Military Aviation

Leonardo Helicopters delivered the first TH-73A training helicopter to the U.S. Navy during a ceremony at its facility in Philadelphia on Thursday. The TH-73A is expected to replace the Navy’s fleet of TH-57 Sea Ranger trainers, which will be phased out beginning in fiscal year 2022. The Navy has ordered a total of 130 TH-73A […]

Boeing and the U.S. Navy successfully refueled an airborne F/A-18 Super Hornet with an MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aircraft system (UAS/drone) last Friday. The demonstration is the first-ever air-to-air refueling to be conducted using a UAS tanker to supply a crewed aircraft. According to Boeing, the test aircraft flew 25 flights prior to Friday’s attempt to […]

The Air Force has said it’s looking at building a supersonic Air Force One and now it’s been revealed that the initiative will come at the expense of the current fleet of “Air Force Two” aircraft. The Air Force is redirecting funds that would go toward replacing its fleet of C-32A executive transports (often referred […]

Bell Textron announced on Thursday that the fleet of AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom attack and utility helicopters has passed the 400,000-flight-hour mark. The aircraft, which have been deployed for military operations since 2010, are the result of an upgrade program for H-1 helicopters launched by the U.S. Marine Corps in 1996. The Marine Corps […]

Bombardier confirmed on Wednesday that it has signed a deal to supply the U.S. Air Force with up to six modified Global 6000 aircraft. The jets will go to support the Air Force’s Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) program, which currently operates three Bombardier Global Express E-11As and four Global Hawk E-Q4Bs. Bombardier has delivered […]

Western information on advanced Chinese military aviation projects, including those involving stealth technology, is often derived from photos or video shot at public events such as airshows or heads of states’ visits to research institutions. Television cameras revealed a significant-looking new helicopter design on May 19 displayed in model form at government-controlled AVIC China Helicopter […]

Transportation ecosystem management platform EZ Aerospace has announced that it will be looking into using on-demand air taxis to transport personnel and cargo between U.S. Air Force bases. The research and development work will be conducted under a recently awarded Air Force Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract. EZ Aerospace says it is looking to […]

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, […]