The Aviationist Blog

Here’s the first Aggressor Lightning II of the 65th AGRS (Aggressor Squadron). On Jun. 9, 2022, the U.S. Air Force reactivated the 65th Aggressors Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The unit, apreviously flying [...]

The post First F-35A in Aggressors Paint Scheme Unveiled At Nellis AFB appeared first on The Aviationist.

The video, released by the Ukrainian 45th Separate Artillery Brigade, shows the downing of the UAV after it completed its artillery spotting mission. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, social media are [...]

The post Ukrainian UAV Records Its Last Seconds Of Life As It Is Hit By Russian Missile appeared first on The Aviationist.

RCAF CF-18 Demo Hits Bird in Michigan In A Scene That Seemed To Be Right Out Of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’. It was like a page torn from the script of the new Hollywood blockbuster, “Top [...]

The post RCAF CF-18 Demo Pilot Saves Aircraft After Real-Life ‘Top Gun’ Incident at Airshow appeared first on The Aviationist.

The first VH-139A was delivered to the 31° Stormo at Ciampino airport 10 years ago. On May 31, 2022, the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force), celebrated the first 10 years of service of its VH-139A [...]

The post Italian Air Force Celebrates 10 Years Of Service Of Its VH-139A Helicopters appeared first on The Aviationist.

U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth AFB landed at Andersen AFB in Guam amid growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. Four B-1B Lancer bombers (aka “BONEs” from B-Ones) have deployed to Guam, the U.S. [...]

The post Four B-1Bs Have Deployed To Andersen Air Force Base in Guam For A Bomber Task Force Mission appeared first on The Aviationist.

The video shows the fighter unsuccessfully firing its gun at the helicopter, which however was later reportedly shot down off-camera with an air-to-air missile. A short video recently made the rounds on Telegram, showing what [...]

The post Watch A Russian Flanker Engage A Low Flying Ukrainian Mi-14 Helicopter In The Odesa Oblast appeared first on The Aviationist.

If you are plane crazy about WWII warbirds, you must attend this annual air show held in Reading, Pennsylvania USA. Three glorious rain free days, with mild temperatures, provided absolute perfect weather and flight conditions [...]

The post The Weather Gods Shined Upon This Year’s ‘World War II Weekend’ Air Show appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Chinese fighter jet cut across the Poseidon’s trajectory while releasing chaffs, some of which where ingested by the engines. The event occurred in international airspace. The Australian Ministry of Defence just disclosed that a [...]

The post Engines Of Australian P-8 MPA Ingest Chaffs Released by Chinese J-16 During “Very Dangerous” Intercept appeared first on The Aviationist.

The test marked the fastest recovery of a monorail sled in over 30 years, and the first time a planned reusable sled was ever recovered at those speeds. The test paves the way for more [...]

The post Rocket Sled Traveling At 7,200 km/h (4,363 mph) Successfully Stopped During Hypersonic Test At Holloman appeared first on The Aviationist.

There’s an enigmatic hint in their words: “Darkstar’s capabilities could be more than mere fiction. They could be reality…” About a week after the long-awaited Top Gun: Maverick finally hit the theaters, the Skunk Works [...]

The post Skunk Works Release Details About Top Gun: Maverick’s Darkstar Hypersonic Aircraft appeared first on The Aviationist.

The test, the first for Lockheed Martin’s HAWC prototype, happened last month but was kept under wraps to avoid escalating tensions with Russia. DARPA and the U.S. Air Force recently completed a free flight test [...]

The post DARPA Discloses Second Successful Flight for Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept appeared first on The Aviationist.

A new video shows a Russian Aerospace Forces Ka-52 Alligator destroyed by a Ukrainian ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile). Not only are Ukrainian MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense Systems) a significant threat to the Russian Ka-52 [...]

The post Footage Emerges Of Russian Ka-52 Alligator Gunship Shot Down By Ukrainian Anti-Tank Missile appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Su-35S crashed near Izium, Ukraine. It looks like it was configured for SEAD (Suppression Enemy Air Defenses) mission. Images of the wreckage of an aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) have started to [...]

The post First Russian Su-35S Flanker-E Confirmed Destroyed In Ukraine appeared first on The Aviationist.

Using ballistic rocket-launching tactic didn’t save this Russian gunship helicopter. Just yesterday, we commented a video posted by the Russian MOD that proved that the Ka-52 Alligator helicopters are still lobbing unguided rockets at targets [...]

The post [Updated] Video Emerges Of Russian Mi-28 Shot Down By MANPADS After Lobbing Rockets Over Eastern Ukraine appeared first on The Aviationist.

An impressive raid was carried out by the Ukrainian Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters on an oil facility in Belgorod, Russia. According to reports surfacing early on Apr. 1, 2022, at least two Ukrainian Mi-24 gunship [...]

The post Ukrainian Mi-24 Gunships Slipped Across The Border With Russia To Carry Out Attack On A Fuel Depot appeared first on The Aviationist.

Here’s what remains of Antonov Airport, home of the An-225 Mriya. On Mar. 31, 2022, following the statements regarding a reduction in activity around Kyiv, and reporting indicating the withdrawal of some units from these [...]

The post Dreadful Drone Footage Shows What Remains Of Hostomel Airport And The An-225 After Russian Forces Left appeared first on The Aviationist.

A new clip from the cockpit again shows Russian Aerospace Forces attack helicopters turned into airborne MRLS and using unguided rockets, in a quite indiscriminate way. Few weeks ago we reported about a video coming [...]

The post New Video Shows Russian Gunship Helicopters Continue Using Ballistic Rocket-Launching Tactic In Ukraine appeared first on The Aviationist.

The two new Eurofighters for the Kuwait Air Force have just been delivered. Sporting the provisional serials M.T. 55269 and 55270, the third and fourth Eurofighter Typhoons for the Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiyya al-Kuwaytiyya (Kuwait Air Force [...]

The post Kuwait Air Force Takes Delivery Of Third And Fourth Eurofighter Typhoons appeared first on The Aviationist.

The U.S. Air Force is planning to retire the 33 oldest, non-combat-capable F-22s to optimize resources The U.S. Air Force is seeking approval from the Congress to retire the oldest Tyndall Air Force Base’s F-22 [...]

The post The Oldest F-22 Raptors Might Soon Be Headed For The Boneyard appeared first on The Aviationist.

U.S. repositions 200 Marines from Norway to Lithuania and moves Hornets to Eastern Europe. The build up on NATO’s Eastern Flank continues. Yesterday we reported about the arrival at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, of an [...]

The post The U.S. Repositions Ten USMC F/A-18C/D ‘Legacy’ Hornets To Eastern Europe Amid Ukrainian Crisis appeared first on The Aviationist.