HAL Tejas snubbed as Malaysia opts for KAI FA-50
In what was a close race between the Indian-made HAL Tejas and KAI’s FA-50 Fighting Eagle, it has been revealed that Malaysia will acquire 18 examples of the latter to fulfil the requirements set out in its Fighter Lead In Trainer-Light Combat Aircraft (FLIT-LCA) tender
The Monday Military Aviation Quiz 134
Welcome to the 134th Monday Military Aviation Quiz! How well do you know your modern military aircraft? Test your aircraft recognition skills here
France receives 21st A400M Atlas from Airbus
France’s Directorate General of Armaments announced that it had accepted delivery of another Airbus A400M Atlas heavy-lift tactical transport on February 14, increasing the number of examples delivered to the French Air and Space Force to 21 airframes
Singapore green lights additional F-35B purchase
Having concluded its evaluation of the F-35B Lightning II, the Republic of Singapore Air Force revealed it would exercise its option to acquire another eight examples of the STOVL-configured variant of the fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighter family on February 24
New Zealand retires first legacy C-130H(NZ) Hercules
The Royal New Zealand Air Force has withdrawn the first of its five-strong fleet of Lockheed C-130H(NZ) Hercules tactical transports from service after nearly 60 years of operations
Notorious ‘Blacksnakes’ to bid farewell to venerable A-10Cs
Having operated the venerable A-10C Thunderbolt II since 2010, the Indiana Air National Guard’s 122nd Fighter Wing ‘Blacksnakes’ will bid a fond farewell to the type after it recently announced it had formally been approved to convert to the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
Bell completes Bahraini AH-1Z programme
Bell Textron revealed on February 20 that it has completed the programme of record for Bahrain’s acquisition of 12 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, adding that the last six examples are on schedule to arrive in the Kingdom later this year
US donates four helicopters to the Dominican Republic
The US has donated a further four utility helicopters to the Dominican Republic – comprising two Bell TH-67A Creeks for the Dominican Republic Army and a pair of Bell UH-1H Super Huey IIs for the Dominican Republic Air Force – with all four aircraft arriving in-country on February 14
Former US Army Black Hawk suddenly appears in Ukraine
Of all the rotorcraft that have been donated from Western allies to Ukraine as it continues to bare the brunt of invading Russian forces, it seems that the first US-built helicopter to be seen involved in the conflict – a UH-60A – has unexpectedly appeared in the service of the secretive Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
Romanian MiG-21s scrambled to chase down ‘phantom’ object
A pair of Romanian Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 LanceR B/C fighters were recently scrambled to intercept a small, unidentified aerial target that had been detected within national airspace at an altitude of approximately 36,000ft over southeast Romania