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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F-35B delays may leave RAF with just one deployable combat air squadron

Delays in confirming future orders of the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL)-capable Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighter could leave the RAF only able to field a single squadron for combat air operations, British MPs have been warned

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The inside story of Exercise Air Defender 23

A giant exercise under Luftwaffe leadership saw a mass deployment of fighters from the US to Germany to train with their European partners, as Dr Stefan Petersen reports

New Zealand declares Poseidon fleet operational as final aircraft arrives

The Royal New Zealand Air Force declared its newly acquired Boeing P-8A Poseidon fleet operational on July 1, just weeks before the air arm welcomed its fourth and final example of the US-built maritime patrol aircraft to RNZAF Base Ohakea, near Palmerston North in the Manawatu, on July 17

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Lives ‘put at risk’ as Russian fighter buzzes USAF MC-12W over Syria

Pentagon officials have said lives were ‘put at risk’ when a Sukhoi Su-35S Flanker-E fighter jet from the Russian Aerospace Forces came perilously close to a USAF intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft over Syria

USAF C-21As end 32-year CENTCOM mission

Having spent 32 years on continuous operations in the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, the Learjet C-21A has departed the area for its new home at Scott AFB in Illinois

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Royal F-35s – the UK’s stealthy defenders of the realm

An overview of the F-35B-equipped UK Lightning Force from a Key Publishing special magazine on the stealth fighter

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Unique formation concludes Me 262 UK tour

The Messerschmitt Foundation’s stunning Me 262 replica concluded its now celebrated UK visit with a unique flypast on July 18…

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RIAT 23: Saab eyes GlobalEye success in South Korea, France and NATO AEW&C bids

Having facilitated the debut appearance of its GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) from July 14-16, Saab shared its hope for export success for the swing-role platform in its ongoing bids with South Korea and NATO, while eyeing France as a prospective customer when it decides to part ways with its E-3F Sentry fleet

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USAF marks 100 years of air-to-air refuelling in Op Centennial Contact

To honor the centenary of its air-to-air refueling (AAR) capability, the USAF conducted a series of tanker-focused flyovers across all 50 US states, as well as some of its deployed locations, as part of Operation Centennial Contact on June 27

US green lights sale of P-8A Poseidons to Canada

US State Department approval has been granted for the possible Foreign Military Sale of 16 P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), related equipment and training/logistical support services to Canada for an estimated cost of $5.9bn

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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