Tornado’s two-seat teams – insights from the back seat
In the April 2019 issue of AirForces Monthly, Thomas Newdick spoke to two of the final navigators to fly the ‘Tonka’ – Flt Lts Phil McGlone and Sam Baker
USAF carries out final operational E-8C JSTARS sortie
The USAF has marked the end of an era in airborne command, control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations after the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) fleet flew its final operational mission on September 21
USAF welcomes first Joby Aviation eVTOL to Edwards AFB
The USAF’s Emerging Technologies Integrated Test Force (ET-ITF) took delivery of its first experiment electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at Edwards AFB, California, on September 25
Italian Tornados – Combat operations
Italian Air Force Tornados have been involved in numerous operations. In an article for Key Publishing in 2015, Riccardo Niccoli looked back at the times they have been in harm’s way
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst bids farewell to final Stratotanker
The 141st Air Refueling Squadron – a component of the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 108th Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst – bid farewell to its last KC-135R Stratotanker on September 20
US scrambles more jets to deter Israel-Hamas conflict escalation
In support of the Pentagon’s efforts to keep the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas from sparking a broader regional conflict, the USAF has scrambled additional A-10C Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft and F-15E Strike Eagle multi-role strike fighters to US Central Command’s area of responsibility
What the final role was for the last ever Tornado F3s that flew from Boscombe Down
In the July 2012 issue of Aviation News Editor Dino Carrara reported from MoD Boscombe Down on the work being undertaken by the last Tornado F3s in service anywhere in the world
Inside story of the world's first frontline Tornado squadron
Group Captain Peter Gooding (Ret’d) provides insights into the Tornado’s early RAF career as he tells Dino Carrara what it was like to be the boss of the world’s first frontline squadron flying the then new swing-wing bomber.
USAF U-2S completes first flight after avionics upgrade
In partnership with Lockheed Martin’s coveted Skunk Works division, the USAF has completed the first flight of an upgraded U-2S Dragon Lady as part of the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft’s ongoing Avionics Tech Refresh programme
USAF unleashes the BEAST with new B-1B upgrade package
One of the USAF’s two supersonic-capable B-1B Lancer strategic bomber wings – the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB in Texas – is pioneering a package that will modernise the fleet much faster than would have otherwise been possible
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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