The Aviationist Blog

The end of an era: the last three JASDF (Japanse Air Self-Defense Force) F-4EJ Phantoms, including the oldest Phantom in Japanese service, have been retired at Gifu Air Base. On March 17, 2021, the remaining [...]

The post Japan’s Last Three F-4EJ Phantoms Have Just Flown For The Last Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

Three U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers have arrived at Lajes Field, Azores. From there, the stealth strategic bombers launched a mission to the Arctic, joining the B-1 already in theater. Three U.S. Air Force [...]

The post U.S. Ramps Up Bomber Presence In The Arctic: Two B-2s Integrate With Two B-1s During Mission Off Iceland appeared first on The Aviationist.

The 492nd FS OIR (Operation Inherent Resolve) 2020 video includes an interesting low pass over al-Tanf garrison in Syria. In October 2020, the 492nd Fighter Squadron “Bolars”, belonging to the 48th FW based at RAF [...]

The post 492nd FS Deployment Video Shows F-15E Strike Eagle Flying Low Over strategic U.S. military outpost in Syria appeared first on The Aviationist.

An image of the F-22 shared on social media shows the Raptor sitting on its nose on the tarmac at Eglin AFB. An F-22 Raptor, assigned to the 325th Fighter Wing, experienced a ground mishap [...]

The post F-22 Raptor Experiences An Apparent Nose-Gear Failure After Emergency Landing At Eglin Air Force Base appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s launched the Storm Shadow cruise missiles on Daesh terrorist targets for the first time last week. On Mar. 10, 2021, RAF Typhoon FGR4s supporting Operation Shader, the UK’s contribution [...]

The post RAF Typhoon FGR4s Carry Out Air Strike On Daesh In Iraq Using Storm Shadow Cruise Missiles For The First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

This rare video shows how the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit’s control surfaces move during checks carried out before taxi. In March last year, three U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirits, belonging to the 509th Bomb Wing [...]

The post This Close Up Video Shows B-2 Stealth Bomber’s Control Surfaces During Pre-Flight Checks In Stunning Detail appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Meteor long range air-to-air missile will be used alongside the MICA EM, which is also radar-guided. The French Air and Space Force declared the Meteor Beyond Visual Range (BVR) radar-guided air-to-air missile operational after [...]

The post French Rafale Performs First Operational Flight With Live Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-To-Air Missiles appeared first on The Aviationist.

This heavy configuration would allow fully assembled JDAMs to be transported at a remote location to rearm the F-15E and other aircraft as part of the Agile Combat Employment model. The U.S. Air Force published [...]

The post F-15E Strike Eagle Tests “Bomb Truck” Configuration Capable Of Carrying 15 JDAMs appeared first on The Aviationist.

The P-8A Poseidon aircraft of VP-8 carry AGM-84D Harpoon missiles in latest images released by the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft have started flying missions in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOR (Area [...]

The post U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon Flying Mission In Persian Gulf Region Armed With AGM-84D Harpoon Anti-Ship Missiles appeared first on The Aviationist.

Elephant Walk at Bavarian Air Base involved 18 Eurofighters at Neuburg Air Base. Parked on the runway, rather than taxiing on it. The German Air Force has arranged an Elephant Walk that involved 18 Eurofighter [...]

The post German Air Force Stages “Weird” Elephant Walk With 18 Eurofighters (With No Pilots, Wheel Chocks and Engines Off). appeared first on The Aviationist.

Take a look at these interesting images of B-52 Stratofortress bombers, “Wise Guy” and “Ghost Rider,” undergoing PDM at Tinker Air Force Base Oklahoma. As reported in detail in the last few months, only two [...]

The post The Only Two B-52 Bombers To Be Resurrected From The “Boneyard” Parked Nose-to-Nose at Tinker AFB appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Italian Eurofighter Typhoons supporting NATO’s Baltic Air Policing integrated with one of the U.S. B-1B Lancer bombers deployed to Norway. On March 3, 2021, two U.S. B-1B Lancer bombers from the 7th Bomb Wing, [...]

The post Italian Air Force Typhoons Escorted A U.S. B-1B Lancer Bomber During Mission Over Lithuania And Latvia appeared first on The Aviationist.

Three interesting videos of the VX-23 F-35Bs landing aboard ITS Cavour aircraft carrier have just been released. Two specially-instrumented U.S. F-35Bs belonging to VX-23 (Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23) from Naval Air Station Patuxent [...]

The post Watch U.S. F-35Bs from Naval Air Station Patuxent River Land On Italy’s Aircraft Carrier To Begin Sea Trials appeared first on The Aviationist.

The first F-35A for the Royal Danish Air Force has been given its paint scheme and markings, including the Dannebrog flag. Unlike most other nations, the Danish F-35 feature a toned down version of the [...]

The post First Look At Denmark’s First F-35A Decorated with Dannebrog Flag appeared first on The Aviationist.

The new airframe is a TAV-8B Harrier II of the Spanish Navy (Spanish: Armada Española) that still wears the U.S. Marine Corps paint scheme. An interesting TAV-8B Harrier II aircraft of the Spanish Navy was [...]

The post Ex-USMC TAV-8B Harrier Sporting Spanish Navy Markings And Marine Corps Paint Scheme Flies For The First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

The new digitally engineered Boeing Loyal Wingman UAV went from design to the first flight in just three years. Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) announced on March 1, 2021, that the Loyal [...]

The post Let’s Talk About Boeing Loyal Wingman Unmanned Aerial Vehicle’s First Flight appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Italian Navy has just released the first shots of the VX-23 F-35B aircraft taking part in the certification of the compatibility between the 5th generation fighter aircraft and Italy’s aircraft carrier ITS Cavour. At [...]

The post Here Are The First Photos Of The US F-35B (With Special Tail Marking) Operating Aboard Italy’s Aircraft Carrier Cavour appeared first on The Aviationist.

Two U.S. F-35Bs from VX-23 have landed aboard the Italian Navy ITS Cavour aircraft carrier: the “Ready For Operations” campaign has gone live. Two specially instrumented U.S. F-35Bs from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 [...]

The post Two U.S. F-35Bs Have Landed Aboard Italian Navy Aircraft Carrier ITS Cavour To Begin Sea Trials appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Frecce Tricolori is the Italian Air Force aerobatic display team. It’s the world’s largest military display team. On Mar. 1, 2021 the Frecce Tricolori, the display team of the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force), [...]

The post The Italian Frecce Tricolori Display Team Celebrate Their 60th Anniversary appeared first on The Aviationist.

For the first time the Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik UCAV’s Chief Designer and the ground control station were introduced to journalists after years of strict secrecy. Russia’s state-owned Channel One television aired a report about the [...]

The post TV Report About Russian UAVs Provides New Insights Into The Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik UCAV Program appeared first on The Aviationist.