August, 2025 Military Aviation News
08/09/2025
The U.S. company Northrop Grumman recently published a concept image of the F/A-XX, the sixth-generation fighter projected to be the future backbone of the U.S. Navy’s carrier air wings. The image, available on the company’s Naval Aviation section, depicts a sleek, stealth-focused design.
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08/09/2025
Spanish media reports circulated earlier in the week indicating that the Spanish military—which had planned to purchase the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jet—would no longer go through with the deal. If those reports prove accurate, Spain would be the second country from the Iberian Peninsula to turn away from the stealth fighter jet, after Portugal’s hesitations to procure the aircraft earlier in the year.
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08/09/2025
Spanish defence company Indra is pioneering the development of a new generation of fully digital self-protection systems for military aircraft and helicopters, designed to improve response times to missile threats and increase survivability in combat environments. The company has finalised the design phase and produced the first units, which will be delivered this year for integration and testing.
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08/09/2025
Recent second-quarter reports from the U.S.’s two prime fighter producers—Boeing and Lockheed Martin—reveal some strengths, but also underlying challenges at the midpoint of 2025. Together, they delivered 117 fourth- and fifth-generation fighters during the period, including Boeing’s F-15 and F/A-18, and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 and F-35.
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08/09/2025
Social media is often where the first images of new Chinese military aircraft appear. Images can go on being shared and discussed on Chinese social media for months before there is any official recognition of a program, and before the aircraft makes what is then called its “first” flight. It might be happening again. Recent images of a previously unknown stealth aircraft have started to circulate on the usual Chinese social media outlets.
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08/08/2025
Reports indicate that the United States Navy could still award a contract for the F/A-XX later this year, but it still has yet to receive the last of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The current timeline calls for the sea service to receive the carrier-based aircraft in 2027, while the scheduled deliveries for Block III variants are expected to be completed in 2030.
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08/08/2025
An F-2 fighter jet of the JASDF crashed off Ibaraki. The pilot ejected safely and is in stable condition, but the cause of the crash remains unknown. At around 12:35 PM on August 7, an F-2 fighter jet from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's (JASDF) Hyakuri Air Base crashed during a training exercise over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture. The base is located in Omigawa City, Ibaraki.
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08/08/2025
The Japanese Air Self Defense Force on Thursday deployed its first three F-35B stealth fighters in southwestern Japan. The three stealth fighters were piloted by U.S. personnel as they flew from Guam to the Nytuabaru Air Base in the Miyazaki Prefecture, one of them making a vertical landing.
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08/08/2025
The pressing need for Canada to replace its moribund CF-18 fleet is long overdue, and can’t wait, many aviation analysts say. Canada’s Hornet aircraft have “been desperately in need of replacement for more than a decade,” said Justin Bronk, a research fellow for airpower and military technology at the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank.
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08/08/2025
Back in June, Canada’s Auditor General, Karen Hogan, released a report finding that the government’s plan to purchase 88 Lockheed Martin jets was facing numerous problems, including “skyrocketing costs, a shortage of trained pilots, and a lack of critical infrastructure.”
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08/07/2025
Sudan's air force has destroyed an Emirati aircraft carrying Colombian mercenaries as it landed at a paramilitary-controlled airport in Darfur, killing at least 40 people, the army-aligned state TV said Wednesday. A military source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the UAE plane "was bombed and completely destroyed" at Darfur's Nyala airport.
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08/07/2025
Korea Aerospace Industries has provided us with a look at the future, stealthier version of its KF-21 fighter, which is now known as the KF-21EX. Concept artwork of the refined version of the jet has been released, with internal weapons carriage being its distinguishing feature. This is part of an effort to make the KF-21 more survivable in the face of ever more capable air defense systems, although the resulting aircraft will not offer the same level of low observability as the F-35.
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08/07/2025
Spain’s decision not to adopt the F-35 Lightning II fighter could widen its rift with the United States. NATO member Spain announced on Wednesday that it would buy European instead of American fighter jets, opting for either the Eurofighter or the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). The Spanish language El País reported that talks over the purchase of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II had been suspended “indefinitely.”
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08/06/2025
On August 5, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) officially confirmed the future procurement of Saab JAS 39 Gripen E and F multirole fighter jets to enhance its air combat capabilities. The Thai government has approved an initial order of four aircraft, with deliveries beginning by 2029 as part of a broader programme targeting a total of twelve jets by 2035.
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08/06/2025
Russia’s fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 (NATO reporting name “Felon”) could soon carry hypersonic weapons, according to a high-ranking official with the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Zircon (Tsirkon) has been named as one of the potential weapons employed on the multirole stealth fighter.
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08/06/2025
Spain’s commitment to NATO was called into question this spring after the western European nation sought to be excluded from the international military alliance’s defense spending goals. Madrid has confirmed it would commit to the 32-nation coalition by spending 2.1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, but sought an exclusion from the 5 percent target called for by NATO leaders.
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08/06/2025
Türkiye’s domestically produced fifth-generation fighter jet Kaan is emerging as a potential competitor to the U.S.-made F-35 in defense exports, according to Newsweek. The aircraft is drawing growing interest from developing nations, with Indonesia becoming the first buyer after inking a deal in July for 48 units.
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08/06/2025
An exchange of messages late Friday 1 August signalled more trouble for the multinational Future Combat Air System/Systeme de Combat Aerien du Futur programme. Launched in 2018 and with France, Germany and Spain as partners, the project is ostensibly splitting because the French sub-team insisted on responsibility being allocated according to corporate experience – which, given that France is 100% responsible for Rafale, would leave German and Spanish industry in the back seat.
