Military Aviation

More than 200 of the Air Force’s most expensive and important aircraft were briefly grounded in February after it was discovered that the pins that hold the vertical stabilizer to the fuselages of most Air Force variants of the Boeing 707 were substandard. The five-inch pins are potentially a single point of failure since one […]

Boeing has announced that is currently planning to end production of the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft in late 2025. According to the company, the decision will allow it to redirect its resources to future military aircraft programs and ramp up production for newer programs such as the T-7A Red Hawk trainer and MQ-25 Stingray […]

Airline crews flying near Hawaii have been warned to watch for a “large white balloon” last spotted about 500 miles east of the Islands on Monday. The balloon has apparently been seen by several airline crews. “Report of large white balloon in the vicinity of 2639N15021W,” an ACARS issued Monday says. “Estimated to be between […]

For the third time in three days, U.S. fighters downed an unidentified object on Sunday afternoon, this time over Lake Huron just north of Michigan. It was flying at 20,000 feet and described as octagonal in shape by Pentagon officials, who maintain they don’t know what it or the other two objects shot down over […]

The Air Force says it wants stealthy tankers in the air by 2040 to improve its chances of pressing a battle in the far-flung locations that are often the site of such conflicts. One of its main constraints is that its tankers are sitting ducks for even the most rudimentary anti-aircraft munitions. The Air Force […]

Part of the envelope of a Chinese balloon shot down off Myrtle Beach was reportedly seen in a boat at a boat launch near the city as the Navy and Coast Guard work to recover what’s left of the balloon’s sensors and power system. An Air Force F-22 shot down the balloon off the coast […]

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing a $2.3 billion contract for 15 additional KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft. Boeing delivered the first KC-46As to the Air Force in 2019 and the aircraft was approved for global operations last year. According to Boeing, 128 Pegasus tankers are currently on contract with the Air Force with 68 […]

The Navy has awarded Textron a fixed-price contract of $677 million to develop and build a new fleet of multi-engine training aircraft based on the King Air 300/350. The contract includes development of the T-54A Multi Engine Training System and the eventual delivery of 64 aircraft. The contract includes initial training, spare parts and support […]

Sikorsky has handed over its 5,000th “Hawk” medium-lift utility helicopter with the delivery of a UH-60M Black Hawk to the U.S. Army on Friday. The first production Black Hawk was accepted by the Army in 1978 and entered service the following year. Alongside the U.S. Army, which currently operates more than 2,100 Black Hawks, Sikorsky […]

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has announced that it will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of special events and exhibits throughout 2023. Among the plans are special exhibits on enlisted forces, search and rescue (SAR) and the evolution of the museum itself. Other scheduled events include monthly gallery features, micro-drone […]