Air(Page 9)

Latest in Air

The USS Florida nuclear powered guided missile submarine returned to its homepart in Kings Bay July 27, 2024 after 727 days at sea.
Air

Secretive Guided Missile Submarine USS Florida’s Leadership Talks About Their 727-Day Deployment

By Howard Altman

Posted on Jul 31, 2024

The US Air Force's top officer in Europe has highlighted how kamikaze drones present threats, as well as opportunities, especially for smaller friendly countries that might not be able to afford higher-end capabilities.
Air

Long-Range Kamikaze Drones Offer ‘Cheap’ Strike Opportunities For U.S., Allies: USAF General

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 31, 2024

Russian Telegram channels say a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter was down by a drone, the first time that has happened.
Air

Ukraine Situation Report: Russians Say Mi-8 Hip Helicopter Was Shot Down By Drone

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 31, 2024

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall has shed some more light on the status of the new sixth-generation stealth combat jet under development as part of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. “We’re taking a pause,” Kendall said this morning, before reiterating that while fighter at the heart of the wider NGAD initiative will have a human pilot to start with, an optionally crewed version might be developed too.
Air

Air Force Secretary ‘Absolutely Confident’ 6th Gen Crewed Fighter Will Move Forward (Updated)

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 30, 2024

Nulcear Warhead inventory released by NNSA
Nuclear

Just How Many Nuclear Weapons Does The U.S. Actually Have?

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Jul 30, 2024

Ukrainians F-16s will immediately be able to get more out of stocks Western munitions that have already been deliverd, as well as other benefits.
Air

F-16s Will Let Ukraine Get More Out Of Western Munitions: USAF’s Top Officer In Europe

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 30, 2024

New Russian drone in use in Ukraine.
Air

New Russian Long-Range Drone Appears In Ukraine

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 30, 2024

The US Air Force says a program to explore low cost 'air vehicle' concepts that could be turned into cruise missiles or used for other purposes is as much about shaking up industrial base and supply chain status quos.
Air

Shaking Up U.S. Industrial Base Key To ‘Cheap’ Cruise Missile Program

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 29, 2024

Three German Eurofighter EF2000s have completed a record-breaking endurance flight for the multirole fighter. Remaining in the air for a total of 10 hours 31 minutes, the trio of combat aircraft flew from Japan to Hawaii today, supported by aerial refueling tankers that included KC-135 Stratotankers operated by private aerospace firm Metrea, a contractor-owned and operated aerial refueling business that recently acquired of 14 KC-135s from the French Air and Space Force.
Air

German Eurofighters Make Record-Breaking Flight With Help From Private Aerial Refueling Company

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 27, 2024

NATO has selected AIrbus, Leonardo and Lockheed Martin Sikorsky to provide concept studies for the Next Generation Rotor Craft.
Air

NATO Selects Three Companies For Next-Generation Rotorcraft Concept Study

By Howard Altman

Posted on Jul 26, 2024

A new picture offering the best look to date at a Ukrainian MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter armed with GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs has disclosed the use of a special pylon with a mysterious feature in front.
Air

First Look At Mystery Weapon Pylon Ukrainian MiG-29s Use To Carry Small Diameter Bombs

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 26, 2024

The U.S. Air Force is planning to retire its remaining RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance drones by the end of the 2027 Fiscal Year. The service says it has become clear that the RQ-4s would be overly vulnerable in any future conflict against a peer or near-peer adversary, but it’s not clear what aircraft (or other assets) might fill the resulting capability gap. This only adds to the growing evidence that a top-secret, high-flying, stealth spy drone, commonly referred to as the RQ-180, or variants or derivatives thereof, is getting close to entering service, if it isn’t already being employed operationally on some level.
Air

Air Force Chief Hints At Existence Of Clandestine Spy Aircraft

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 26, 2024

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new version of its Sniper targeting pod with added networking capabilities primarily designed to enable new connectivity between fourth-generation fighters and stealthy F-35s, but which also offers the ability to create localized 'kill webs' with various assets in the air and on the ground.
Air

Networked Sniper Pod Will Let 4th-Generation Fighters Create ‘Kill Webs’ With F-35s

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 26, 2024

Greece has made good on its promise to buy F-35 stealth fighters, confirming today that it will buy an initial batch of 20 of the aircraft at a cost of around $3.5 billion. The decision is an important step in the modernization of the Hellenic Air Force, which has recently inducted other new combat aircraft types, while plans to retire older jets have also been unveiled. The move also has a particular resonance in terms of Greece’s tense relations with regional rival Turkey, which was booted out of the F-35 program, after buying Russian-made S-400 air defense systems.
Air

Greece Buying F-35s Widens Qualitative Gap With Turkey

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 26, 2024

US Special Operations Command has been tasked to lead the so-called "left-of-launch" fight against drones before they can get airborne or maybe are even produced in the first place.
Air