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08/05/2025
Boeing’s F-15EX Eagle II is a significant upgrade on the iconic F-15 platform. Thanks to the integration of cutting-edge technology, the F-15EX is arguably the most capable fourth-generation fighter aircraft ever built. While the original F-15 platform debuted in the 1970s, the new EX variant leverages decades of operational experience and 21st-century engineering to create a multirole fighter that can serve as a bridge between fourth-generation and fifth-generation platforms.
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08/05/2025
A new image circulating on Chinese social media appears to show another next-generation combat aircraft undergoing flight testing—marking the third such design spotted in recent months, and underscoring China’s rapid expansion of its advanced airpower programs.
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08/05/2025
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) confirmed Monday that its special operations unit “A” conducted a drone strike on the Russian-occupied Saky military airfield in Crimea overnight, damaging and destroying multiple combat aircraft and a stockpile of aviation munitions. According to an official statement released on August 4, unmanned aerial vehicles operated by the SBU successfully penetrated Russian defenses and struck targets on the airfield.
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08/05/2025
Turkey has reportedly approved Egypt’s participation in its KAAN fifth-generation fighter jet program, marking a potential milestone in the two countries’ expanding military cooperation following years of strained ties, according to media reports. The development was recently reported by Tactical Report, a Middle East-focused intelligence weekly specializing in defense and geopolitical developments in addition to Turkish media outlets.
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08/05/2025
After promoting the J-10C in the export markets as ‘Rafale Killers’ ever since the brief four-day war between India and Pakistan in May, in which Islamabad claimed to have shot down five Indian fighter jets, including three Rafales, Beijing is now going one step further. It intends to claim a tagline of ‘stealth fighter jet killer’ for the J-10C.
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08/05/2025
Several thousand workers at three Midwest manufacturing plants where Boeing develops military aircraft and weapons went on strike early Monday, potentially complicating the aerospace company’s progress in regaining its financial footing. The strike started at Boeing facilities in St. Louis; St. Charles, Missouri; and Mascoutah, Illinois.
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08/04/2025
India has rejected a US push to sell it F-35 stealth fighters, dealing a blow to defense ties just as President Donald Trump announced new tariffs and publicly criticized New Delhi’s close ties with Russia.
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08/04/2025
According to Indian defense media reports published on August 1, the KF-21 is being evaluated amid growing interest from the Indian Air Force (IAF) in acquiring both 4.5- and 5th-generation fighters. The South Korean jet is viewed as a cost-competitive platform with future growth potential and compatibility with India’s domestic industrial policy.
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08/03/2025
Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated a willingness to sell F-35 stealth fighters to India. But India’s government has now said there are no ongoing discussions about a potential purchase of Lightning IIs, according to a report by the Hindustan Times. “No formal discussions have been held as yet on this issue,” Indian Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh said in response to a question from the press this week.
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08/03/2025
The U.S. Air Force is relocating nearly three dozen F-16 fighter jets in South Korea in order to beef up its air power closer to the north. At the end of July, F-16s based out of Kunsan Air Base began moving to Osan Air Base, several dozen miles north, closer to the demilitarized zone with North Korea. 31 F-16s based out of Kunsan Air Base will shift to Osan Air Base, creating a new “super squadron” at the base.
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08/03/2025
Baykar Chairman Selcuk Bayraktar announced Friday that the company's Kizilelma unmanned combat aircraft also known as "Fighter UAV" has entered serial production, with the sixth prototype currently on the production line and delivery to the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) inventory planned for next year.
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08/02/2025
U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 510th Fighter Squadron and around 220 Airmen based out of the 31st Fighter Wing joined Bulgarian, Romanian and Hellenic air forces for Thracian Star 25, a multinational integration exercise aimed at enhancing interoperability and strengthening NATO’s airpower across Europe.
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08/02/2025
The recent border skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia has raised interest in the respective armed forces of the belligerents. While Thailand holds a clear advantage in terms of air power, the Royal Cambodian Air Force (RCAF) is still worthy of study. The RCAF’s capabilities are fairly modest, with about 1,500 personnel and—notably—zero operational fighter jets. The service’s inventory consists of only 24 or 25 aircraft, all of which are fixed-wing transports and utility helicopters.
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08/02/2025
The US Air Force’s F-22 Raptor program was the most expensive and most advanced fighter in the world – some say the best raw fighter ever. Although some say it was eclipsed only by the USAF’s fifth-generation system, the F-35.
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08/02/2025
Personnel from each U.S. military branch concluded the two-week, joint force training exercise, Red Flag-Alaska 25-3, at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, today. “The purpose of Red Flag-Alaska is for the joint force to practice combat skills we don't normally get to practice at a home station,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Christian Bergtholdt, RF-A 25-3 deployed forces commander.
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08/01/2025
Naval Air Station Lemoore said in a statement on Wednesday that an F-35C "went down" not far from the central California base at 6:30 p.m. local time. "We can confirm the pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no additional affected personnel," it said. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office shared video footage showing a fiery wreck, with a thick plume of black smoke rising from a cotton field just north of the base.
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08/01/2025
The Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced a draft defense spending bill that would reverse the Pentagon’s plan to freeze the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based combat jet program. In addition, the legislation includes funding for the U.S. Air Force to continue with the acquisition of E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft, something the Department of Defense also wants to axe.
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08/01/2025
In February, U.S President Donald Trump, in one of his trademark off-script surprises, offered to supply the Indian Air Force (IAF) with the United States’ most capable and secretive combat aircraft: the F-35 Lightning II “joint strike fighter” (JSF). This is the first time that Washington has signaled interest in supplying India with the F-35.
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