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The goal of the experimentation with FPV drones is to ‘accelerate cooperation between nano drones and Army Light Aviation aircraft,’ developing the employment doctrine for the Air-Launched Devices concept. The French Army (Armée de Terre) is moving towards integrating its armed helicopters with attack drones, aiming for “dronization” by 2040. Opex360, quoting French military publications, […]

The post French Army Tests FPV Drone Controlled from Gazelle Light Attack Helicopter appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Finnish Air Force will secure NATO skies by deploying four F/A-18 Hornets to Keflavik Air Base for the next rotation of the Icelandic Air Policing mission in February 2025. The Finnish Air Force is preparing to safeguard the NATO skies for the first time as a NATO member by deploying four F/A-18 Hornets to […]

The post Finnish Air Force to Participate in Icelandic Air Policing for the First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

The planned delivery of the first six F-35B Lightning II fighters for Japan in FY2024 has now been pushed back to sometime during FY2025, Japan’s Defense Minister announced. The delivery of the first six F-35Bs to the JASDF (Japan Air Self Defense Force), which was planned to happen sometime during FY (Fiscal Year) 2024 (which […]

The post Delivery of the First F-35Bs to Japan Delayed appeared first on The Aviationist.

By 2027, in areas west of the international dateline where U.S. assets are deployed, China will outnumber U.S. forces about 12 to 1 in modern fighter jets (including 5 to 3 in fifth-generation aircraft) and 3 to 1 in maritime patrol planes. Speaking from the base theater to both an in-person and virtual audience, Brig. […]

The post ‘The Chinese Military is the Largest and Most Modern It’s Ever Been,’ Edwards AFB Commander Warns appeared first on The Aviationist.

Footage from inside an Israeli Air Force KC-707 Re’em tanker aircraft was recently published on the official IDF Instagram page, providing a rare tour of the aircraft. The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) uploaded a short Instagram reel on their official @idfonline page on Jan. 6, 2025, offering previously unseen footage inside one of the IAF’s […]

The post A Rare Look Inside Israel’s Secretive KC-707 Re’em Tanker appeared first on The Aviationist.

NAVAIR is working to integrate the AGM-158C-1 LRASM (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile) on the U.S. Air Force’s F-15E Strike Eagles and F-15EX Eagle IIs, providing them with yet another tool for engaging surface targets at sea. The U.S. Air Force’s F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle IIs are now set to be armed with the […]

The post F-15E and F-15EX Set to Be Armed with AGM-158C LRASM appeared first on The Aviationist.

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration has announced the completion of the upgrade program of the new B61-12 nuclear weapons, and the impending start of manufacturing for the B61-13 variant. The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has just announced, seventeen years after starting the design process, that production of the most recent American tactical […]

The post U.S. Completes Upgrade of B61-12 Nuclear Weapons and Prepares Production of B61-13 Warheads appeared first on The Aviationist.

Scheduled to fly in mid 2025, Leonardo has unveiled an updated design of its Proteus rotary wing uncrewed aerial system demonstrator for the UK Ministry of Defence. Proteus is the culmination of a £60 million contract awarded in 2022 to Leonardo by the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Future Capability Group. […]

The post Further Detail Emerges On Leonardo’s Proteus Rotary Wing UAS Demonstrator appeared first on The Aviationist.

Super Hornets, which have been armed with five AIM-120s and four AIM-9Xs since April 2024, were recently referred to as “Murder Hornets” in a year-in-review factsheet published by the U.S. Navy. In a recently published year-in-review factsheet, titled “Delivering Warfighting Advantage,” the U.S. Navy mentioned under the ‘Aviation’ column that the Super Hornet’s heavy air-to-air […]

The post U.S. Navy Officially Adopts ‘Murder Hornet’ Moniker for F/A-18E/F Equipped with Nine Air-to-Air Missiles appeared first on The Aviationist.

The achievement of the IOC follows the first combat deployment of NGJ-MB with VAQ-133’s EA-18Gs embarked aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has disclosed on Jan. 6, 2025, that the U.S. Navy declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) system in December 2024. The […]

The post Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band Achieves Initial Operational Capability appeared first on The Aviationist.

