Military Aviation

A Reaper attack and surveillance drone has gone down in Lake Ontario during a training mission about 1 p.m. local time. The Reaper belonged to the Syracuse, New York-based 174th Attack Wing of the Air National Guard, which trains Air Force pilots to fly them all over the world. The flight originated at Fort Drum […]

A nine-foot statue of Korean War ace and Vietnam veteran Brig. Gen. James Robinson Robbie Risner still stands at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, but the man himself was lost to the world with his passing at his home, Oct. 22. Throughout his career, Risner earned three Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Silver Stars, […]

Russias fifth flying Sukhoi PAK FA T-50, has flown this month in Russia as part of a test program expected to include roughly 2,000 test flights culminating with the jets entry into service (perhaps as early as 2016), according to Russian news sources. The flight lasted 50 minutes and tested the aircrafts engines, stability and […]

The Air Force, through Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh, has publicized an account (perhaps the first) involving the engagement of an F-22 Raptor and Iranian F-4s flying within 16 miles of an MQ-1 Predator drone as the UAV flew over international waters off the coast of Iran. Welsh delivered the account Tuesday, saying the […]

The prototype fully rigid Aeroscraft airship produced by Aeros Corp has hovercraft landing gear and operates with a buoyancy system similar to that used by submarines and this week it received its experimental airworthiness certification from the FAA and began flight testing at Tustin, Calif. Aeros’ prototype is 266 feet long and 97 feet wide. […]

Loosely based on comments made by the former commander-in-chief of the Russian air force, Army General Pyotr Deynekin, rumors have emerged that Russia’s next long-range assault jet will likely be unmanned, but it’s not coming very soon. The General said that a sixth-generation program is in the works and told RIA news agency it “most […]

The presidential helicopter group, Marine Helicopter Squadron One, Saturday debuted its new MV-22 Ospreys, and will receive a total of 12 of the tilt-rotor aircraft, none of which will be used to move the president, and all of which cost more than $10,000 per hour to operate, according to the GAO. The aircraft were used […]

A collision late Thursday night between two F-16C Air National Guard jets based out of Joint Base Andrews Naval Facility, 10 miles outside Washington, D.C., briefly left one pilot in the ocean after a successful ejection off of Virginia, while the other was able to fly his jet back to base. The pilot who ejected […]

China’s AVIC Heavy Machinery has produced what it claims to be the world’s largest titanium aircraft part critical to an aircraft’s structure printed from a 3D printer — and with massive cost savings. The part, displayed at the 16th China International High-tech Expo, fits a J-20 or J-31 stealth fighter. According to the company, the […]

NASA is providing a half-million-dollar prize for Phase 1 of a Centennial Challenge that aims to develop technology to help unmanned aircraft operate safely in the national airspace system, the agency has announced. The first phase of the UAS Airspace Operations Challenge will focus on safe airspace operations and robustness to system failures, NASA said. […]