The Aviationist Blog

Let’s recap what we know about the skirmish that went down between Prigozhin and the Russian leadership. The last couple of days were pretty chaotic for Russia, after Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin declared war on [...]

The post Many Questions Still Unanswered After Wagner’s Attempted ‘March On Moscow’ appeared first on The Aviationist.

On a dreary gray day in late June, Joint Base McGuire-Dix Lakehurst (JB MDL) sadly said goodbye to a true U.S. Air Force legend and workhorse. Tail number 84-0188, one of sixty KC-10s that has [...]

The post Joint Base McGuire Bids Farewell To Its Final KC-10 Extender appeared first on The Aviationist.

Twenty-five nations took part in the two-week long “Air Defender 2023” exercise. Allied air forces began the largest deployment exercise in NATO’s history on Monday, Jun. 12, 2023. Around 10,000 personnel and over 220 aircraft [...]

The post NATO Wraps Up Air Defender 2023, Its Largest Ever Air Exercise appeared first on The Aviationist.

Arctic Challenge 23 exercise provided the opportunity for the first real use of the AIM-120 Air-to-Air Missile by the Italian Air Force F-35s. Earlier this month, two F-35As of the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) [...]

The post Italian F-35s Test Fired The AIM-120 Missile For The First Time Over Norway During Arctic Challenge appeared first on The Aviationist.

Many aircraft, both from Italy and abroad, were invited to take part in the airshow to represent all types which served with the Aeronautica Militare. As we reported few days ago, last week the Italian [...]

The post In Chronological Order, All The Historic Aircraft Which Flew At Pratica di Mare Airshow appeared first on The Aviationist.

The event was the first one for the base, home of the 6° Stormo (Wing) of the Italian Air Force. In the afternoon on Jun. 21, 2023, Ghedi Air Base, in northern Italy, held the [...]

The post Ghedi Air Base Hosts First Spotter Day With F-35 And Tornado Jets appeared first on The Aviationist.

Three C-130Js carried out a farewell flypast across the UK and also flew one last pass in the Mach Loop. On Jun. 14, 2023, the Royal Air Force bid farewell to the C-130 Hercules with [...]

The post Watch Three RAF C-130Js Fly Through The Mach Loop For The Last Time Last Week appeared first on The Aviationist.

The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Paris Air Show 2023 to pursue opportunities on the European Advanced Trainer market and study solutions for future military pilot training. Leonardo and Airbus have signed [...]

The post Leonardo And Airbus Announce Joint M-346 Integrated Training System Collaboration appeared first on The Aviationist.

Two B-1B strategic bombers have landed in Sweden for the first time in history on Monday. Flying as SPICY 11 and SPICY 12 two B-1B Lancer bombers belonging to the 7th Bomb Wing, from Dyess [...]

The post Two B-1B Lancers Have Carried Out The First-Ever U.S. Bomber Landing In Sweden Since WWII appeared first on The Aviationist.

Footage shows B-1 experiencing a catastrophic engine failure during a ground run-up at Dyess Air Force Base, Taylor County, Texas. The footage in this post is interesting. It shows what happened on Apr. 20, 2022, [...]

The post Video Shows B-1B’s Catastrophic Engine Failure, Explosion And Fire At Dyess AFB Last Year appeared first on The Aviationist.

Historic aircraft from across the world joined the types in service today in Pratica di Mare, for an airshow that showcased the 100 years of history and technological evolution of the Aeronautica Militare. The Aeronautica [...]

The post Italian Air Force Celebrates 100th Anniversary With Memorable Airshow appeared first on The Aviationist.

After multiple delays, military pilots can finally fly on the new trainer. With a short post on social media, Boeing announced that the T-7A Red Hawk finally received its Military Flight Release from the U.S. [...]

The post Boeing T-7A Trainer Achieves Military Flight Release appeared first on The Aviationist.

AWHero, now enhanced for operations in the naval domain, is currently the only RUAS in the 200 kg class with a military certification. On Jun. 5, 2023, Leonardo unveiled the enhanced AWHero Rotary Uncrewed Aerial [...]

The post Leonardo Unveils Upgraded AWHero Rotary Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle appeared first on The Aviationist.

More than 30 years after the type’s last flight, the restored G.91 took back to the skies ahead of the airshow for the 100th anniversary of the Aeronautica Militare. Another piece of the Italian Air [...]

The post Former Italian Air Force Fiat G.91R Light Tactical Attack Aircraft Flies Again appeared first on The Aviationist.

The TF-104 of Starfighters Aerospace was ferried to Grosseto Air Base to take part in the airshow for the 100th anniversary of the Italian Air Force this week. After almost 20 years since its retirement [...]

The post A TF-104 Starfighter Has Flown Again In Italy After Almost 20 Years appeared first on The Aviationist.

Ellsworth AFB’s crews and maintainers guide us trough an unprecedented tour of the BONE. Last month we reported about our friend Erik Johnston’s video of the loading process of the B-1B’s Rotary Launcher System, the [...]

The post Watch The B-1B Bomber’s Most Detailed Walkaround Ever Recorded appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Caproni Ca.3 was the first strategic bomber in aviation history. Piloted by our friends Daniele Beltrame and Fabio Consoli, the Caproni Ca.3 replica, registration I-ZANA, the only WWI bomber in flight conditions and the [...]

The post The Caproni Ca.3, The World’s Only Airworthy WWI Bomber Replica, Returns To Flight appeared first on The Aviationist.

The ability to use common software has implications in the ability to field new capabilities quickly and efficiently across the 5th generation fighter fleet. The U.S. Air Force successfully tested on the F-35 Lightning II [...]

The post F-35 And F-22 Successfully Fly With Common Software During Innovation Test Project appeared first on The Aviationist.

Azerbaijan becomes 17th nation to buy the Leonardo C-27J. “The commercial collaboration between Italy and Azerbaijan has been strengthened with the signing of the contract for the supply of the C-27J Spartan,” says a press [...]

The post Azerbaijan Signs Contract To Purchase The Leonardo C-27J NG Spartan appeared first on The Aviationist.

We refueled Belgian F-16s, Italian and Dutch F-35s during Arctic Challenge 23, the premier Nordic large-force, live-fly field training exercise. About 150 aircraft and approximately 2,700 coalition personnel from 13 nations are involved in ACE [...]

The post We Have Taken Part In An Arctic Challenge Mission Aboard A KC-135 Tanker appeared first on The Aviationist.