Military Aviation

Retired U.S. Navy Captain Rosemary Mariner has died at the age of 65. Among her many achievements, Mariner was known for being the first woman to fly a tactical fighter jet and the first woman to command a naval aviation squadron. She served in the Navy from 1973 until her retirement in 1997. Mariner graduated […]

Boeing has delivered the first two KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft to the U.S. Air Force. The aircraft, which were built at Boeing’s facility in Everett, Washington, departed Paine Field on Friday to join the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas. Two more KC-46s are scheduled to be delivered to […]

One of the first examples of the platform Russia intends to use to launch its new hypersonic missiles has crashed in a snowstorm in the Russian Arctic, killing three of four of the crew on board. The TU-22M3M supersonic bomber was on a training flight when it crashed while attempting to land at Olenegorsk airbase […]

After celebrating a series of successful launches, including the final shipment of Iridium satellites to low earth orbit last week, SpaceX has announced it’s laying off about 10 percent of its staff. The company told Reuters that it faces some “extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead” and needs to lean out its operation. “To continue delivering for […]

Boeing and Embraer now have all the approvals they need to move forward with two joint ventures that will change the commercial and perhaps military aircraft market. Boeing will take over 80 percent of the Brazilian company’s passenger plane business and will also take a 49 percent stake in the development of the KC-390 military […]

The discovery of a plane wreck at the bottom of the English Channel will likely solve a 50-year-old mystery that some believe the RAF and USAF might rather remain below the surface if local lore is correct. Few details have ever been released about the crash of a USAF C-130 that was stolen by a […]

In case there were any doubts that the pilot shortage is real, the South China Morning Post is reporting that China’s People’s Liberation Army has joined the rest of the aviation world and launched a pilot recruitment drive. The army has created a flashy promotional video aimed at 17- to 20-year-olds and 2019 high school […]

Sikorsky and Boeing offered the first look at their new military utility helicopter this week. According to Boeing, the SB>1 Defiant was designed to “fly at twice the speed and range of today’s conventional helicopters” as well as offering “advanced agility and maneuverability.” The Defiant was developed for the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator […]

The longest-ever presidential TFR in South Florida goes into effect on Dec. 21 as President Donald Trump heads to his West Palm Beach resort for up to 16 days. The FAA issued the alert earlier this week. Trump’s last Christmas and New Year’s vacation went from Dec. 22 to Jan.1. It’s also not clear if […]

The Air Force has ended speculation about the nature of an aircraft that looked a lot like China’s latest J-20 stealth fighter at a Savannah air base so conspiracy theorists will have to move on to the next one. In early December a fuzzy photo of an object with some of the characteristics of the […]