Military Aviation

Europe’s Nordic countries have combined their air defense forces into a single unit totaling about 250 modern fighters to blunt any territorial expansion plans by Russia. Norway, Denmark and Finland will contribute their F-35s while Sweden will add its Gripens to the force. “Our combined fleet can be compared to [that of] a large European […]

While the official government position is that there is no position on sending fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian military, Congress now has a comprehensive report on things it might consider on the topic. The U.S. Naval Institute has released a copy of a report by the Congressional Research Service that goes over the pros and […]

Boeing has been awarded a $1.9 billion contract to produce 184 AH-64E Apache multirole combat helicopters for the U.S. Army and international customers. The contract covers 115 remanufactured Apaches with options for 15 additional aircraft for the Army and 54 aircraft for the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Boeing noted that the order will include […]

Aljazeera is reporting that the Russian pilots involved in the downing of a U.S. Reaper surveillance drone have been given awards and suggests that means it’s open season on the aircraft operating near Ukraine. “The drone flew with its transponders off, violating the boundaries of the area of the temporary airspace usage regime established for […]

A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone went down in the Black Sea on Tuesday following an encounter with two Russian Su-27 aircraft. U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) released a declassified video showing the intercept, stating that the MQ-9’s propeller was damaged after a collision with one of the Su-27s which resulted in the Air Force […]

The new aircraft that will serve as Air Force One won’t be finished for another four to five years but they’re already on their second paint scheme. During his term, former President Donald Trump ordered the livery of the updated aircraft be changed to a red, white and blue scheme. President Joe Biden has decided […]

Boeing and Leonardo are beginning low-rate initial production of the MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter following the recent award of a $285 million contract from the U.S. Air Force. The contract, which is part of a $2.4 billion deal for up to 84 helicopters, training systems and support equipment awarded to the Boeing-Leonardo team in September […]

GE is challenging Pratt & Whitney’s exclusive engine deal for the F-35 with a proposal to scrap the current Pratt engine in favor of a clean-sheet design from GE. The existing engines have been troublesome for operators and Pratt says it can upgrade all the existing engines for $2.5 billion. GE has launched a massive […]

Multiple sources are reporting that two Ukrainian air force pilots are in the U.S. flying F-16 simulators as part of an “assessment” of their skills. The outlets, all quoting unnamed sources, say the two Ukrainians have been at an Air National Guard unit in Tucson, Arizona, for a week and will be there for at […]

The U.S. Army’s AH-64 Apache attack helicopter fleet has officially logged 5 million flight hours since the first AH-64A was delivered in 1984. According to Apache manufacturer Boeing, 1.3 million of those hours were flown during combat. The Army currently operates a fleet of more than 1,200 D- and E-model Apaches. “It is such a […]