The AN/ALQ-250 EPAWSS achieved the Initial Operational Capability in early 2024 and is currently being fielded on the new F-15EX Eagle II and retrofitted on the F-15E Strike Eagle. The U.S. Air Force has approved the full rate production of the F-15’s AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System. The service previously expected to award a […]

The post F-15’s Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System Moves to Full Rate Production appeared first on The Aviationist.

According to unconfirmed Turkish reports, Saudi Arabia has discussed a possible purchase of over 100 advanced Kaan fighters, as the Middle Eastern country seeks to bolster its military capabilities. Turkish media are reporting that Saudi Arabia might be interested in acquiring over 100 TAI (Turkish Aerospace Industries) Kaan fighter jets, the advanced fighter aircraft developed […]

The post Saudi Arabia Reportedly Eyeing Purchase of 100 TAI Kaan Fighters from Turkey appeared first on The Aviationist.

U.S. Air Force E-11A aircraft equipped with the BACN (Battlefield Airborne Communications Node) payload took part in a C-UAS and IAMD exercise in the Arabian Peninsula. Airmen from the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing teamed up with their Saudi counterparts for Exercise Yellow Sands, a regional training event aimed at boosting teamwork in Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems […]

The post U.S. E-11A ‘Flying Gateway’ Takes Part In Counter-Drone And Integrated Missile Defense Exercise In Middle East appeared first on The Aviationist.

JetZero is working on the subscale BWB aircraft demonstrator, named “Pathfinder,” while Northrop Grumman’s Scaled Composites division is fabricating the full-size airplane and has already produced test articles of components. The U.S. Air Force is collecting data from flight tests of a subscale version of its BWB (Blended-Wing Body) demonstrator to inform the full-scale aircraft’s […]

The post U.S. Air Force Tests “Pathfinder” Subscale Model of Blended-Wing Body Jet appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Hürkuş-II will replace the TAF’s current Hürkuş-B trainers, with the first 15 aircraft expected to be delivered this year and the remaining 40 being handed over by 2027. The new advanced version of Hürkuş, Turkey’s primary trainer aircraft, named Hürkuş-II, made its maiden flight on Dec. 30, 2024, marking its entry into the competitive […]

The post Turkey’s New Hürkuş-II Primary Flight Trainer Takes to the Skies appeared first on The Aviationist.

While the Cobras served in the PAF for a short period of just five years, the Broncos were used in the Philippines for over three decades. The Philippine Air Force’s (PAF) 15th Strike Wing retired two each of its two AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters and the last two OV-10 Bronco aircraft at the Major Daniel […]

The post Philippines Air Force Retires OV-10 Bronco and AH-1S Cobra After Long Service in Counter-Insurgency Operations appeared first on The Aviationist.

On Sept. 8, 2024, months before the final collapse of the Assad regime, elite Israeli Air Force units assaulted an Iranian facility in Syrian territory, over 124 miles from Israel, destroyed the missile-making complex, and exfiltrated unscathed after 2.5 hours. Israel has recently revealed footage and details of a daring and complex raid that was […]

The post Israel Reveals Daring Raid on Iranian Missile Factory Deep Inside Syria appeared first on The Aviationist.

The State Department has approved the possible FMS, worth a staggering $3.64 billion, which will provide the Japan Air Self Defense Force with up to 1,200 AMRAAMs to be used by its fighters. The U.S. State Department has approved a possible FMS (Foreign Military Sale) of AIM-120D-3 and AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles) […]

The post U.S. Approves Massive Foreign Military Sale of 1,200 AIM-120D-3 and AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM Missiles to Japan appeared first on The Aviationist.

Ukraine is expected to receive a first batch of three Mirage 2000-5F fighters in the first quarter of 2025, with France also providing six-month training courses for both pilots and ground personnel and a full support package. Six months after French President Macron announced that an unspecified number of Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighters is set […]

The post Ukrainian Pilots Reportedly Completed Training on Mirage 2000-5F appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force has begun a tender process for the replacement of its two Boeing 757 aircraft, naming Boeing 737 MAX 8s or Airbus A321s as their preferred options. Entering Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) service in 2003 after ten years with Dutch airline Transavia, the air arm’s two Boeing 757-200s […]

The post Royal New Zealand Air Force Wants 737s or A321s to Replace Aging Boeing 757s appeared first on The Aviationist.