Multi-Role Fighter

Final USMC TAV-8B to complete overhaul returns to VMA-223

Another major milestone in the drawing down of the USMC’s McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II programme has been passed by the US Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) after it recently completed the final overhaul of the last dual-seat TAV-8B fighter-trainer at MCAS Cherry Point in North Carolina

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Lightnings go Dutch: Assessing the impact of the F-35A on the RNLAF

As the second of three Royal Netherlands Air Force squadrons continues its transition from the F-16AM/BM (MLU) Fighting Falcon to the F-35A Lightning II, Gert Kromhout assesses the fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighter's impact on the Dutch air arm

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Switzerland bids fond farewell to world's only civil-operated Mirage IIIDS

The end of an era was marked at Payerne Air Base in Switzerland on May 25, when former Swiss Air Force-operated Dassault Mirage IIIDS (ex-serial J-2012, now registered as HB-RDF) – the only airworthy, civil-registered example of the fighter in the world – completed its final flight

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How the USAF is planning to massively change its frontline fighter fleets

The USAF’s fighter force comprises a disparate mix of aircraft types – some of which are rather old – and there are urgent plans to recapitalize the fleet with a mix of new and upgraded types, as Jon Lake explains

NASA readies ex-USMC F/A-18D for chase mission ahead of X-59 testing

A former USMC-operated F/A-18D Hornet that was acquired by NASA from the US Navy in 2021 has been rolled out at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center – a part of Edwards AFB in California – after being rejuvenated and repainted ahead of its planned use in supporting the testing of the administration’s X-59 QueSST technology demonstrator

Argentine Navy scraps plan to reactivate ex-French Super Étendards

The Argentine Navy has abandoned plans to reactivate the five former French Fleet Air Arm-operated Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard IVM naval strike fighters that were purchased in 2019, as the nation is unable to return the aircraft to operational service

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Where will Ukraine's F-16s come from and how will pilots be trained?

Kyiv’s quest for Western-made fighters was handed a major boost of May 19, when US President Joe Biden backed international plans for Ukrainian Air Force pilots to be trained to fly the long-desired F-16 Fighting Falcon and for European operators of the multi-role fighter to transfer their ‘Vipers’ to Ukraine

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How does the US Navy qualify its F-35C pilots for carrier ops?

Preparing pilots for deployment is a critical aspect of the US Navy’s mission. Soren Nielsen examines how VFA-97 ‘Warhawks’ gained their carrier qualifications after transitioning to the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II strike fighter

Australian KC-30A conducts refuelling trials with JASDF F-15Js

The Royal Australian Air Force has completed air-to-air refuelling trials with Boeing F-15J/DJ Eagle fighters from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force for the first time

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Turkey rolls out first TF-X stealth fighter prototype

As Turkey continues to demonstrate the growing might of its domestic aerospace/defence industry, Turkish Aerospace Industries – the nation’s largest aircraft manufacturer – publicly unveiled the first prototype of its new fifth-generation stealth fighter, the National Combat Aircraft (MMU) during a ceremony in Ankara on May 1