Air(Page 3)

Latest in Air

F-47 X-plane demonstrators
Air

F-47 Was Born Out Of Secret X-Planes Built By Both Boeing And Lockheed

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Mar 23, 2025

F-47 NGAD from Boeing.
Air

Boeing Wins F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance Fighter Contract (Updated)

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 22, 2025

Ammo dump destroyed in Russia at Engles Air Base.
News & Features

Russian Bomber Base Suffered Major Damage To Munitions Area In Ukrainian Drone Attack

By Howard Altman

Posted on Mar 21, 2025

F-35 Hill AFB
Air

F-35s From Hill AFB Arrive In England

By Howard Altman

Updated on Mar 20, 2025

Ukraine Has Another New SAM System That Fires Soviet R-73 Air-To-Air Missiles
Air

Ukraine Has Another New SAM System That Fires Soviet R-73 Air-To-Air Missiles

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 20, 2025

Kratos has revealed that it is working on a new drone capable of flying at hypersonic speeds, typically defined as anything above Mach 5.
Air

Kratos Has A Hypersonic Drone In The Works

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 20, 2025

An apparent Ukrainian drone attack targeted Russia’s Engels-2 Air Base in the Saratov region 300 miles from the Ukrainian border, according to available imagery. At this stage it’s unclear whether any Russian aircraft were damaged in the incident, although there are indications that the primary target was a weapons storage area. Long-range bombers flying from the base regularly attack Ukraine and the airfield, and other like it, have long been high-priority targets for Kyiv.
Air

Massive Explosion Rocks Key Bomber Base Deep Inside Russia

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 20, 2025

Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) used drone boats to launch FPV drones against Russian radar systems in Crimea.
News & Features

Ukraine Launches FPV Drone Attack On Russia’s Air Defenses In Crimea

By Howard Altman

Posted on Mar 19, 2025

Laser-Guided Rockets Shown Shooting Down Houthi Drones For First Time
Air

Laser-Guided Rockets Shown Shooting Down Houthi Drones For First Time

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Mar 19, 2025

Our Best Look At Ukraine’s ‘FrankenBuk’ Air Defense System
Air

Our Best Look At Ukraine’s ‘FrankenBuk’ Air Defense System

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 18, 2025

France's President Emmanuel Macron (C) delivers a speech in front of a Dassault Mirage 2000 (L) and a Dassault Rafale (R) fighter aircrafts during his visit of the French Air and Space Force (Armee de l'air et de l'espace) Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur Airbase in Saint-Sauveur, north-eastern France on March 18, 2025.
Air

France To Expand Its Nuclear Deterrent With New Air Base

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 18, 2025

The U.S. Navy is set to help integrate the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) onto the F-16 Viper fighter, giving those jets a huge enhancement in anti-ship capability.
Air

F-16 Is Getting Massive Anti-Ship Missile Upgrade

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 18, 2025

BlueHalo has, for the first time, launched its Freedom Eagle-1 (FE-1) kinetic missile, being developed for the U.S. Army’s Next-Gen Counter-Uncrewed Aerial System (C-UAS) program. The new missile, intended to be cheap to procure and able to be built rapidly in volume, is part of a new multi-pronged Army effort to better meet the proliferating drone threat head-on.
Air

BlueHalo’s FE-1 Low-Cost Surface-To-Air Missile Fired For First Time

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 17, 2025

The U.S. Army is contributing ground-based radars to help spot and track drones as part of the continued build-up of U.S. military support along with the U.S.-Mexican border.
Land

Radars Deployed To Mexico Border To Detect Cartel Drones (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 17, 2025

J36 second flight from its base in Chengdu.
Air

China’s J-36 Tailless Stealth Fighter Seen Flying For Second Time

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 17, 2025

Israel has confirmed that its F-35 stealth fighters have flown airstrikes using external ordnance. The F-35’s so-called ‘beast mode,’ featuring heavier loads on underwing pylons, is well known by now, but as far as is known, has not been called upon operationally by any other countries. Meanwhile, Israel’s unique F-35I fleet — locally known as the “Adir” (Hebrew for mighty) — which features various local modifications, has frequently been at the forefront of demonstrating new capabilities.
Air

Israeli F-35s First To Use ‘Beast Mode’ In Combat

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 17, 2025

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin has confirmed that U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes have been flying missions around the border with Mexico.
Air

U-2 Spy Planes Are Flying Border Security Missions Air Force Confirms

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 14, 2025

New imagery shows the progress made on North Korea’s shadowy airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, based on an Ilyushin Il-76 Candid airlifter, and which you can read more about in our analysis of when it first broke cover. Since the start of this year the aircraft now had its rotodome fitted, putting paid to any suggestion that it’s intended for a role other than AEW&C.
Air

