Multi-Role Fighter

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Poland conducts highway landing ops for first time in two decades

For the first time in 20 years, the Polish Air Force has conducted landings and take-offs using a public road. Bartosz Głowacki reports on the action from beside the highway airstrip

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USAF's third F-15EX Eagle II takes flight ahead of delivery

Boeing completed the first flight of the third F-15EX Eagle II for the USAF on October 27, some ten weeks after the new fighter was rolled off the assembly line. That day, two sorties were flown from the firm’s facility at St Louis Lambert International Airport in St Louis, Missouri

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Israel scores F-35's first confirmed cruise missile kill

An Israeli Air Force-operated F-35I Adir (or ‘Mighty One’) has been credited with scoring the type’s first known air-to-air kill against a cruise missile on October 31, probably using an AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile to achieve this feat

Omega KDC-10 tanker refuels deployed USAF F-16Cs in new first

The USAF recently conducted the first commercial air-to-air refuelling of F-16C Fighting Falcon fighters while supporting a deployment in the Indo-Pacific theatre

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Canadian Hornet fleet deemed ‘not credible’ as it suffers instructor shortage

A report by the UK-based RUSI – commissioned by the Canadian Department of National Defence – was leaked to The Globe and Mail newspaper, revealing that its author, Professor Justin Bronk, had assessed that Canada’s CF-188A/B Hornet fighter fleet may be unable to meet its commitments, judging that it was “not credible in a NATO context against many of the higher-end mission sets”

US Navy clears Super Hornet fleet to wield StormBreaker

In what is a major development milestone, the US Navy has now cleared its frontline F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fleet to carry and deliver the Raytheon GBU-53/B StormBreaker – formally known as the Small Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II) – operationally

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First Dutch ‘Vipers’ arrive in Romania for Ukrainian F-16 pilot training

As preparations continue to be made for the training of Ukrainian Air Force air/ground crews on the Fighting Falcon, the Royal Netherlands Air Force delivered the first batch of its F-16AM/BM (MLU) fighters to the newly established European F-16 Training Centre (EFTC) at the Romanian Air Force’s 86th Air Base in Borcea, Romania, on November 7

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Argentina moves to buy Norwegian Orions and Danish ‘Vipers’

The Argentine Air Force and Navy are being prepared for a major recapitalisation with the acquisition of four P-3C/N Orion maritime patrol aircraft from Norway and up to 38 F-16AM/BM (MLU) Fighting Falcon multi-role fighters from Denmark, after the respective deals were green lit by the US government on October 11

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Wake turbulence cited as cause of USAF F-35A crash at Hill AFB

Full details of the Accident Investigation Board report into the loss of USAF F-35A Lightning II (15-5197/HL) from the 388th FW's 421st FS 'Black Widows' at Hill AFB, Utah, on October 19, 2022, have now been published

F-16Cs return to USAF’s ‘Blacksnakes’ after 13-year absence

The Indiana ANG’s 122nd Fighter Wing celebrated the arrival of the first F-16C Block 40 Fighting Falcons for the 163rd Fighter Squadron ‘Blacksnakes’ on October 23