Military Aviation

Airbus has delivered its 100th A400M Atlas military turboprop, handing the aircraft over to the Spanish air force this week. Currently operated by eight countries, the model flew for the first time in December 2009 and officially entered service in 2014. Airbus also announced that the global A400M fleet recently passed 100,000 flight hours. “These […]

A civilian-operated Dassault Mirage F1 crashed shortly after takeoff from Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, killing the pilot. The single-engine jet fighter crashed into a residential area, but there are no reports of injuries on the ground. The Mirage was owned and operated by Draken International, which provides “adversary air support” for military […]

Boeing announced on Thursday that it successfully joined the front and aft fuselage sections of its first T-7A Red Hawk advanced military trainer in less than 30 minutes. The trainer was developed by Boeing and Saab using 3D model-based definition and data management systems with the aft fuselage being built at Saab’s facility in Linköping, […]

The head of the Royal Canadian Air Force is suggesting luring military pilots from other countries to fill a stubborn shortage in its own ranks. Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger told the Canadian Press that attempts to bring retired pilots back into uniform have been lukewarm and conventional recruitment hasn’t been able to fill the 10 percent […]

French authorities say a newly minted pilot was in no danger when fellow pilots of his first squadron blindfolded and tied him to a liberally bullet-marked concrete target on an active live aerial gunnery range. The fresh graduate was assigned to a combat fighter squadron on the French island of Corsica and not long after […]

A Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilot checked in on time for his flight but will carry a stain on his record for the expense and disruption it caused. Capt. Nathaniel D’Arcy was commanding a CP-140 Aurora, the RCAF equivalent of the U.S. Navy P-3 Orion, in a training exercise off the west coast of […]

An unmanned MQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter crashed into the side of USS Charleston shortly after taking off from the ship on Monday. No one was injured in the incident, but U.S. Navy officials reported that the aircraft fell into the water and was not recovered. The crash occurred at approximately 3:40 p.m. local time. “The […]

Canadian-based Top Aces has announced a new contract with the German armed forces to provide adversary air training services. Top Aces has been serving in that role with Germany for the past six years and will invest in new technology capabilities for its A-4N Skyhawk and F-16. Now the exclusive provider of adversary air services […]

Two active duty U.S. Air Force officers have taken the unusual step of publicly scolding their superiors over pilot retention efforts and suggesting they hire outsiders to fix the problem. Brian Kruchkow and Tobias Switzer (ranks were not provided) wrote in Defense One that Air Force brass have botched the effort so badly it’s time […]

Airbus has announced that it is closing in on completion of the campaign to certify its A400M military turboprop for helicopter air-to-air refueling operations following the conclusion of its latest flight trials. According to the company, 81 wet contacts were achieved and 6.5 tonnes (about 7.2 tons) of fuel were transferred during the flights, which […]