Retirement
Indian Navy bids fond farewell to final Il-38SD Sea Dragons
INAS 315 ‘Winged Stallions’ – which has the unique distinction of operating the same aircraft type throughout its entire 46-year history – finally stood down the Indian Navy’s last Ilyushin Il-38SD Sea Dragon maritime patrol aircraft on October 31. Angad Singh reports from INS Hansa in Goa
US border agency begins to scale back AEW-configured Orion fleet
The US Customs and Border Protection agency’s Air and Marine Operations branch has started scaling back its P-3B operations and has retired at least two of its radar-equipped Orions
VIDEO: British Army bids farewell to 665 Squadron and final Gazelles
Three Westland Gazelle AH1s from No 665 Squadron – a component of the Army Air Corps’ 5 Regiment and the British Army’s last frontline Gazelle unit – completed the type’s final operational flight from Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove in Northern Ireland on October 23
Australia permanently grounds MRH-90 fleet after fatal crash
Australia has retired its 45-strong fleet of MRH-90 Taipan tactical transport helicopters early, following a fatal accident that occurred near Hamilton Island, Queensland, during Exercise Talisman Sabre 23 on July 28
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
RAF urged to mothball Tranche 1 Typhoons instead of scrapping them
The RAF’s Tranche 1 Typhoon FGR4 fighters should be mothballed rather than scrapped, an influential group of British MPs have concluded in a new investigative report
UK MOD slammed for creating capability gap after axing RAF C-130J fleet
The decision to retire the RAF’s fleet of C-130J Hercules C4/C5 tactical transports earlier than originally planned has left a capability gap in air mobility tasks and special forces operations, a report by an influential group of British MPs has found
USAF retires final ‘Big Safari’ NC-135W to the Boneyard
The USAF recently retired its last Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofan-powered NC-135W Stratolifter test aircraft after more than 50 years of operational service
Tinker AFB bids farewell to more E-3 Sentry AWACS
A further two E-3B/G Sentry aircraft have taken off from Tinker AFB for the final time, having been flown from the Oklahoma base to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, to be placed in long-term storage as the USAF continues to drawdown its ageing AWACS fleet
Belgium retires first F-16 from use after nearly 40 years of ops
The Belgium Air Force withdrew its first F-16AM (MLU) Fighting Falcon from operational use on September 8, after the multi-role fighter reached the 8,000 flight hour milestone