Aviation Articles

Italian AMX hits 30

THE AERONAUTICA Militare (Italian Air Force) celebrated two important milestones – 30 years of the AMX A-11 in Italian service and the 80th anniversary of the 51° Stormo – during an event at Istrana air base in the northeast of the country on September 13.

ANALYSIS: Hypersonic missiles may save B-1B

WHILE SENIOR USAF officials consider divesting B-1Bs in favour of more B-21s, an experiment by the service’s 412th Test Wing (TW) may point to a reprieve for the bomber.

'Dragon Lady' back in the UK

USAF U-2 strategic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing/99th Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, California, deployed to RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, recently.

ANALYSIS: More problems for Pegasus

THE USAF’s troubled KC-46A tanker has run into more difficulties, meaning it’s unlikely to make a first operational deployment for up to another four years.

ANALYSIS: MBDA reveals new missiles for Tempest

EUROPEAN MISSILE manufacturer MBDA showed a range of weapon concepts that could be further developed under the Tempest future fighter programme at the Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) show in London in September.

Test contract signed for Protector

THE MINISTRY of Defence has signed a contract worth around £100m to complete testing of the Protector RG1 remotely piloted aircraft (RPA).

Second UK Poseidon flies

BOEING HAS conducted a maiden flight of the second P-8A Poseidon MRA1 for the RAF.

First aircraft lands on HMS Prince of Wales

ROYAL NAVY Merlin HM2 ZH856 from 820 Naval Air Squadron became the first aircraft to touch down on the deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) on September 23.

Italy joins Tempest

ITALY HAS become the second partner nation to join the UK’s Tempest sixth-generation fighter project.

LCA Navy makes first arrested landing

AN INDIAN Navy Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) LCA Navy fighter caught an arresting cable at a shore-based test facility in Goa for the first time on September 13.