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.

KAI plots KF-21’s first live-fire Meteor launch for 2024

Korea Aerospace Industries’ (KAI’s) KF-21 Boramae fighter is the first non-West European platform to be integrated with MBDA’s Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM), and a first live-fire test launch has been planned for early 2024

Spanish Typhoon testbed supports Sniper pod trials

The Spanish Air and Space Force is currently using its Eurofighter EF-2000 Instrumented Production Aircraft 4 (IPA4) to support a flight test campaign focusing on the integration of Lockheed Martin’s AN/AAQ-33 Sniper advanced targeting pod onto the Typhoon fleets employed by the air arms of Kuwait and Qatar

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How do Iranian cruise missiles pose a major threat to Israel?

As Israel wages war on Hamas it has come under increased attack from Iran’s cruise missiles and suicide drones. Babak Taghvaee looks at the threat posed by these weapons and the proxy groups using them

P-51 airborne from its old base, 66 years on

Ex-Royal New Zealand Air Force Mustang makes maiden post-restoration flight

Brazilian Air Force gains fifth modernised E-99M

Embraer Defense & Security announced it had handed over its fifth modernised EMB 145-based E-99M AEW&C aircraft to the Brazilian Air Force on November 23, marking an important milestone for the upgrade programme as it saw the first aircraft delivered in its Full Operational Capability configuration

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RAF Typhoons participate in large Qatari exercise

RAF Typhoons have recently taken part in Exercise Ferocious Falcon V – a large-scale Qatari-led multinational exercise.

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USAF AC-130J strikes Iranian-backed militants in Iraq

A USAF-operated AC-130J Ghostrider fixed-wing gunship was called in to hit an Iranian-backed militant group after they fired a ballistic missile at American forces at Al-Asad Air Base, Iraq, the Pentagon has said

USAF receives seventh E-11 BACN from Bombardier

Bombardier Defense has announced that it has delivered another E-11 Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) to the USAF, growing the number of the airborne communications relay and gateway system aircraft in US military service to seven airframes

RAF Shadows conduct ISTAR operations over Eastern Mediterranean

Two RAF-operated Shadow R2s (ZZ418 and ZZ507) deployed via Naples to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, on October 25 to carry out ISR operations over the Eastern Mediterranean

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B-2 vs B-21: What's the difference between the USAF's old and new stealth bombers? 

The USAF has officially entered the age of sixth-generation combat aircraft with the B-21 Raider. Combat Aircraft Journal reports on the rollout of America’s second stealth bomber and analyzes what we know so far about this highly classified aircraft

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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