Naval Aviation

Latest in Naval Aviation

T-45 Goshawks rest aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort as part of the advanced course of the Student Naval Aviator strike pilot training program Sept. 15. The Goshawk is a fully carrier-capable version of the British Aerospace Hawk Mk-60. It was developed as a jet flight trainer for the Navy and Marine Corps. The T-45s are with Training Air Wing 1 from Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss. and TRAWING-2 from NAS Kingsville, Texas. The TRAWINGs chose MCAS Beaufort as an alternate training site due to its accommodations and facilities for jet aircraft.
Air

T-45 Navy Jet Trainer Fleet Grounded After Engine Incident

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 13, 2025

U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler from Electronic Attack Squadron 135
Air

EA-18G Growler Crashes Into San Diego Bay (Updated)

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Feb 12, 2025

A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet from the "Mighty Strikes" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 94, flies over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility while conducing a mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve Oct. 2, 2020. VFA-94 is assigned to Carrier Air Wing 17, deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the flagship of Nimitz Carrier Strike Group.
Air

F/A-18’s Infrared Search And Track System Has “Significant Reliability Problems”

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 3, 2025

While the 1950s was a time of truly unusual and fast-paced innovation in military aerospace, one of the more bizarre projects was for a nuclear-armed, liquid-fueled development of the Sidewinder air-to-air missile.
Air

The Navy Nearly Built A Nuclear Armed “Super Sidewinder” Air-To-Air Missile

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 1, 2025

U.S. Navy officials have laid out several priorities they say are key to ensuring the service's carrier air wings will be able to succeed in future conflicts, especially a high-end fight in the Pacific.
Sea

Carrier Air Wing’s Key Priorities To Win In Future Pacific Fight Laid Out By Navy

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jan 30, 2025

F-35Bs on san clémente island for austere operations training during Steel Knight exercise.
Air

We Went With Marine F-35Bs As They Fought A Mock War From A Pacific Island

By James Deboer

Updated on Jan 22, 2025

Navy MH-60 drone kill in the Red Sea.
Air

Navy MH-60 Seahawk Helicopter Has Shot Down Its First Drone

By Hope Hodge Seck

Updated on Jan 16, 2025

The U.S. Navy is now officially using "Murder Hornet" to refer to F/A-18E/F fighters armed with five AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and four AIM-9X Sidewinder.
Air

Murder Hornet Nickname For F/A-18s Equipped With Nine Air-To-Air Missiles Now Official

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jan 6, 2025

A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet was conducting a refueling mission over the Red Sea when it was downed in a friendly fire incident this past weekend.
Sea

F/A-18F Shot Down By Friendly Cruiser Was In The Middle Of A Refueling Mission

By Joseph Trevithick, Geoff Ziezulewicz, Howard Altman

Posted on Dec 23, 2024

U.S. Marine Corps F-35C Joint Strike Fighters took part in recent strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, the Pentagon has disclosed.
Air

F-35C Naval Joint Strike Fighters Fly Combat Missions Against Houthis In Yemen

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Nov 13, 2024

Another long-serving U.S. military aircraft has completed its final operational deployment, with the return of the U.S. Navy’s EP-3E Aries II surveillance platform from the 5th Fleet area of operations. The countdown to the spy plane’s final retirement is now on, which will see its vital intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission handed over fully to the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance drone.
Air

EP-3E Aries II Spy Plane Has Flown Its Last Operational Mission

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 7, 2024

J-15T fighter jet arrives in Zhuhai ahead of the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China 2024, on November 6, 2024 in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province of China. The 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition will be held in Zhuhai from November 12 to 17.
Air

China’s J-15T Enhanced Carrier-Based Flanker Officially Unveiled

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 6, 2024

A U.S. Navy F/A-18F and F-35, both assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 9, fly over the Point Mugu Sea Range in Southern California with a U.S. Air Force F-15 during Gray Flag 2024 on Sept. 24, 2024. Gray Flag is an annual large-force test event that brings the joint force together to test and evaluate multi-domain systems in a maritime environment, ensuring our nation’s warfighters are equipped with effective, interoperable systems that will help them deter aggression, protect our nation’s prosperity and security, and return home safely to their families. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Kory Hughs)
Air

Navy Posts Its First AIM-174 Missile-Armed F/A-18F Super Hornet ‘Glamour Shots’

By Howard Altman

Updated on Nov 6, 2024

USMC F-35B
Air

Final Conclusions On Bizarre Crash Of ‘Zombie’ F-35B That Flew Without A Pilot For 64 Miles Released

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Oct 31, 2024

The U.S. Navy is asking for new ideas about how to increase the unrefueled range of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.
Air

New Ways To Stretch F/A-18 Super Hornet’s Range Sought By Navy

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Oct 23, 2024

German Navy P-8
News & Features

German P-8s To Fly From U.K. To Help Counter Russian Submarine Threat

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Oct 23, 2024