Our Best Look At North Korea’s New Early-Warning Radar Plane

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Mar 14, 2025

A-4 being loaded with bombs during the Falklands War.
Air

Argentine Air Force Went To War With Chaff Made By Pasta Machine

By Thomas Newdick, Mariano Sciaroni

Posted on Mar 14, 2025

Two Ukrainian firms, both partnered with American companies, are among those now set to demonstrate long-range one-way drones to the U.S. military as part of a project called Artemis.
Air

Ukrainian Long-Range Attack Drones To Be Tested By U.S. Military

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Mar 14, 2025

Improved versions of the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) are reportedly among the weapons that will be sent to Ukraine after the United States after Washington decided to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv. The GLSDB had made its combat debut in Ukraine, but had reportedly performed poorly there, especially due to the effects of Russian electronic warfare, and was last used “months ago.”
Land

Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb Headed To Ukraine For Its Second Try At Combat: Report

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 14, 2025

F-15EX deliveries accelerating.
Air

F-15EX Production Heats Up

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 13, 2025

T-45 Goshawks rest aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort as part of the advanced course of the Student Naval Aviator strike pilot training program Sept. 15. The Goshawk is a fully carrier-capable version of the British Aerospace Hawk Mk-60. It was developed as a jet flight trainer for the Navy and Marine Corps. The T-45s are with Training Air Wing 1 from Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss. and TRAWING-2 from NAS Kingsville, Texas. The TRAWINGs chose MCAS Beaufort as an alternate training site due to its accommodations and facilities for jet aircraft.
Air

T-45 Navy Jet Trainer Fleet Grounded After Engine Incident

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 13, 2025

B-52 Re-Engining Plan Comes Into Sharper Focus
Air

B-52 Re-Engining Plan Comes Into Sharper Focus

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 13, 2025

Pictures have appeared on social media showing work in Ukraine to turn a tethered aerostat – what is more colloquially called a balloon – into an elevated platform for launching kamikaze drones at incoming long-range one-way attack drones.
Air

Balloon-Launched Drone To Intercept Long Range Kamikaze Drones Emerges In Ukraine

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 12, 2025

Dutch frigate fires Tomahawk
Air

Tomahawk Cruise Missile Fired By Dutch Navy Frigate For First Time

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Mar 12, 2025

SOCOM wants Green Berets to have FPV drones to operate in caves.
Land

Green Berets Looking For FPV Drones To Help Them Clear Hostile Cave Complexes

By Howard Altman

Posted on Mar 12, 2025

In response to recent European media reports, Lockheed Martin and several governments have pushed back on the idea that F-35 Joint Strike Fighters have any kind of a discreet 'kill switch' that U.S. authorities could use to remotely disable the jets.
Air

You Don’t Need A Kill Switch To Hobble Exported F-35s

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 11, 2025

A view of destroyed buildings and area after a massive drone attack at the Leninsky urban district (Vidnoye) and Domodedovo (Yam village) at 4 am in Moscow, Russia on March 11, 2025. At least 2 people were killed and 20 others injured in a "massive" drone attack on Russia.
News & Features

Drones Rained Down On Moscow Ahead Of Ukraine Peace Talks

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 11, 2025

Russia's airbase is Syria has been flooded with people trying to escape violence between warring factions.
News & Features

Russia’s Air Base In Syria Has Become Refuge From Fierce Sectarian Violence

By Howard Altman

Updated on Mar 10, 2025

An F16-D Fighting Falcon pilot from the 40th Flight Test Squadron demonstrates proper flare technique during a training mission near Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., June 6, 2019. A flare is an aerial infrared countermeasure used by planes or helicopter to counter an infrared homing surface-to-air missile or air-to-air missile. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joshua Hoskins)
Air

AI-Enabled Cognitive Electronic Warfare Capability Plugs Into F-16’s Existing Radar Warning Receiver

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Mar 10, 2025

Members of the U.S. Navy's Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 (VX-31) contributed to an important increase in live-fire testing of the secretive AIM-260A long-range air-to-air missile last year, it has emerged.
Air

Secretive AIM-260 Air-To-Air Missile Live-Fire Testing Surged Last Year With Navy Help

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 10, 2025

Battles take place between the new Syrian government's Defense Ministry forces and the forces loyal to Bashar Assad on March 7, 2025, in outskirts of Jableh, Latakia countryside, Syria.
News & Features

