Military Aviation

The Air Force has pitted a human fighter pilot against artificial intelligence but it won’t say who won. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Air Force’s Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base poured AI into a modified F-16 called the X-62A VISTA for a head-to-chip battle over the high desert last […]

The Marine Corps’ top pilot for 2024 never leaves the ground. For the first time, a drone pilot, Maj. Shane Gentry, has been named the Corps’ Marine Aviator of the Year. He was also named recipient of the Alfred A. Cunningham Award by the Marine Corp Aviation Association. Gentry is a member of the Marine […]

Addressing what is described as years of neglect of military support, French President Emmanuel Macron is exerting pressure to pump up defense production. The ongoing war in Ukraine is said to be among the motivators for Macron’s initiative. In an article published by Politico, Macron identifies Thales-built Ground Master air surveillance radar systems as pivotal […]

Ukraine’s latest potent weapon is a homegrown drone that, when it’s not carrying hundreds of pounds of high explosive, has room for two adults and their baggage. The “mass drone attack” conducted against three air bases hundreds of miles inside Russia was reportedly carried out, at least in part, by Aeroprakt A-22 light sport aircraft […]

The U.S. Air Force announced yesterday (April 3) that the first three F-16 fighters have arrived at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for autonomous flight modifications. The USAF 96th Test Wing and 53rd Wing accepted the Fighting Falcons for participation in the Viper Experimental and Next-gen Operations Model – Autonomy Flying Testbed (VENOM-AFT) program. […]

The Marines have trained their last two AV-8 Harrier II pilots as the Corps begins the final phaseout of the VTOL jet. “The significance of the last replacement pilot training flight in the Harrier community is that it is the beginning of the end for us as a community,” said Capt. Joshua Corbett, who with Capt. […]

The U.S. Navy has modified its multi-aircraft contract with Boeing for the remaining 17 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The Navy calls the $1.1 billion deal adjustment a “win.” Contract talks between Boeing and the Navy had stalled last year over pricing, which was bringing the cost per airframe closer to the tab for a fifth-generation Lockheed […]

The U.S. Marine Corps’ latest airplane acquisition is a supersonic interceptor that first flew off the drawing board 65 years ago. The Marines are buying 22 Northrop F-5 Tigers from the Swiss air force. The first one was loaded on a C-130 on March 18 for the trip back to the U.S. where it will […]

As revealed in Monday’s 1,040-page Pentagon budget justification document on its 2025 budget, the Air Force’s T-7A “Red Hawk” trainer program is facing yet another delay. Entry into service is now projected for mid-2028, a full year’s delay from the last published date. Air Force spokesman Andrew Hunter told reporters yesterday (March 12) that a […]

Ukraine claims it has damaged or destroyed another Russian AWACs plane, this time while it was on the ground. Newsweek is reporting the high value A-50 was hit when Ukraine launched a mass drone attack against a repair facility in Taganrog, just east of the front lines. Russian officials acknowledged the attack, saying they downed […]