The Aviationist Blog

Until Dec. 31, 2020, the Swiss Air Force F/A-18s were available for Quick Reaction Alert only on business hours. About 7 years ago, an embarrassing incident highlighted the need for a round-the-clock service. Beginning on [...]

The post Swiss Air Force F/A-18s Finally Started Providing Round-the-Clock Swiss Airspace Protection Last Week appeared first on The Aviationist.

The U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider gunships are a constant presence in the CENTCOM AOR (Area Of Responsibility). The picture in this post shows an AC-130J Ghostrider being refueled at night by a U.S. Air [...]

The post Check Out This Photo Of A U.S. AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship Refueling At Night In The Persian Gulf Area appeared first on The Aviationist.

The AW169 LUH helicopter, based on the AW169M light intermediate twin-engine helicopter, features a new skid landing gear which replaces the standard retractable gear. The first Leonardo AW169 LUH (Light Utility Helicopter) was recently photographed [...]

The post First AW169 In New Advanced Light Utility Helicopter Configuration Begins Flight Testing appeared first on The Aviationist.

The aircraft, which is the second Su-57 serially built, was delivered a year after the first built crashed during pre-delivery testing. The Russian Aerospace Forces received on Dec. 25, 2020, their first serially built Su-57 [...]

The post First Serial Production Su-57 Felon Delivered To The Russian Aerospace Forces appeared first on The Aviationist.

Leonardo is one of the world’s top ten players in Aerospace, Defense and Security. Let’s have a look at the status of its most important projects in the Aeronautics, Helicopters, Space and Electronics businesses. Named [...]

The post Leonardo: Deep Dive Into The Main Programs Of One Of The Largest Defense Contractors In The World appeared first on The Aviationist.

Air Force Claims Mysterious “Boom” Wasn’t Them. Local News Suggests, “Earthquake or Mine Blast”. Tucson, Arizona residents near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and across the city of Tucson are reporting a loud “sonic boom” that [...]

The post BOOM! What Was That? Mysterious “Sonic Boom” Shakes Tucson This Morning. appeared first on The Aviationist.

The F-16s of the 93rd Fighter Squadron “Makos” are believed to be deploying to the CENTCOM area of operations. On Dec. 28, 2020, six F-16s belonging to the 93rd FS “Makos” belonging to the 482nd [...]

The post F-16s Of The Florida “Makos” Make Stopover In Spain On Their Way To Deployment appeared first on The Aviationist.

The M-139 Volcano Mine Delivery System, originally built in the 1980s and ’90s, has been in storage for more than 20 years. Recently, the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, posted [...]

The post The U.S. Army Is Qualifying New Units To Fly The UH-60 With The Controversial M-139 Volcano Mine Delivery System appeared first on The Aviationist.

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-35A fleet has achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC). Australian Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon. Linda Reynolds, CSC, and Minister for Defence Industry, Melissa Price MP, declared Initial Operational Capability [...]

The post RAAF Declares Initial Operational Capability For Australia’s F-35A Lightning II Jets appeared first on The Aviationist.

Strap in the cockpit of a C-2 Greyhound as it launches from USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier on Christmas Day a few years back. Although Christmas Day is just an ordinary work day for [...]

The post Here’s What A Catapult Shot On Christmas Day In A U.S. Navy C-2 Greyhound Looks Like From The Cockpit appeared first on The Aviationist.

Initially developed only for the Fleet Air Defense, the F-14 eventually evolved into an appreciated strike fighter at the peak of its career. The F-14 Tomcat was primarily designed to defend the U.S. Navy’s fleets [...]

The post How The F-14 Tomcat Evolved And Became The Bombcat appeared first on The Aviationist.

Footage shows the tactical nuclear weapon delivery technique used by the F-104 Starfighter (and many other aircraft). Although some of our readers may already have seen it, I still think the video of a tactical [...]

The post Vintage Video Shows F-104 Using “Tossing” Technique To Drop A Nuclear Bomb And Escape The Blast Effects appeared first on The Aviationist.

Preliminary inquiry documents in the Leonardo hack suggest hackers were targeting nEUROn drone, C-27J and ATR-72 documents. For almost two years, between May 2015 and January 2017, the IT infrastructure of Leonardo, the Italian multinational [...]

The post Leonardo Hack Allegedly Targeted Details Of nEUROn UCAV Program appeared first on The Aviationist.

This video from a U.S. Navy pilot really gives an idea of the amount of mental focus required to perform a trap landing on an aircraft carrier. Rob Roy is an active duty U.S. Navy [...]

The post Watch This: U.S. Navy Pilot Doesn’t Even Blink While Flying The Ball All The Way To Touchdown On Aircraft Carrier appeared first on The Aviationist.

Two T-345 trainers in the colors of the 61° Stormo (Wing) have been delivered to the Italian Air Force. The first two new Leonardo T-345 trainer aircraft (local designation of the M-345), were delivered to [...]

The post First Two T-345 Trainers Delivered To The Italian Air Force appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Boeing’s Loyal Wingman completed high-speed taxi test at RAAF Woomera Airfield. Boeing Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have completed the first high-speed taxi test of the Airpower Teaming System (ATS) unmanned [...]

The post Boeing’s Loyal Wingman In New High-Visibility Paint Job Completes First High-Speed Taxi Test appeared first on The Aviationist.

For the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the legendary F-14 Tomcat, we get a look at how its legacy is still carried on by aviation enthusiasts using today’s technology. The Grumman F-14 Tomcat [...]

The post DCS World Players Recreated The First Two Air-to-Air Engagements Of The F-14 Tomcat appeared first on The Aviationist.

We celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the legendary F-14 Tomcat with an intense story from the cockpit of a 2 vs UNKNOWN engagement during Week Two at “Topgun”, the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School. On [...]

The post “Fox One, lead A-4, 18,000 feet”: Join An F-14 Tomcat RIO During An Air Combat Training Mission At Topgun appeared first on The Aviationist.

The new ABMS systems tested on the KC-46 and XQ-58 will act as a translation platform converting messages sent by each aircraft in its native language. The U.S. Air Force 5th generation fighter aircraft, the [...]

The post New ABMS Systems Will Allow Easier Communications Between F-35, F-22 And Other Assets appeared first on The Aviationist.

The B-52 “Wise Guy” is only the second Stratofortress bomber to ever be restored out of the Boneyard to be returned to the fleet. As already reported in detail in this previous article, “Wise Guy” [...]

The post Check Out These Exclusive Shots Of B-52 “Wise Guy” Flying Again After Being Resurrected From The “Boneyard” appeared first on The Aviationist.