Worst Fighting In Syria Since Fall Of Assad Regime

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 8, 2025

U.S. Army AH-64 Apaches Armed With Israeli Spike Missiles Now Flying in Iraq
Air

U.S. Army AH-64 Apaches Armed With Israeli Spike Missiles Now Flying in Iraq

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 7, 2025

The U.S. Space Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission Seven successfully landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, March 7, 2025. The X-37B landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, to exercise the service's ability to recover the spaceplane across multiple sites. 
Space

X-37B Returns To Earth, Space Force Won’t Commit To Buying More

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 7, 2025

B-21 refueling requirements are pushing rethinking of tanker needs.
Air

B-21 Aerial Refueling Demands Further Point To It Being A Stealthy Flying Gas Can

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 7, 2025

The U.S. Air Force's new Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones are being developed around fundamentally different understandings of maintenance, logistics, and sustainment, with a heavy focus on commercial-of-the-shelf components, than the service's existing crewed and uncrewed platforms.
Air

Collaborative Combat Drones Designed From Ground Up To Do Logistics Differently

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Mar 6, 2025

F-16 Fighting Falcons from Kunsan Air Base and South Korean KF-16s taxi to the runway together during Exercise Buddy Wing 14-8 at Seosan Air Base, Republic of Korea Aug. 21, 2014. The purpose of the exercise was not only to improve interoperability between U.S. Air Force and ROKAF fighter squadrons, but to practice with ROKAF KF-16 units for their first upcoming RED FLAG exercise in Alaska.
Air

South Korean F-16s Just Bombed A Town By Accident

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 6, 2025

U.S. Air Force officials remain focused on the ability to disperse forces to far-flung operating locations as the primary means of reducing vulnerability to enemy attacks.
Air

USAF Generals Downplay Calls For More Hardened Aircraft Shelters In Pacific Theater

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 5, 2025

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle conducts combat patrols over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility Oct. 20, 2024. The F-15E is deployed within the USCENTCOM AOR to help defend U.S. interests, promote regional security, and deter aggression in the region.
Air

F-15’s New EPAWSS Electronic Warfare Suite Already Has Successor In Development

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 5, 2025

Lockheed Martin has revealed more about its Common Multi-Mission Truck (CMMT, pronounced ‘comet’), a revised design based on its Speed Racer air vehicle, a missile-shaped uncrewed system you can read more about here. The CMMT is now said to be a family of systems, intended to yield low-cost air vehicles designed for a wide range of missions.
Air

Lockheed’s Low-Cost Cruise Missile ‘Truck’ Is Now In Testing

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 5, 2025

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), has revealed that its jet-powered MQ-20 Avenger drone, equipped with U.S. government-provided autonomy software, took part in a recent Orange Flag test exercise. This is the latest milestone for the Avenger, which has been heavily involved in the testing of different artificial intelligence-driven autonomy systems for several years now.
Air

MQ-20 Avenger Tests ‘Hivemind’ AI In Orange Flag Exercise

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Posted on Mar 5, 2025

Thales Scorpion will equip the F-22s of the Hawaii ANG.
Air

F-22 Raptor Pilots Finally Getting Helmet Mounted Displays

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 5, 2025

A deep review of the U.S. Air Force's paused plans to acquire a new crewed sixth-generation stealth combat jet came to the unambiguous conclusion that the service needs such an aircraft to be best positioned to achieve air superiority in future high-end fights.
Air

Next Generation Fighter Critical To Future Air Superiority, Key USAF Study Concluded

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 5, 2025

A novel type of jet propulsion, a rotating detonation engine (RDE), has been successfully tested by Pratt & Whitney. The development is highly significant for the U.S. military, with RDE technology at the center of the project called Gambit, which aims to provide a propulsion system for a mass-producible, low-cost, high-supersonic, long-range weapon for air-to-ground strike.
Air

Rotating Detonation Engine For Future High-Performance Missiles Successfully Tested

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 4, 2025

The U.S. Air Force has designated the drones that General Atomics and Anduril are currently developing as part of the first phase, or Increment 1, of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program as the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, respectively.
Air

‘Fighter Drone’ Designations Officially Assigned To Collaborative Combat Aircraft By USAF

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 4, 2025

Lockheed Martin says it conducted six successful flight tests last year as part of work to add new capabilities on the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter.
Air

F-22 Raptors Completed Six Test Flights For New Sensor Upgrades

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 3, 2025

Top Aces Viper in Blue camouflage
Air

Private F-16 Aggressors Getting Ability To Insert Synthetic Bandits Into Live Training