Destroying Drones Before Launch Is Becoming A Major Mission For U.S. Special Operators

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 25, 2024

F-15EX and J16, both two seaters, but one uses the second crewman in a different capacity than the traditional weapon system officer role.
Air

USAF Should Look At China’s Future Multi-Crew Fighter Model For F-15EX

By Major Joshua “Soup” Campbell

Posted on Jul 25, 2024

Chinese H-6-series aircraft have flown off the coast of Alaska for what appears to be the first time in an important show of force along with Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers.
Air

Chinese H-6 Missile Carrier Jets Appear For The First Time Off Alaska (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 25, 2024

Ukraine's low-cost acoustic drone detection network is gaining increasing interest from the U.S. and allies.
Air

Ukraine’s Acoustic Drone Detection Network Eyed By U.S. As Low-Cost Air Defense Option

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 24, 2024

The United Kingdom is advancing the build of a new fighter demonstrator as part of its Tempest next-generation air combat program. The demonstrator, so far only known as the Flying Technology Demonstrator, is planned to fly within the next three years and its progress in an important boost for the Tempest stealth fighter — and wider Future Combat Air System (FCAS) — program, the future of which has recently begun to be questioned in some quarters.
Air

Tempest Stealth Fighter Flying Demonstrator Takes Shape

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 24, 2024

The ballooning cost of the US Air Force's Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program is one of the drivers behind uncertainly over the future of its sixth-generation combat jet effort, which could evolve into a fully uncrewed platform.
Air

Next Generation Air Dominance Fighter Uncertainty Tied To Sentinel ICBM Woes

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 24, 2024

General Atomics has told TWZ that it’s looking at adapting its ship-based Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arresting Gear, EMALS and AAG, respectively, for use from land bases. While the company first developed EMALS and AAG for the U.S. Navy’s Ford class aircraft carriers, the growing interest in expeditionary campaigns ashore is driving new thinking about how to operate aircraft without access to large traditional runways.
Land

Ford Class Carrier’s EMALS Catapults, AAG Arrester Gear Eyed For Land Bases

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 23, 2024

A look at an AIM-174 air-launched version of the SM-6 missile with previously unseen markings under the wing of a Super Hornet aboard the USS Carl Vinson has emerged.
Air

AIM-174 Missile Seen On Super Hornet About To Launch From A Carrier For First Time

By Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 23, 2024

General Atomics has revealed a new fifth member of its Gambit modular drone family that is carrier-capable and that could represent a step forward in a broader naval aviation vision for the United Kingdom and other countries.
Air

New Carrier-Based Version Of The Gambit Family Of Combat Drones Is In The Works

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 23, 2024

The latest concept configuration for the tri-national next-generation Tempest fighter has been unveiled, with the latest design apparently being tailored for long-range performance combined with a significant payload capacity. The appearance of the new full-scale model comes amid growing questions about the future of the program, with the U.K. government poised to launch a major defense spending review.
Air

Latest Tempest Fighter Concept Prioritizes Range, Payload

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 22, 2024

First inside look at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new VIP transport aircraft
Air

Israel’s New 767 “Air Force One” Has Flown Its First Prime Minister Transport Mission

By Oliver Parken

Posted on Jul 22, 2024

Yemen Port Strike by Israeli Air Force
News & Features

Details Of Israel’s Long-Range Strike That Decimated Yemeni Port Emerge

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 21, 2024

Israel strikes fuel depot in Houthi-held Yemen territory.
News & Features

Israel Fighter Jets Carry Out Long-Range Retaliation Strike On Houthi Oil Depot In Yemen (Updated)

By Howard Altman

Updated on Jul 20, 2024

Recently retired Lancer Rage takes to the skies above Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona
Air

B-1B Named Rage Brought Out Of Mothballs To Fly Once Again (Updated)

By Oliver Parken

Posted on Jul 20, 2024

Laser dazzlers could defend tanks from one-way attack drones.
Land

Laser Dazzlers For Defending Tanks Against Marauding Drones Are An Untapped Countermeasure

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 18, 2024

An active expendable decoy, or AED capability has been tested and integrated on U.S. F-35 stealth fighters, resulting in a decision to field this operationally. The move apparently involves the British-made Leonardo BriteCloud, a small active-radar decoy that we have discussed at length in the past and which promises to enhance the F-35’s ability to defeat various types of air defense system threats.
Air

