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Royal Air Force

Latest in Royal Air Force

Farnborough International Airshow, 2026 Combat Air launch Client : BAE Systems Picture date: Tuesday July 21, 2026
Royal Air Force

Brontanax Fighter Drone Is The UK’s Big Leap Into Collaborative Combat Aircraft

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 22, 2026

BAE Systems is exploring how the Eurofighter Typhoon could control uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) as part of a broader effort to introduce new capabilities for the jet. The company is currently pursuing concepts to integrate CCAs with the Typhoon to expand ‘combat mass’ and better address emerging threat environments. Ultimately, however, the experience gained here will be ported over to the future Tempest combat jet — designed to work closely with drone from the outset.
Royal Air Force

Typhoons Paired With CCA Fighter Drones Armed With Meteor Missiles Eyed By UK

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 21, 2026

The U.K. Royal Air Force has launched a new collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) program, named Storm Fighter, reviving a British push into the autonomous ‘loyal wingman’ arena as the service seeks to build what officials describe as “Europe’s first sixth-generation air force.” The announcement, made by a senior government official today, marks a renewed effort to field uncrewed combat aircraft designed to operate alongside crewed combat jets after earlier British CCA initiatives lost momentum.
Royal Air Force

UK Unveils Storm Fighter Loyal Wingman Program

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 16, 2026

F-35A will be bought by UK's RAF for training.
Royal Air Force

UK “Did Not Buy” F-35A For Nuclear Role: RAF

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 15, 2026

Uncrewed systems will be at the heart of the UK Armed Forces in the future, under a more than $6.6-billion initiative that looks to transform all three services and the way they fight. Most dramatically, the new defense plan will see the Royal Navy switch to a “hybrid” format, with autonomous vessels and AI combined with crewed warships and aircraft. But there are equally far-reaching measures set to reconfigure the British Army and Royal Air Force (RAF) around uncrewed and autonomous capabilities.
Royal Air Force

UK Sacrifices Its Future Destroyer As Part Of Massive Bet On Drones Across Its Forces

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jun 30, 2026

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.
Royal Air Force

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

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 24, 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.
Royal Air Force

Spitfire Completes Unique Formation Flights With Royal Air Force

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 19, 2026

BAE has test fired APKWS rockets from an RAF Typhoon for the first time.
Royal Air Force

Eurofighter Typhoon Test Fires Laser-Guided Counter-Drone Rockets

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 8, 2026

F-35B ready to carry out defensive counter-air sortie operations across the Middle East. British jets are protecting UK personnel and allied nations across the Middle East. These operations form part of the UK’s broader commitment to regional security and an active commitment to protect our personnel and allies. ** Some blurring has been applied for operational security reasons **
Royal Air Force

UK Grows Its Defensive Posture Abroad In Response To Iran Conflict

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 11, 2026

A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing 17, deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), flies over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility during a mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve Sept. 28, 2020. The F/A-18 is a highly versatile aircraft due to its avionics, cockpit displays, aerodynamic characteristics, and its ability to carry a wide variety of weapons. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Duncan C. Bevan)
Royal Air Force

Friendly-Fire Incidents Are Nothing New In Modern Air Warfare

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 2, 2026

F-35B UK issues
Royal Air Force

United Kingdom’s F-35 Program Slammed For Cost-Saving Blunders

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 24, 2025

The Yantar, a notorious Russian spy ship, directed lasers at the crews of U.K. Royal Air Force aircraft in waters off the north of Scotland, the British government said today.
Royal Air Force

Russian Spy Ship Targets Royal Air Force Jets With Laser

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 19, 2025

Boeing, Saab, and BAE Systems have teamed up to offer the T-7A Red Hawk advanced jet trainer to the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force. With a plan to build the jets in the United Kingdom, the partnership aims to deliver a successor to the Royal Air Force’s current fleet of BAE Systems Hawks from 2030.
Royal Air Force

T-7 Red Hawk Jet Trainer Offer To United Kingdom Includes Local Assembly

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 18, 2025

The U.K. Royal Navy flagship, HMS Prince of Wales, is now carrying 24 F-35B fighters — the largest number to go aboard either of the U.K’s two aircraft carriers. This is a significant achievement for the British F-35 force, which has long faced questions about the feasibility of deploying a meaningful number of the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) jets at sea — without U.S. Marine Corps aircraft making up the numbers.
Royal Air Force

British Carrier Hosts Largest Number Of F-35Bs On A Ship Ever

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 7, 2025

Image of a Royal Air Force Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, seen here flying over RAF Lossiemouth. In a training flight conducted over the Moray Firth a Poseidon (P-8A) aircraft operated by 120 Sqn, based at RAF Lossiemouth, dropped a recoverable exercise variant of the Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo, simulating an attack on a submarine. At just under 3m long and 32cm in diameter, the Mk 54 torpedo is small and light enough that five can be carried in the Poseidon's internal weapons bay. the high-explosive warheads on the live torpedoes pack a devastating punch sufficient to destroy enemy submarines that the Poseidon crew can locate and track using state-of-the-art equipment. The successful release of a torpedo is the latest milestone in the rapid development of the Poseidon in RAF service. Five Poseidon MRA1s are based at RAF Lossiemouth with a further four set to be delivered by the end of this year. The station, which is situated in close proximity to one of the aircraft's most frequent area of operations, is benefiting from a multi-million pound investment programme bringing significant economic benefits to the Highlands & Islands and Morayshire communities. The Poseidon is fitted with advanced, state-of-the-art, Anti-Submarine Warfare and Anti-Surface Warfare sensors which will provide global protection to UK, NATO and our Allies' submarines and warships in an increasingly dangerous world.
Royal Air Force

British P-8 Poseidon Flies Unusual Overland Mission Along Polish Border

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 15, 2025

The U.K. Royal Air Force F-35B stealth jet that was forced to make an emergency diversion to Japan last week is still there, the U.K. Ministry of Defense has told TWZ.
Royal Air Force

UK F-35B Still Stranded In Japan Is Awaiting Spare Parts

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Aug 14, 2025