The Aviationist Blog

A weird incident has occurred to Russia’s “Doomsday Plane”, the Il-80 Maxdome airborne command post. Unidentified persons stole equipment from an Il-80 Maxdome, Russian media outlet RIA Novosti, reported on Dec. 7, 2020. According to [...]

The post Someone Opened A Cargo Hatch And Stole Radio Equipment From An Il-80 Maxdome, Russia’s “Doomsday plane” appeared first on The Aviationist.

The F-15E Strike Eagles from the 48th Fighter Wing have used LFA 17 for their low level training again. Two F-15E Strike Eagle jets belonging to the 48th FW based at RAF Lakenheath, UK, engaged [...]

The post F-15E Rocketing Through Lake District Valleys Marks Return Of The 48th FW Strike Eagles in LFA 17 appeared first on The Aviationist.

Images released by the U.S. Air Force Central Command show that the Tornado IDS of the Italian Air Force are flying with the BOZ-102 Enhanced Capability self-defense pods, rarely seen in official photos. A few [...]

The post Italian Tornado IDS Aircraft Are Flying Anti-Daesh ISR Missions With Enhanced Countermeasures Pod appeared first on The Aviationist.

“Shock collar” generated by U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler caught on camera. Last month we published an amazing shot showing a U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler Electronic Attack aircraft with the Electronic Attack Squadron 130 (VAQ-130) “Zappers”, based at [...]

The post Spectacular “Shock Collar” Forms Around U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler Flying At Low Level in the Cascade Mountains appeared first on The Aviationist.

Two B-52s flew from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, to Europe. But one had to divert to RAF Fairford, UK, after experiencing an issue to one of its 8 engines on its way to [...]

The post U.S. B-52s Conduct Mission To Europe: One Flies Over The Barents Sea, One Diverts To RAF Fairford For Engine Failure appeared first on The Aviationist.

The company already secured a contract for the ASLON-45 mission of the U.S. Space Force. Aevum, a small company based in in Huntsville, Alabama, rolled out its Ravn X Autonomous Launch Vehicle from their hangar [...]

The post Aevum Unveils Ravn X Autonomous Launch Vehicle For Lightweight Satellites appeared first on The Aviationist.

Entry of Large Meteor into Atmosphere Caught on Video in Canada and Eastern U.S. An unusually large meteor created a sensation around the upper eastern U.S. in the Great Lakes region and across southern Ontario [...]

The post Massive Meteor Over Lake Ontario and New York State Creates Flash, Sonic Booms. appeared first on The Aviationist.

The short film documents the move of the SR-71 in the galleries of the Science Museum of Virginia and the innovation story of the records-setting aircraft. Back in 2015, it was decided to move the [...]

The post Take A Look At This Documentary About The Skunk Work’s History And The Birth Of The SR-71 Blackbird appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Italian Air Force has released more details about the first mission flown by its F-35A and F-35B in “Beast Mode”. On Nov. 26, 2020, the Italian Air Force carried out the first ever training [...]

The post Check Out These New Photos Of The Italian F-35A and B Flying Together In “Beast Mode” For The First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Italian Air Force, the only Armed Force operating both the F-35A and F-35B, flew the jets in “Beast Mode” for the first time. The Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) has just released two shots [...]

The post Italian Air Force F-35A and F-35B Fly In “Beast Mode” For The Very First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Blue Angels have started preparing the 2021 flight demonstration season with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. As we already reported, the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Team, flew their final formation flight with [...]

The post Check Out These Photos Of The Blue Angels Flying The Diamond Formation With The Super Hornets For The First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

A B-1B Lancer flew for the first time with an inert JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) under an external pylon during a demo at Edwards AFB. On Nov. 20, 2020, a B-1B Lancer assigned to [...]

The post B-1 Lancer Bomber Flies With JASSM Stealthy Missile During External Weapons Carriage Capabilities Demo appeared first on The Aviationist.

The test with the B61-12 is also the first F-35A Dual Capable Aircraft test to be shown in an unclassified video. Just a few months after the first photos of the F-35 testing the B61-12 [...]

The post An F-35A Dropped An Inert B61-12 Nuclear Bomb During Supersonic Flight For The First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

After retiring its last F-4EJ Phantom fighters, 301 Hikotai will now relocate to Misawa AB to become the second F-35A unit of the JASDF. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) celebrated the retirement of the [...]

The post The Japan Air Self-Defense Force Retires Its Last F-4EJ Phantom Fighters After 48 Years Of Service appeared first on The Aviationist.

The 5th Army Aviation Regiment is the first unit to phase out its AB-205 Huey helicopters after completing the transition to the NH-90. The 5th Army Aviation Regiment of the Italian Army (5° Reggimento Aviazione [...]

The post Farewell Huey! The Italian Army Begins To Slowly Retire The AB-205 After More Than 50 Years Of Service appeared first on The Aviationist.

For first time, a new CMV-22B Osprey carried out landings and take-offs from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. On Nov. 22, 2020, a CMV-22B tilt-rotor aircraft of the “Titans” of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission [...]

The post CMV-22B Osprey Makes First Ever Landings And Take-Offs From An Aircraft Carrier appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Letter of Request mentions the need for the fifth generation aircraft to be delivered in 2021. The Greek government officially requested an urgent purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fifth generation aircraft for [...]

The post Greece Officially Requests Urgent Purchase Of Second-Hand F-35s appeared first on The Aviationist.

U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers from Minot Air Force Base have conducted a surprise, round-trip to the Persian Gulf area “to deter aggression and reassure U.S. partners and allies”. On Nov. 21, 2020, [...]

The post U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress Bombers Conduct Short-Notice Long-Range Deterrence Mission Into Middle East appeared first on The Aviationist.

The maiden flight of the XB-70A ended with tire blowout and fire. With a planned cruise speed of Mach 3 and operational altitude of 70,000 feet, the B-70 Valkyrie was slated to be the ultimate [...]

The post Watch The First XB-70A Valkyrie Suffer Tire blowout And Brake Fire After Emergency Landing On Maiden Flight appeared first on The Aviationist.

Spanish Air Force EF-18 Hornets are involved in the recertification after the MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) of the Taurus 350 missile. Three EF-18M Hornet (C.15 in accordance with the local designation) jets and a team of [...]

The post Interesting Photos Of Spanish EF-18 Hornet With Inert Upgraded Taurus 350 Stand-off Air-Launched Cruise Missile appeared first on The Aviationist.