F-35s Set To Get Missile-Luring Expendable Active Decoys

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 18, 2024

119 F-16C Fighting Falcon 330MP AF Greece Kleine Brogel 2007
Air

Greek F-16C/Ds Lined Up For Ukraine: Report

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 17, 2024

B-2 sprit taking off.
Air

B-2 Stealth Bomber’s Latest Upgrade Is Here

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Jul 17, 2024

240416-N-HE057-1516 RED SEA (April 16, 2024) An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to the "Fighting Swordsmen" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 32, participates in an airborne change of command ceremony above the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) in the Red Sea, April 16. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East region. (Official U.S. Navy photo)
Air

F/A-18F Super Hornet Pilot Is First U.S. Female Aviator To Shoot Down An Enemy Aerial Threat

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 17, 2024

The definitive audit of all the weapons dropped by Doug Masters in his F-16 in Iron Eagle.
Air

Iron Eagle: The Definitive Audit Of How Many Weapons Doug Masters Launched From His F-16

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 17, 2024

New questions have emerged about the future of the F/A-XX Next Generation Fighter program, the budget for which a draft Senate defense bill would slash.
Air

Navy’s F/A-XX Next Generation Fighter Program Would Be Gutted Under Senate Defense Bill

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 16, 2024

Italy has announced plans to equip the F-35B stealth fighters operated by its naval air arm with the Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile (JSM), among other weapons. Details of the armament for the Italian Navy’s short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35Bs comes as the aircraft take part for the first time in the large-scale Pitch Black drills in Australia, aboard the aircraft carrier Cavour.
Air

Italy’s Carrier-Capable F-35B Stealth Fighters To Get New Advanced Weapons

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 16, 2024

An EA-18G Growler scored the types first ever air-to-air kill during a recently concluded deployment.
Air

EA-18G Growler Scored Its First Air-To-Air Kill

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 16, 2024

In a rare and impressive gathering, every airframe in the U.S. Coast Guard fleet converged at one location on 14 June 2024.
Air

Every Coast Guard Aircraft Type Pictured Together In Rare ‘Family Photo’

By Oliver Parken

Posted on Jul 15, 2024

Two legendary U.S. nuclear bombers, their first flights separated by almost half a century, took to the skies over Missouri at the weekend. The formation flights by the U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and the B-29 Doc — one of only two examples of the World War II-era bomber that are flying anywhere in the world — were, the service believes, the first time that these two legendary aircraft had flown together in this way.
Air

B-2 Spirit Joined By B-29 Superfortress For Unprecedented Nuclear Bomber Heritage Flight

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 15, 2024

The US Marine Corps is looking at new "buckshot-like" ammunition for its rifles, advanced optics, add-on jammers, and other new counter-drone capabilities for smaller units.
News & Features

Shotgun Pellet-Like Rifle Ammo, Gun-Mounted Jammers On Marine Anti-Drone Wishlist

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 15, 2024

Russia has, for the first time, published footage showing what it says is the carriage and launch of the guided, glide version of its huge FAB-3000 aerial bomb — a weapon that weighs over 6,600 pounds in its basic version. The weapon is among the more recently announced additions to the family of UMPK munitions, which add a pop-out wing kit and a guidance package to a range of existing freefall weapons, as you can read more about here.
Air

Russia’s Giant 6,000lb Glide Bomb Seen Launched From Su-34 For First Time

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 15, 2024

With one million FPV drones pledged to Ukraine by an international coalition, the need for pilots is only going to increase.
News & Features

Ukraine’s FPV Drone Obstacle Course Teaches How To Chase Vehicles, Fly Into Windows

By Howard Altman

Posted on Jul 13, 2024

F-35 deliveries will resume with a limited TR-3 software load.
Air

F-35 Deliveries Finally Cleared To Resume, New Jets Will Be Limited To Training

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 12, 2024

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter appears to have encountered some kind of problem at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, forcing an emergency egress by the pilot.
Air

F-35B Pilot Seen Leaping From Jet In Japan

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 12, 2024

The US Air Force has revealed that development of a new relatively low-cost stand-off precision-guided munition is for Ukraine.
Air

Air Force’s Cheap And Fast To Produce Long-Range Missile Is Being Built For Ukraine

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 12, 2024

Northrop Grumman has offer a new and interesting look at its secretive XRQ-73 drone.
Air

Our Best Look Yet At The XRQ-73 Hybrid-Electric Stealthy Flying Wing Drone

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 10, 2024

Private aerospace firm Metrea has bought France's entire fleet of KC-135 tanker in a major new bet on contractor aerial refueling services.
Air

All Of France’s KC-135 Tankers Bought By Private Aerial Refueling Company Metrea

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 10, 2024

There is no official replacement for the F-22 Raptor, says the head of Air Combat Command. That could be another blow to the withering Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
Air

Air Force Now Says It Has No Official F-22 Raptor Replacement

By Howard Altman

Posted on Jul 10, 2024

The Senate Armed Services Committee has directed the Pentagon to look into the possibility of transferring retired A-10 Warthog ground attack jets to Jordan.
Air

