The Aviationist Blog

India will acquire 114 additional Rafales as part of the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft program, with 96 possibly produced locally.      India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) accorded on Feb. 12, 2026, an Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for additional Dassault Rafale fighters as part of the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) program, the Ministry of Defence announced. The […]

The Royal Saudi Naval Force will receive four C-27Js in the new Maritime Patrol Variant, with deliveries expected to start in 2029. Leonardo has announced that it will supply four C-27Js in the new Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) variant to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense. The aircraft will be operated by the Royal Saudi Naval […]

Addressing the F-35’s operational independence from the U.S. amid tensions between Europe and the Trump administration, Secretary Gijs Tuinman made the claim to Dutch radio station BNR Nieuwsradio.  The bold claim, the veracity of which is unverifiable from an outside perspective, came as part of a wider dialogue over the operational independence of the F-35 […]

The Boeing 757 Excalibur Flight Test Aircraft began its latest series of test flights last week sporting a brand new radome grafted onto its nose, along with new fuselage fairings.  The Boeing 757-200, formerly a passenger aircraft for a number of airlines, completed its first modification phase in late 2024 and undertook a short program […]

Mission autonomy software by Collins and Shield AI was integrated on the YFQ-42 and YFQ-44 CCAs by using the government-owned A-GRA architecture. The U.S. Air Force has reached a new milestone in its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, demonstrating that government-owned Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) can be successfully integrated with mission autonomy software. As part […]

The U.S. Navy’s newest supercarrier is heading back towards the Middle East having already been recalled across the Atlantic to station off Venezuela. Already in its eighth month at sea, this new assignment – which will require the third Atlantic transit of its current deployment – in the midst of heightened tensions between the U.S. […]

Speaking at a geopolitics and aerospace conference in Rome, the Commander of the Italian Air Force’s Operational Forces said the service is evaluating the possibility of operating F-35s from highway strips if conventional airfields are threatened. Italy is assessing the possibility of landing and operating its F-35A Lightning II 5th generation aircraft from selected highway […]

A grainy video captured in Algeria appears to show an Su-57 flying overhead, following unconfirmed reports about the country becoming the type’s first export customer, while Russia recently received new upgraded jets. Visuals emerged on Feb. 7, 2026, are claimed to show an Su-57E Felon flying in Algeria, following unconfirmed reports about the country becoming […]

Six F-35A Lightning IIs from the Vermont ANG, previously forward deployed to Puerto Rico, have departed RAF Lakenheath on their way to the Middle East.  The six jets are part of a total of 12 F-35As from the Vermont unit that have been noted making a transit towards the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of […]

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems will integrate a U.S. Marine Corps mission kit into the YFQ-42A for the MUX TACAIR Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) announced it has been selected by the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) for the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Uncrewed Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft (MUX TACAIR) Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) […]

Saudi Arabia is attracting industry’s interest at the World Defense Show, with a continued push for the F-35, a proposed F-15 upgrade, and rumors about Kaan and JF-17. The modernization of Saudi Arabia’s military is in the spotlight at the ongoing World Defense Show, which is be held from Feb. 8 to 12, 2026, in […]

The YJ-15 was among the new anti-ship missiles that were revealed during the Sept. 3, 2025, parade in Beijing. China’s YJ-15 supersonic Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM), that was among four new major ship-killing missiles revealed during the Sep. 3, 2025, parade in Beijing, was possibly spotted for the first time carried by a J-15T carrier-borne […]

A Geran-2 (Shahed 136) attack drone is seen exploding in mid air shortly before an F-16 soars overhead, with the unmistakable sound of an M61 Vulcan cannon heard in the background.  This is at least the second time such a kill has been captured on video, though this new footage – first posted on Telegram […]

Six F-35Bs have been sent to RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus in a move, sources told The Times, intended to better protect base should current tensions in the region break into open conflict.   The six jets left RAF Marham in two batches on Friday Feb. 6, 2026, accompanied by two Voyager refueling aircraft from RAF Brize […]

The long-awaited upgrade improves networked situational awareness but has been fielded on only a handful of Warthogs, with the new antenna nearly indistinguishable from the existing TACAN installation. An unspecified number of U.S. Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft have been equipped with the Link 16. Indeed, photos taken at bases across the U.S., including […]

Israel’s Elbit Systems has shown a concept of a specialized variant of the C-390 Millenium for ISR and SIGINT at the Singapore Airshow.  Israeli defense company Elbit Systems has revealed at the ongoing Singapore Airshow it is working on an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) version of the Embraer C/KC-390 Millenium […]

Newly emerged images raise the possibility that China has built another compound helicopter demonstrator, following the S-97 Raider-like aircraft seen in 2025, this time bearing a resemblance to the larger SB>1 Defiant. Months after the first images emerged online, the Chinese clone of the Sikorsky X2 technology appeared again. However, this time the new images […]

The U.S. Navy used one of Boeing’s F-15SA instrumented aircraft to conduct the final test flight of the AGM-84 Harpoon Block II Update at the Point Mugu Sea Range. The U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced the successful completion of the third and final planned flight test of the Harpoon Block II Update […]

Eurofighter and NETMA signed a contract for the development, testing, and certification of the Aerodynamic Modification Kit to be installed on the Typhoon. Eurofighter and the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) have announced the signing of a contract for the development, testing, and certification of the Aerodynamic Modification Kit (AMK) to be installed […]

The U.S. Department of Defense has launched a market research project seeking sources for the development of facilities for the Boeing F-47 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.  Posted on behalf of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), who oversee many large construction projects for the wider Department of Defense (DoD), the Feb. 2, […]