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.

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How the Ukraine War has exposed vulnerabilities within Russia's Su-25 fleet

The protracted war in Ukraine has exposed key vulnerabilities of the ageing Su-25 fleet, leading to significant combat attrition while the type’s operational effectiveness has been unimpressive. This leads to a conclusion that the end of the Frogfoot’s career in Russia is in sight. Alexander Mladenov explains why

Florida ANG F-15C/Ds take part in combined exercise in Colombia

Several F-15C/D Eagles from the 159th Fighter Squadron ‘Boxin’ Gators’ – a component of the Florida ANG’s 125th Fighter Wing – deployed to Palanquero, Colombia, on August 18 to participate in the combined exercise, Àngel de los Andes and Relámpago VIII

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South Korea axes F-35B acquisition plan to grow F-35A fleet?

Seoul has requested a government-to-government Foreign Military Sale for the purchase of 25 fifth-generation F-35A Lightning II fighters has been approved by the US State Department

USAF gifts sole TE-8A JSTARS trainer to Louisiana college

Following its retirement from operational use, the USAF’s sole Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) training aircraft has been donated to the Sowela Technical Community College in Lake Charles, Louisiana

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Falklands Nimrods: a pilot's account of sub-hunting in the South Atlantic

Hunting for Argentinean naval threats to the UK’s Task Force during the Falklands War, the RAF Nimrod MR2 community largely stayed out of the limelight — but it did notch up a piece of air force history

Sweden accelerates Gripen E deliveries

On 12 September, Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) announced a SEK5.8 billion ($520 million) contract with Saab covering a newly funded package of capability enhancements and adjusted delivery schedules for the Gripen during

Falklands veteran Skyhawk restored to wartime configuration

Newly refurbished A-4 goes on show in Buenos Aires museum

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UK MOD told to consider advantages of operating mixed F-35A/B fleet

The UK parliament’s Defence Select Committee was told that the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review set out plans for the UK to buy 138 F-35B Lightning IIs. As of May 1, 2023, the UK had taken delivered of 31 F-35Bs, with a total of 48 due to be delivered by the end of 2025 as part of an initial Tranche 1 order

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RAF fast-jet training problems branded ‘farcical’ by new report

An engine fault on the RAF’s Hawk T2 advanced jet trainers has caused substantial delays in fast-jet pilot training and has cost the UK MOD more than £50m, a report by an influential group of British MPs has found

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World first as F-35A jets land on road

Footage has been released of two F-35A Lightning II stealth jets landing and taking off from a public road as part of a NATO exercise.

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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