Military Aviation

Boeing has delivered the first two F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet test aircraft to the U.S. Navy. One of the aircraft is a single-seat E model and the other is a two-seat F model. The Block III Super Hornet flew for the first time in May 2020. “The aircraft will be used for carrier suitability […]

A U.S. Air Force pilot was killed in the crash of an F-15C Eagle on Monday. The aircraft went down in the North Sea at approximately 9:40 a.m. local time while conducting a routine training mission. It was assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing’s 493rd Fighter Squadron, which is based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, […]

Bell Textron and Boeing have delivered their 400th V-22 Osprey tiltrotor to the U.S. Department of Defense. The aircraft, a CV-22 variant, went to the U.S. Air Force Special Operations command. According to Boeing, Osprey deliveries are currently being made under a $5 billion multiyear procurement contract that includes aircraft for the U.S. Marines, Air […]

Two Army National Guard helicopter pilots have been grounded after they used a Lakota painted with medical markings to disperse crowds near the White House last Monday. The U.S. Army is investigating their actions and the grounding is normal practice. The aircraft flew as low as 100 feet above protesters in a maneuver designed to […]

The ultimate dogfighting smackdown is scheduled for July 2021 when the Air Force pits one of its top fighter pilots against an autonomous fighter controlled by artificial intelligence. Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, head of the Pentagon’s Artificial Intelligence Center, told a virtual conference hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies the Air Force Research […]

Canadian military investigators say it’s possible a bird strike preceded the crash of a CT-114 Tutor aircraft that resulted in the death of a member of the support team for the Snowbirds air demonstration team. The Royal Canadian Air Force released a still image from a video of the takeoff showing what appears to be […]

Honeywell has signed an agreement with the U.S. Army to demonstrate an upgraded version of its T55 engine on the CH-47 Chinook helicopter. According to the company, the new 6,000-horsepower T55-GA-714C is 25 percent more powerful and consumes 10 percent less fuel than the current T55, as well as being able to use the same […]

Boeing announced on Wednesday that it has delivered the first Super Hornet test aircraft for the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration team. The aircraft—one of eleven ordered by the Navy—will go through a flight test and evaluation phase at Maryland’s Naval Air Station Patuxent River before being painted with the team’s trademark blue and […]

Airbus has announced that its A400M Atlas military transport turboprop has received its automatic low-level flight certification. The certification covers operations in visual meteorological conditions with a second certification phase to include instrumental meteorological conditions planned for 2021. The certification campaign involved transitions from low-level flight to operations such as aerial delivery and flights down […]

The Air Force is scrapping minimum and maximum height requirements for pilots in a bid primarily to attract more female candidates. Until earlier this week the standard Air Force pilot was between 5 feet 4 inches and 6 feet 5 inches tall with a sitting height of 34 to 40 inches. About 44 percent of […]