Surplus A-10 Warthogs Could End Up In The Jordanian Air Force

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Jul 10, 2024

The transfer of F-16s from Denmark and The Netherlands to Ukraine is now underway, U.S., Danish and Dutch officials say.
News & Features

Transfer Of F-16s To Ukraine Is Now Underway

By Howard Altman

Posted on Jul 10, 2024

Air Force special operations aviators are now training on AT-802U aircraft ahead of the arrival of their first OA-1K Sky warden light attack planes while questions grow about the program's future.
Air

AT-802U Trainers Arrive To Prepare USAF Aviators For A Murky Light Attack Future

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 9, 2024

A video has emerged showing a Greek warship knocking out a Houthi drone, in one of the latest such incidents in an ongoing campaign that has been waged by the Iranian-backed rebel group since last November, in the wake of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. In this encounter, the Greek Navy frigate apparently used its 127mm main gun, reinforcing the utility of these weapons against drones, while the drone itself was seen adjusting its flight altitude to make it harder to intercept.
Sea

Greek Warship Guns-Down Houthi Drone In New Video

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 9, 2024

Russia claims Ukraine plotted to steal one of its Tu-22M Backfire bombers.
Air

Ukraine Situation Report: Plot To Steal A Tu-22M3 Backfire Thwarted Russia Claims

By Howard Altman

Posted on Jul 9, 2024

A clearer view of how the AIM-174B air-launched version of the SM-6 fits into the US Navy's larger arsenal is emerging.
Air

AIM-174 Missile Brings Navy’s Future Counter-China Air Combat Strategy Into Focus

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Jul 9, 2024

The Ukrainian Air Force has, apparently for the first time, published a video showing in detail its U.S.-made HAWK surface-to-air missile system. As we have discussed in the past, the missile provides a useful boost to Ukraine’s middle-tier air and missile defense capacity and, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, has scored some notable ‘kills.’
Air

First Inside Look At Ukraine’s HAWK Air Defense Systems

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 8, 2024

The first weapon-ready plutonium pit for the future W81-! nuclear warhead has been produced.
Air

Problem Plagued Sentinel ICBM Program Will Press Ahead Despite Nearly Doubling In Cost

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 8, 2024

Ukraine’s unorthodox efforts to develop ways of defeating Russian drones have taken an apparent new turn, with the appearance of a light airplane carrying a sharpshooter to intercept uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). At this stage, few details about the concept are available, but it’s notable that the aircraft in question — the Ukrainian-made Aeroprakt A-22 ultralight — is a type that we have seen in the past adapted as one-way attack drone, something you can read more about here.
Air

Ultralight Drone Hunting Planes Now In Use In Ukraine

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 8, 2024

The Department of Energy has recieved two new AW139 helicopters specially configured for nuclear detection missions.
Air

AW139 Nuclear Detection Helicopters Join Department Of Energy Fleet, Replace Bell 412s

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 8, 2024

The Pentagon has made a new announcement about the first forward-deployments of Air Force F-35As and F-15EXs to Japan, as well as changes to the Marine Corps' F-35B force in that country.
Air

USAF F-35As To Be Based In Japan Replacing Wild Weasel F-16s

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 3, 2024

The Navy's Training Air Wing 2 (TAW-2) has hit one million flight hours with the T-45 jet trainer as plans to replace that are have been delayed.
Air

Navy Delays Jet Trainer Replacement As T-45 Wing Hits One Million Flight Hours

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 3, 2024

In a bizarre turn of events, Chinese-made Wing Loong drones, apparently headed to Libya, have been seized by Italian authorities off the coast of southern Italy. The disassembled drones were in crates that were marked as containing parts for wind turbines, in what seems to have been an effort to evade a United Nations arms embargo imposed on Libya.
Air

Chinese Wing Loong Drones Disguised As Wind Turbines Seized By Italy

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 3, 2024

The air-launched version of the hugely versatile SM-6 missile, also known as the RIM-174, has appeared on U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters at the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, the world’s largest international maritime exercise. We now also know the missiles are designated AIM-74B, indicating an air-to-air missile, although, as we have discussed in the past, the weapon also has the potential to strike high-priority ground targets, such as air defense sites, and warships, acting as a quasi-ballistic missile.
Air

AIM-174 Super Hornet-Launched Variant Of SM-6 Missile Breaks Cover In Hawaii (Updated)

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Jul 3, 2024

Kratos has developed a new launch trolley that allows its XQ-58 drones to take off from traditional runways.
Air

XQ-58 Valkyrie Can Now Take Off From Runways Thanks To New Launch Trolly System

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 3, 2024

MQ-9 with new electronic warfare pod
Air

New Electronic Warfare Pod Turns Marine MQ-9 Reaper Into “A Black Hole”

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 3, 2024