Air Forces

Latest in Air Forces

The Pentagon says it is working to amend its proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget to request new funding for the E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft.

Pentagon’s Mindset On E-7 Radar Aircraft It Tried To Axe Has Completely Changed: Hegseth

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted 3 Hours Ago

Gdynia, Poland 28th, July 2014 Scenes at the 43rd Polish Naval Air Base airport in Gdynia - Babie Doly. The Naval Aviation Brigade has been established in 1994 and it is the only naval aviation tactical unit in The Polish Military. The objective of Naval Aviation Brigade is to conduct anti-submarine warfare (ASW), search-and-rescue (SAR), reconnaissance, ecological and transport operations. The Navy aircraft and helicopters are stationed and operations from three airfields located in Gdynia Babie Doly, Siemirowice and Darlowo. PZL M28B Bryza aircraft sits at the airbase.

Polish Air Force

Drone-Hunting M28 Skytruck In The Works For Poland

By Thomas Newdick

Posted 5 Hours Ago

The ARRW program has not only reemerged from purgatory, with missiles being ordered for operational use, but a new variant is on the horizon.

New Version Of Bomber-Launched ARRW Hypersonic Missile Is A Ship Killer

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted 8 Hours Ago

The U.S. Air Force says it does not expect the last of its huge C-5M Galaxy cargo planes to be replaced by a Next-Generation Airlift (NGAL) platform until Fiscal Year 2050.

C-5 Galaxies Now Slated To Keep Flying Until 2050 As Readiness Plummets To 37 Percent

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted Yesterday

The Air Force is now looking to conduct a formal review of its requirements to see whether the development of a successor to the B-52 might be warranted, and potentially sooner rather than later.

USAF Is Going To Explore What Will Finally Replace The B-52

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 7, 2026

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle, specially painted to mark 40 years since Operation Eldorado Canyon, the raid on Libya, has taken to the air.

Camouflaged F-15E Painted To Mark F-111’s Libya Raid Blasts Through Mach Loop On First Flight

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 7, 2026

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer performs a functional check flight in a stripped, bare-metal configuration over Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Feb. 26, 2026. The aircraft was undergoing depot maintenance after being removed from long-term storage and is part of an effort to return the bomber to service.

B-1B “Apocalypse II” Out Of The Boneyard And Back In Service

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 6, 2026

Northrop Grumman's experimental XRQ-73 Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration (SHEPARD) hybrid-electric drone has now taken to the skies.

DARPA’s XRQ-73 Hybrid-Electric Flying Wing Drone Has Flown

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 6, 2026

The compact version of the AIM-9X is being developed with a focus on increased magazine depth when carried internally by "advanced aircraft," while also offering improved range and performance.

Smaller AIM-9X Sidewinder For Stealthy Weapons Bays Is In Development

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 5, 2026

Israel’s first Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker — now given the Hebrew name Gideon, after a biblical judge and military leader — has completed its first flight in the United States, with delivery expected soon. As we have discussed in the past, new tankers and additional refueling capacity are something the Israeli Air Force increasingly needs.

Israeli Air Force

Israel’s First KC-46 Tanker Is Now Flying

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 4, 2026

As it continues its very high tempo of operations in the Middle East, the Israeli Air Force is set to get two new fighter squadrons, one each of the F-15IA and the stealthy F-35I Adir. While the numbers involved were not stated, the IAF has recently bolstered its fighter inventory in the form of 25-aircraft squadrons. This is almost certain to be the case here, too, which would provide the service with an eventual total of 100 F-35Is and 50 F-15IAs.

Israeli Air Force

Israel To Buy Extra F-15IA And F-35I Squadrons

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 3, 2026

A donated Qatari 747-8i has been modified and flight tested to serve as an Air Force One and will be delivered to the Presidential Airlift Group by this summer, according to the Air Force.

New VC-25B Air Force One “Bridge” Aircraft Now Fully Modified And Flight Tested

By Howard Altman

Updated on May 1, 2026

Two Massive Chinese Stealth Flying Wings Spotted Again at Secretive Drone Base

People's Liberation Army Air Force (China)

China’s Massive Stealth Flying Wings Spotted Together At Secretive Test Base

By Tyler Rogoway, Ian Ellis-Jones

Updated on May 1, 2026

The Department of Energy is seeking millions of dollars for work in part on a new bunker-busting nuclear weapon called the Nuclear Deterrent System-Air-delivered (NDS-A) in its latest budget request.

New Nuclear Bunker Buster Bomb Plans Revealed (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 1, 2026

A U.S. Air Force E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node aircraft assigned to the 430th Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron sits parked after participating in an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) integration exercise at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, March 24, 2021. Globally integrated ISR capabilities ensure U.S. and partner forces carry out mission requirements with great situational awareness of the battlespace.

Air Force Wants To Axe Its E-11A BACN Communications Jets

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 30, 2026

For the first time, as far as we know, the U.S. Air Force has publicly released imagery showing a B-1B Lancer bomber carrying an AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile, or ARRW.

B-1B Seen Carrying ARRW Hypersonic Missile For The First Time

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 30, 2026