Airforce News

On this page you will find news from the world’s airforces including first flights, latest deployments, procurement programs, weapon upgrades, training and technology, fleet retirements, the changing operational theatres and missions.

Whether it is the RAF, France’s Armée de l’air or the United States Airforce, airforces around the world are buying new platforms, choosing between legacy fleets, which maybe Russian, European or American, and building their own domestic capabilities in sub-systems, missiles or whole aircraft.

Whether the manufacturing contracts are for domestic or foreign firms, worldwide instability is driving airforce fleet renewals, recapitalisation and investment in support infrastructure, military technology, offensive and defensive systems, from missiles, super and hypersonic, to chaff and directed infra-red countermeasures.

Qatari Hawks temporarily move to Leuchars

Qatar Emiri Air Force Hawk Mk 167s of 11 Squadron are currently operating from Leuchars Station in Fife, having relocated from the unit’s home base of RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire.

Baltic Air Policing: On the front line

In the March 2024 issue of Aviation News, Joris van Boven and Alex van Noije report from Lithuania as the Belgian Air Component becomes the latest Baltic Air Policing lead nation, taking on the role from the Italian Air Force

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Ukraine’s first future F-16 pilots complete basic flying training with RAF

The RAF revealed on February 24 that the first cohort of Ukrainian Air Force (UkrAF) pilots to receive basic flying training (BFT) in the UK have now completed their syllabus and are now learning to fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon

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Review of the new film ‘The Shamrock Spitfire’

Review by Tom Allett, Editor of FlyPast magazine

Italian Air Force marks end of HH-212A ops with final flight

The Italian Air Force’s (ItAF’s) 9° Stormo (Wing) held a celebratory event at Grazzanise Air Base on February 22 to mark the final flight of the HH-212A combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) helicopter fleet

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Maryland ANG to lose flying mission after upcoming A-10C departure

When its 21-strong fleet of A-10C Thunderbolt II close air support/ground attack aircraft are retired from use, the Maryland Air National Guard’s 175th Wing will transition to a new cyber-based mission. Announced on March 7, the move will leave the Maryland ANG without a flying mission

T-7A Red Hawk endures month-long climatic testing at Eglin AFB

The USAF has marked a significant milestone in the operational development of its new advanced jet trainer, the T-7A Red Hawk, after a Boeing-operated test aircraft (21-7003) completed a month-long extreme weather trial inside the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin AFB, Florida, on February 23

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Red Arrows fly with Gnat to mark 60th anniversary

A Folland Gnat has recently flown in formation with the RAF’s Red Arrows to help mark the team’s 60th display season

Stunning aurora over HMS Prince of Wales

Personnel embarked aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales were treated to a stunning display by the northern lights

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Ukraine claims it shot down 13 Russian military jets in February

As of February 29, the Ukrainian Air Force (UkrAF) has claimed to have shot down a total of 13 Russian military fixed-wing aircraft since January 30, marking the highest number of Russian military jet losses in a single month and the greatest increase in results for Ukraine’s anti-air operations since October 2022

Your source for all the latest Airforce and military aircraft news

As the latest fifth-generation platform, the Lockheed Martin F-35 is in use globally for international partner airforces, from the United States Airforce (USAF) to the RAF and the Australian airforce, the sixth-generation fighters are already on the drawing board.

Find out which airforces are looking at virtual cockpits, networked platforms and piloted aircraft working with drone wingmen for the stealth fighters of the 2030s and discover which airforces are planning to replace their existing fleets with the fighter planes of the future.

Military Aircraft Retirement and Technology Updates

International forces around the world are deploying military aircraft manufactured in France, Russia and America including aircraft from Saab, France’s Dassault Rafale, Russian Mig-29s and the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon, which it will operate for years to come.

What will also be flying well into the next decade is the USAF’s Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter. The next decade will also see the USAF’s newest stealth bomber, the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider enter service, while the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber will be in its seventh decade of operational service after refurbishments and restorations. This page is the only place you need to be to find out all the latest news on retirements and new deployments.

Be the first to find out which existing platforms such as France’s Dassault Mirage 2000 light weight jet and the Eurofighter Typhoon are facing the need for wholesale technology updates. The Eurofighter is being upgraded for an electronic warfare role in the 2020s and the USAF is improving some of its Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons with F-35 fifth generation technology.

From restorations to retirement and procurement, international projects for new networked technologies including piloted and autonomous platforms and the contracts to manufacture them, all of this fast-moving defence aviation news and analysis can be found here.

Related Airforce Topics

Want to find out more about other types of military aircraft? We have dedicated pages for the latest Military Aircraft Shows, Military Fighter Aircraft and all the latest cutting-edge Military Aircraft Technology.

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