By Eric Tegler

Updated on Mar 3, 2025

The U.S. Space Force is looking at reactivating a rocket launching site on a remote Pacific island to test technologies for future rocket cargo delivery missions. The site, on Johnston Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, around 860 miles southwest of Hawaii, is now earmarked for the potential construction of two landing pads. This is part of the Rocket Cargo Vanguard program, which seeks to use rockets to move military supplies from one point on Earth to another much more rapidly than is currently possible.
Space

Notorious Abandoned Pacific Island Outpost Eyed For Space Force Rocket Cargo Delivery Tests

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 3, 2025

The U.S. Air Force expects to continue utilizing QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) drones converted from F-16 Vipers fighters through at least 2035 despite moving in recent years to wind the program down.
Air

QF-16 Zombie Vipers To Keep Flying And Dying Into The 2030s

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 3, 2025

AGM114R9X seen in action for the first time
Air

Bladed ‘Ginsu’ Hellfire Missile Seen In Action For First Time

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 1, 2025

The Air Force will inspect all 89 of its KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling jets after cracks were found on two set for delivery to the Military Delivery Center.
Air

Cracks In KC-46 Tankers Halt All Deliveries

By Howard Altman

Updated on Mar 1, 2025

Meteor Missile F-35B testing
Air

F-35B Has Flown With Meteor Long-Range Air-To-Air Missile

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 28, 2025

An apparently new photo published by Boeing shows one of its F-15 Advanced Eagle series fighters fitted with what looks like a previously unseen infrared search and track (IRST) sensor ahead of the cockpit.
Air

F-15 Nose-Mounted Infrared Sensor Hinted At In New Boeing Photo

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Feb 27, 2025

The Army tested a new unit, called a Multi Purpose Company, to find and engage with the enemy.
Land

New Scout Unit That Heavily Leverages Drones, Electronic Warfare Tested By U.S. Army

By Howard Altman

Posted on Feb 27, 2025

The U.S. Air Force has formally dubbed its forthcoming OA-1K light attack aircraft as the Skyraider II.
Air

OA-1K Light Attack Special Ops Aircraft Officially Named Skyraider II

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 27, 2025

In this handout image provided by the U.S. Air Force, 492nd FS commander, prepare to taxi their F-15E Strike Eagle prior to their departure from RAF Lakenheath in preparation for Operation Odyssey Dawn missions March 19, 2011 in Lakenheath, United, Kingdom. Approximately 112 cruise missiles fired from U.S. and British ships and submarines targeting about 20 radar and anti-aircraft sites along Libya's Mediterranean coast.
Air

USAF Air Base In England Is Nuclear Capable Again: Watchdog Report

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 27, 2025

Boeing expects to shutter its production of the Little Bird light helicopter after fulfilling a current contract with the Thai armed forces.
Air

Boeing’s Little Bird Helicopter Production Set To End

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 26, 2025

Raytheon has revealed that’s working on a ground-launched version of its StormBreaker glide bomb, previously available only in air-launched form. The new development of the weapon should provide a follow-on to the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), which made its combat debut in Ukraine, but which has reportedly performed poorly, including due to heavy Russian jamming.
Air

Ground-Launched And Powered Air-Launched Versions Of StormBreaker Glide Bomb Are In Development

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Feb 26, 2025

The U.S. Air Force's force design director says analyses to date show the service will face more operational risk and be less able to achieve assigned objectives without a new crewed sixth-generation combat jet.
Air

Axing Next Generation Fighter Would Leave Air Force Worse Off: Force Design Boss

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 26, 2025

The U.S. Air Force has confirmed that a recently released rendering from the AIM-260A does indeed reflect the actual design of what is also known as the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM).
Air

This Is What The Classified AIM-260 Missile Actually Looks Like, Air Force Confirms

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Feb 26, 2025

South Korea today unveiled a new stealthy loyal wingman-type drone, the Low Observable Unmanned Wingman System, or LOWUS, which it plans to operate alongside the locally developed KF-21 Boramae next-generation fighter, among others.
Air

South Korea’s Loyal Wingman Air Combat Drone Unveiled

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 25, 2025

China’s Massive WZ-9 Divine Eagle Drone Now Operating From South China Sea Base
Air

China’s Massive WZ-9 Divine Eagle Drone Now Operating From South China Sea Base

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Feb 25, 2025

France is apparently looking at the possibility of deploying air-launched nuclear weapons to Germany, a consideration that’s being made amid growing concerns that the United States will no longer guarantee European security under NATO. Broader discussions about nuclear deterrence among European leaders points very clearly to the deepening crisis in the transatlantic alliance under U.S. President Donald Trump.
Air

France Eyeing Deployment Of Nuclear-Armed Rafale Fighters To Germany: Report

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 25, 2025