The Aviationist Blog

Some cool U.S. Army CH-47F Chinook images. Taken on Aug. 21, 2015, the following beautiful pictures show brand new CH-47F Chinook helicopters from Hotel Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), taking off after refueling at a local German airport and flying in a convoy formation enroute to Bremerhaven port. The new CH-47F […]

The WC-135 is going to search for fallout from the alleged North Korean test. A U.S. Air Force WC-135 will soon be in action near the Korean peninsula, searching for fallout from the alleged North Korea’s nuclear test. According to the Washington Post, a U.S. defense official confirmed that the WC-135 Constant Phoenix atmospheric collections […]

F-35Bs showcase their STOVL capabilities that can be useful for remote airfield ops. Taken on May 6, 2015 the following footage features two F-35Bs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, based out at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, practicing short take off and vertical landings as part of required flying field carrier landing practices (FCLP) […]

The B-2 Rose Bowl flyover as seen from  above. As already reported, on Jan. 1, 2016, a B-2 Spirit belonging to the 509th Bomb Wing from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, opened the 102nd Rose Bowl Game between the Big Ten Conference West Division champion Iowa Hawkeyes and the Pac-12 Conference champion Stanford Cardinal, at the […]

The Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) has lost one of its F-16s performing a mission to support the Saudi-led air offensive in Yemen. The Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) General Command reported that am RBAF‘s F-16 jet went down in Jizan province, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 30, 2015, while it was undertaking the national duty of […]

Developed by a private Russian design bureau, the SR-10 (CP-10) is a single engine, all-composite jet trainer with a (moderate) forward-swept wing. The footage below shows the first flight of SR-10, a Russian subsonic, single engine, all-composite dual-pilot jet trainer aircraft developed by KB SAT. Developed by a private Russian design bureau called KB SAT, […]

B-2 Stealth Bomber at today’s Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game. On Jan. 1, 2016, a B-2 Spirit with 509th Bomb Wing from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, opened the Rose Bowl college football bowl game played at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California with a flyover that was filmed from a helicopter. Here below […]

RAF Eurofighter Typhoons have joined the service Tornados in air strikes against the Islamic State. Taken on Dec.22, 2015 from the boom position aboard a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker belonging to 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (EARS), this interesting photo shows a fully armed Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 as it receives fuel […]

You don’t happen to see an aircraft carrying two dummy nuclear bombs. As we reported in July 2015, the U.S. Air Force is conducting a series of test drops, in Nevada, of the latest LEP (Life-Extention Program) upgrade to the B61 line of nuclear weapons: the B61-12. These tests involve F-15E Strike Eagles of the […]

Here’s the new version of the infographic about Russia’s air war in Syria. At the end of October we posted the first version of this infographic about the Russian Intervention in Syria, prepared by Louis Martin-Vézian of CIGeography. Many things have happened since then: the Russian Air Force has carried out raids using its Strike […]

The incredible story of how a paperclip avoided the loss of an XB-70 Valkyrie. On Apr. 30, 1966, the second XB-70 prototype, the Air Vehicle 2 (AV 2), suffered a short-circuit in the landing gear retraction system shortly after the take-off from Edwards Air Force Base. As a result of this malfunction the nose gear […]

Kalibr cruise missiles from submarine in the Med and bombs from Tu-22 Backfires have pounded targets in Syria. On Dec. 8, Russia launched a barrage of new air and missile strikes against ground targets in Syria. The attack was somehow spoiled by the NOTAM (Notice To Airmen) issued by the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority about […]

Boat delivery Air Force Special Operations Command-way. The picture in this post shows an MC-130J Commando II belonging to the 9th Special Operations Squadron airdropping a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) Maritime Craft Aerial Delivery System over the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 12, 2015. MCADS enable special operations forces members to rapidly deploy anywhere around […]

Here’s an interesting video showing an ejection from a different point of view…. On Oct. 27, 2015, a Royal Danish Air Force pilot was forced to eject from his F-16A block 20 MLU over the North Sea after jet suffered a landing gear problem that prevented it from safely landing back at Skrydstrup air base. […]

FBI aircraft have been particularly active over San Bernardino, California, during and after the mass shooting. As already highlighted on Twitter, several assets, including FBI planes and media helicopters, could be tracked online on Dec. 2, during the San Bernardino terrorist attack. The airspace over #SanBernadino is a bit crowded according to @flightradar24 pic.twitter.com/iyruJbcyqJ — […]

Interesting footage released by the Russian MoD. According to the Russian MoD, during the last few days the US-led coalition in Syria has deployed three times more drones than before with up to 50 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles often up in the air at the same time. #SYRIA During some periods of time, there are more […]

The first F-35 delivered outside the U.S. was taken on charge by the Italian Air Force. On Dec. 3, Lt. Gen. Pasquale Preziosa, Chief of the Italian Air Force, welcomed the first Italian F-35A at the F-35 Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) facility at Cameri, in northwestern Italy. Not only is the AL-1 (as the […]

The next generation Il-80 airborne command post is about to enter active service with the Russian Air Force. The Russian Air Force will soon operate an upgraded Il-80 Maxdome airborne command post. In fact, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, a “new” version of the Russian “doomsday plane” has recently successfully completed the testing campaign […]

RAF Tornados, supported by Voyager tanker and a Reaper UAV, have extended the UK’s airstrikes to Syria. Hours after the UK parliament approved to extend the airstrikes to include Syria, Royal Air Force Tornado attack planes, deployed to Akrotiri, Cyprus, flew their first raid on terrorist targets inside Syria, early in the morning on Dec. […]

Watch these U-2 Dragon Ladies land at RAF Fairford. Taken on Jun. 9, 2015 this interesting footage shows why the Dragon Lady is one of the most difficult plane to land in the world. As we have already seen in the U-2 clips taken at Beale Air Force Base, this iconic reconnaissance aircraft requires some special […]