How does the Italian Air Force train its pilots?
Joe Campion details the process prospective pilots undergo before becoming official military aircrew of the Aeronautica Militare.
Exercise Air Defender latest: Visiting aircraft confirmed
A new updated list of participating aircraft for Exercise Air Defender 2023 has been released today (May 10) by the German MOD.
Italian Air Force Air Chief reveals his top priorities
In March, the Aeronautica Militare celebrated 100 years of operations. Joe Campion recently visited Italy to explore the air force’s current structure and its future aspirations
NATO aircraft descend on Lossiemouth for major exercise
RAF Lossiemouth is playing a major role in NATO’s Exercise Formidable Shield, which started on May 8 and runs until May 26.
No 8 Squadron veterans salute lost Shackleton crew
Loss of WR965 commemorated at International Bomber Command Centre
Back to Barksdale: USAF B-52Hs return from Indo-Pacific
Having operated from Andersen AFB in Guam since March, four B-52H Stratofortress bombers and approximately 190 personnel from the USAF’s 96th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron have returned home to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana; marking the end of another Bomber Task Force deployment to the Indo-Pacific region
US Air National Guard's 'Badger Air Militia' receive first F-35A Lightning IIs
The Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing welcomed an initial batch of three F-35A Lightning IIs on April 25. The fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighters arrived at Truax Field ANGB in Madison, Wisconsin, following a ferry flight from Luke AFB, Arizona
SR-71 mission: Flying into a warzone
In the March 2013 issue of FlyPast Warren E Thompson described an incredible long-range mission during the Yom Kippur War
The time I flew an SR-71 for Kelly Johnson and the Skunk Works
Key.Aero’s Dino Carrara interviewed pilot Ed Yeilding to hear about his time assigned to the SR-71 Blackbird. In this last section of the interview he describes being asked to do a special flight for the Skunk Works
When the Queen first reviewed her air force
In 1953, the new monarch inspected the RAF at its early post-war height
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.
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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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