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.

193rd SOW adopts new mission as first Commando II arrives

As part of the 193rd Special Operations Wing’s (SOW’s) ongoing conversion to the Lockheed Martin MC-130J Commando II, the unit received the first of its new tactical tanker-transport aircraft on February 2

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How the Cold War RAF evaluated new aircraft or tactics

When Fighter Command needed a new aircraft, piece of equipment or tactic evaluating, it turned to its in-house experts at the Central Fighter Establishment. A former CFE pilot recalled his tour with this unit

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DCS: Black Shark 3 interview

We invited Eagle Dynamics’ project manager, Andrey Chizh, to talk to us about the work being done on the third iteration of their highly popular DCS: Black Shark series.

UK Lightning Force struck by maintenance crew shortage

The introduction of the UK’s Lightning Force is being held back due to a lack of trained ground crew personnel; a British government minister has revealed

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F-22 marks first ‘kill’ as US deals with intruding Chinese spy balloon

After spending four days controversially floating across the continental US, the Chinese surveillance balloon saga reached its climax on February 4, when it was finally shot down by a USAF-operated F-22A Raptor – marking the type’s first official ‘kill’ in operational service

USAF awards $2.25bn contract to Boeing for additional KC-46As

The USAF awarded Boeing a contract - worth $2.25bn - on January 27 for the manufacture and delivery of 15 more KC-46A Pegasus tankers under Production Lot 9

Special-schemed C-130H revealed for centenary of US ANG’s ‘Flying Yankees’

The Connecticut Air National Guard’s 103rd Airlift Wing ‘Flying Yankees’ unveiled a Lockheed C-130H Hercules wearing a commemorative paint scheme on February 5 to honour the wing’s centenary, which will be celebrated this year

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Falcon Strike: Italy works to enhance fifth-gen fighter combat tactics

As the Italian Air Force prepares to mark its centenary on March 28, 2023, it hosted a training exercise focused on fifth-generation fighter tactics, Combat Aircraft Journal visited Amendola Air Base in Northern Italy for Exercise Falcon Strike 22 and spoke to those involved

US Air National Guard updates 148th FW F-16s with new radar pods

Subject matter experts from across the USAF gathered at Duluth ANGB in Minnesota to exercise the end-to-end employment of the AN/ASQ-236 Dragon’s Eye radar pod – which was recently fielded on the resident Fighting Falcons of the 148th FW – and to establish a plan to operationalise the pod for all ANG-operated F-16C/Ds

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USAF E-3s deployed to Europe

For the first time since Russia launched its large scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, two US Air Force Boeing E-3G Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft deployed to Europe

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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