Military Aviation

Yesterday, the U.S. Air Force’s new head of Air Combat Command (ACC) announced he will give all wings under his authority one month to ensure all airmen adhere to the USAF’s latest dress and grooming standards. Wilsbach said while he believes most personnel adhere to standards, he is “concerned by a discernable decline” in the […]

After a couple of years of letting it all hang out, the Canadian Armed Forces is telling its members, including pilots, to tidy up their locks and whiskers. Beards now have to be trimmed to no longer than an inch and hair longer than the lower collar must be tied back when the members are […]

U.S. military V-22 Osprey tiltrotors will be restricted from their full range of flight operations until at least 2025, and at least one congressman is calling for full regrounding of the entire fleet. The head of a Pentagon program that is addressing safety concerns over the aircraft advised members of the House oversight hearing on […]

Dozens of NATO fighter pilots congregated last week at Ramstein Air Base in Germany for a U.S.-led exercise designed to hone their dogfighting skills. The first-of-its-kind competition, dubbed “Ramstein 1v1,” challenged combat pilots from the U.S., U.K., Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France and Germany. The meeting was assembled in light of Russian ground gains […]

The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has awarded a $105 million contract to Merlin to build virtually autonomously operated C-130J Super Hercules transports. Although the description of the resulting aircraft is that they have “reduced aircrew capability,” one of the requirements for the contract is that they be able to fly takeoff to touchdown without […]

A partnership between two of Canada’s largest aerospace companies has been awarded an $8.1 billion (USD) contract to provide flight training aircraft and infrastructure to the Royal Canadian Air Force for 25 years starting in 2029. SkyAlyne, which is simulator training company CAE and MRO KF Aerospace, will buy 71 new aircraft to be used […]

China has successfully landed a probe on the back side of the moon, and it intends to bring part of it back to Earth with a load of rocks. The Chang’e-6 lander landed in the Aitken Basin near the South Pole. It touched down in a crater and appears to be operating normally. The lander […]

Bell Textron announced Tuesday that its jet-assisted next generation tiltrotor design has been picked to continue development in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) X-Plane program. DARPA will fund the design of an aircraft that can take off and land vertically but also fly at 400 knots or more. […]

Likely for the first time in decades, an active-duty Royal Air Force pilot died in the crash of a Spitfire on Saturday. Squadron Leader Mark Long was taking part in a display by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RAF Coningsby in northwest England. The aircraft reportedly suffered an engine failure on takeoff and […]

Airmen and Space Force Guardians may soon be able to grow beards under a proposed pilot program introduced by the House Armed Services Committee this week. According to Military.com, the proposal is one of the most requested policy changes among the ranks. The beard proposal was included in the committee’s draft of the 2025 National […]