post Last Dutch F-16 Squadron Carries Out Readiness Exercise at Volkel AB appeared first on The Aviationist.

At least one IRIAF (Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force) F-14 Tomcat flew alongside the Russian presidential aircraft and its Su-35S Flanker escort over Iran. On Dec. 6, 2023, Russia’s President Putin made a rare, [...]

The post Iranian F-14 Tomcat Escorted Putin’s Il-96 And Accompanying Flankers On Their Way To UAE appeared first on The Aviationist.

The 10-year deal covers the entire syllabus from the basic jet training to the lead-in fighter training. The chief of the Swedish Air Force, Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman, and the chief of the Italian Air [...]

The post Sweden Signs Agreement To Train Combat Pilots In Italy For The Next Decade appeared first on The Aviationist.

No signs of structural fatigue on the Italian Air Force C-27J airlifters. “The checks required by the service bulletin have already been carried out on the Italian C-27J Spartan fleet and no issues have been [...]

The post No Cracks Reported On Italian Air Force C-27J Spartan Fleet appeared first on The Aviationist.

The worldwide standdown was ordered after preliminary investigation information indicates a potential materiel failure caused the CV-22 crash in Japan that killed 8 crew members. The V-22s operated by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and [...]

The post All V-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft Grounded Following Fatal Crash In Japan appeared first on The Aviationist.

Let’s have a closer look at the latest TLP course at Albacete Air Base, Spain. The latest iteration of the NATO Tactical Leadership Programme, TLP 23-4, took place between Nov. 13 and Dec. 1, 2023 [...]

The post NATO Tactical Leadership Programme Course 2023-4 appeared first on The Aviationist.

The last B-1 has left RAF Fairford marking the end of BTF 24-1. It said goodbye to the British base rocking its wings on departure. On Dec. 4, 2023, the B-1B deployment for Bomber Task [...]

The post Final B-1 Of Latest Bomber Task Force Europe Leaves RAF Fairford With Wing Wave Departure appeared first on The Aviationist.

The RAIDER X prototype was unveiled at the annual AUSA 2023 conference. The annual Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2023 conference became the venue where Sikorsky finally released photos of its entry to [...]

The post Sikorsky Unveils RAIDER X Prototype For US Army FARA Program appeared first on The Aviationist.

A second squadron of A-10s has been deployed to support the United States’ increased deterrence posture, while the BTF appears to be preplanned and unrelated to the recent events. Additional U.S. Air Force aircraft arrived [...]

The post Additional A-10Cs Arrive In The Middle East As B-1B Bomber Task Force Deploys To UK appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Israeli Air Force is employing (almost) all its available aircraft day and night since the fighting erupted, dropping hundreds of tons of ordnance on Hamas targets and evacuating hundreds of casualties. The Israeli Defence [...]

The post Configuration And Payload Of The Aircraft Employed By Israel In The Fight Against Hamas appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) will become the first Air Force in the world to have a boom automatic refuelling capability with all of its receivers. In 2020, an Airbus MRTT test aircraft [...]

The post A330 MRTT Completes Automatic Refuelling Tests With F-15 appeared first on The Aviationist.

The U.S. is considering deploying USS Eisenhower along USS Ford in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in what would be a massive show of force. Following the Hamas attack on Israel, the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd [...]

The post Second U.S. Aircraft Carrier Might Join USS Gerald Ford Off Israel appeared first on The Aviationist.

Gaza is under siege with an interruption of electricity, gas, water and food supplies, as Israel declares state of war for the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Here’s a mega-recap about the [...]

The post Recap: The First Two Days Of The Israel-Hamas War appeared first on The Aviationist.

We have been to Gioia del Colle for NATO Tiger Meet 2023. The NATO Tiger Meet 2023 is underway at Gioia del Colle Air Base, alternating high-level tactical training missions with various traditional social events. [...]

The post NATO Tiger Meet 2023 In Full Swing At Gioia del Colle Air Base appeared first on The Aviationist.