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Military Aviation History

Latest in Military Aviation History

On the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the de Havilland Canada Chipmunk basic trainer, an aircraft that generations of British military pilots learned to fly, it’s worth recalling perhaps the most unusual episodes of its career. Between 1956 and 1989, a handful of these propeller-driven trainers kept watch on Warsaw Pact forces in the divided and heavily fortified city of Berlin — a front line of the Cold War.
Military Aviation History

The Tiny Chipmunk Trainer Was The Cold War’s Most Unlikely Spyplane

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 24, 2026

An F-14D Tomcat pulls up after performing a fly-by past the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) as the ship operates in the Atlantic Ocean on June 19, 2006.
Military Aviation History

My God… The F-14 Tomcat May Actually Fly Again Over The United States (Updated)

By Thomas Newdick, 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.
Military Aviation History

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

On August 27, 1962, pilot Lt. Col. A. I. Shein took off in a single-seat Su-7B, with a live 244N nuclear bomb carried on the centerline station below the fuselage. He then headed for the Semipalatinsk test site on the Soviet steppe. Also known as “The Polygon,” the Semipalatinsk range was the main test site for Soviet nuclear weapons. It is in the Abai region, in what is now Kazakhstan.
Military Aviation History

Rare Video Appears To Show A Soviet Su-7 Jet Dropping A Nuclear Bomb

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 26, 2026

Image of Spitfire “K5054”, seen here alongside two F35 Lightning II Jets from RAF Marham as they transit to RAF Coningsby in the UK. The first flight of the eagerly anticipated commemorative Spitfire90 tour has successfully landed at RAF Coningsby. The nine flights have been organised to celebrate 90 years since the Supermarine Spitfire’s maiden flight. Departing from Southampton International Airport earlier today, the very site where Captain Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers piloted the original Spitfire prototype K5054 on 5th March 1936, the specially painted two-seat Spitfire, replicating the original K5054, was escorted by the Dakota and Spitfire AB910 belonging to the Royal Air Force’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) as it made its way to RAF Coningsby, the home of the BBMF. During the flight, "K5054" was also joined in the vicinity of RAF Marham by two F35 Lightning II aircraft.
Military Aviation History

Spitfire Completes Unique Formation Flights With Royal Air Force

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 19, 2026

The Cold War-era Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne might have been bugged my multiple issues, but there’s no doubt it was the world’s most advanced attack helicopter of its day. But so radical was the AH-56, and its revolutionary features so far ahead of their time, that it’s a very suitable moniker for the U.S. Army’s highly anticipated MV-75 tiltrotor, rolled out today, and officially named Cheyenne II.
Military Aviation History

Army Names Its New MV-75 Tiltrotor Cheyenne II

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 15, 2026

A front view of an SR-71 aircraft assigned to Detachment 4, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, as it prepares for takeoff.
Military Aviation History

SR-71 Blackbird Crews Had These Custom Smith & Wesson Pistols Built For Them

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 3, 2026

RF-4C Phantom reconnaissance aircraft from the 152nd Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Reno, Nev., prepare for a mission during Operation Desert Shield.
Military Aviation History

Flying F-4 Reconnaissance Phantoms Unarmed And Unafraid In Desert Storm

By James Deboer

Updated on Jan 27, 2026

Developed during the Cold War, the Hind-G1 was a dedicated NBC reconnaissance version of the Mi-24, first flown in prototype form in 1978.
Military Aviation History

The Story Of Ukraine’s Rare Mi-24 Hind Radiation Detection Helicopters

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jan 10, 2026

F-117 combat debut in Panama happened 36 years ago today.
Military Aviation History

The F-117 Nighthawk First Went To War 36 Years Ago Today

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Dec 20, 2025

India’s then-controversial decision to buy the MiG-21 ushered in an era in which Soviet (and latterly Russian) fighters were dominant in the Indian Air Force, a situation that continues to this day. While India buying arms from Moscow is now well established, the Fishbed helped kick off this trend. The delta-winged fighter was selected in favor of Western designs to revamp the Indian Air Force. A key driver was the need to field a fighter that would challenge the F-104 Starfighter that the Pakistan Air Force was then operating.
Military Aviation History

India’s Iconic MiG-21 Blasts Off Into Retirement

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 26, 2025

A C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 164th Airlift Wing, Memphis Air National Guard, Tennessee departs from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska providing airlift support for 11th Airborne Division soldiers participating in Talisman Sabre 25, July 13, 2025. Talisman Sabre 25 is a bilateral exercise with multinational participation hosted by Australia, in partnership with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. The Talisman Sabre series is the principal Australian-U.S. military training activity focused on mid-intensity, high-end war fighting to ensure our forces are capable, interoperable, deployable on short notice and combat-ready.
Military Aviation History

The Unusual Asymmetry Of The C-17 Globemaster III

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 7, 2025

Yesterday’s “show of force” by a pair of Venezuelan F-16s close to a U.S. Navy destroyer has put the spotlight very much back on the intriguing history of the South American nation’s Viper fleet. While you can catch up with our initial reporting on the incident, which involved the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Jason Dunham, here, it’s an opportune time to review why a country now so hostile to the United States flies F-16s.
Military Aviation History

The Unlikely Saga Of Venezuela’s F-16s

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 5, 2025

The Argentine Navy has brought back to service an example of the classic Cold War-era Grumman S-2 Tracker anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Returning to duty a remarkable 73 years after the type first took to the air, the S-2T in question is currently the only example of the Tracker in active military service anywhere in the world. At the same time, the fact that the aircraft has been reactivated points to the very limited resources available to modernize the Argentine Navy’s aging air component.
Military Aviation History

This S-2 Tracker Is The Last Of Its Kind In Military Use

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Jul 17, 2025

The unique RF-5E Tigergazer reconnaissance aircraft operated by the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) has been stood down from service. The retirement of Taiwan’s RF-5Es comes after the country bid farewell to its F-5E Tiger II fighters at the end of 2023, after almost half a century of operations. With high levels of tension between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, the ROCAF’s future tactical reconnaissance needs will be handled by drones and pod-equipped F-16 fighters.
Military Aviation History

Taiwan’s RF-5 Tigergazer Reconnaissance Jets Have Retired

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 7, 2025

X-36 was an early progenitor that lead to the F-47.
Military Aviation History

Reflections Of The F-47: Looking Back At The X-36

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 27, 2025