Military Aviation News Archive
08/17/2025
Once derided by its competitors as “too old, too expensive, too big for the stealth era, etc,” the F-15EX Eagle II is turning into the Energizer Bunny of fighter aircraft. The Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal features a number of changes in procurement priorities that this long-serving twin-engine fighter is benefiting from.
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08/17/2025
Belarus plans to expand its Air Force fleet with the addition of four Su-30SM2 fighter jets by the end of this year, Azernews reports, according to local media reports. Speaking at an official ceremony marking Air Force and Air Defense Forces Day, Major General Andrei Lukyanovich, commander of Belarus’ Air Force and Air Defense Forces, said the country is continuing to modernize its aerial capabilities.
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08/15/2025
Italian Air Force F-35A fighter jets were dispatched to intercept Russian aircraft in its first Baltic Air Policing mission since taking over safeguarding NATO airspace from the Romanian Air Force. NATO Air Command confirmed that F-35s from the Italian Air Force’s 32nd Wing detachment at Ämari Air Base in Estonia were scrambled on August 13, 2025, to respond in defense of the Baltic countries’ airspace.
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08/15/2025
Switzerland vowed Wednesday to continue its attempts to buy F-35A fighter jets from the United States despite spiralling expenses. The US is pushing for Switzerland to bear extra costs for producing the jets of between 650 million and 1.3 billion Swiss francs ($807 million-$1.6 billion), but the Swiss want to agree on a fixed price.
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08/15/2025
Spain has indefinitely suspended plans to acquire U.S.-made F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, according to Spanish media outlet El País, prompting Spanish defense analysts to examine Türkiye's fifth-generation KAAN fighter aircraft as a potential strategic alternative for both the Spanish Air Force and Navy, according to reports from Spanish media outlet Defensa y Seguridad.
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08/15/2025
At least eight Russian Su-35 fighter jets have reportedly been lost in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Some sources suggest the number could be higher, with unconfirmed reports estimating over 25 losses. Russia has lost about 100 combat aircraft since the “Special Military Operation” began three and a half years ago.
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08/15/2025
Russia has likely lost a Su-30SM fighter jet while conducting a mission southeast of Snake Island, the Ukrainian Navy said on Aug. 14. The twin-engine, two-seat aircraft – designed for both air superiority and ground attack –reportedly crashed for unknown reasons.
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08/14/2025
The Dassault Super Rafale, also known as the Rafale F5, is the next evolution of the Rafale fighter jet, currently under development and slated for French military service around 2030. It will feature more powerful engines, advanced sensors, improved data links, and a reduced radar cross-section. The F5 will also be equipped with the ASN4G hypersonic missile and is designed to work with a newly developed Unmanned Combat Aerial System (UCAS).
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08/14/2025
India is poised to move forward with a government-to-government (G2G) proposal for 114 additional Rafale fighter jets under its Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) program, The Times of India reports. The Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to submit the case for “Acceptance of Necessity” (AoN), an early but essential step in India’s defense procurement process, to the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) by October 2025. A final government decision is expected thereafter.
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08/14/2025
India’s announcement of its aerial victories came nearly three months after the brief border dispute with Pakistan. It is common to see both India and Pakistan each claim victory after one of their periodic border clashes, such as the recent four-day war in May. Information warfare is another reminder that in wartime, the first casualty is the truth. Both sides have downplayed their respective losses while inflating the casualties that the other endured.
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08/14/2025
Poland has signed a $3.8 billion contract to upgrade its fleet of 48 F-16C/D Block 52 multi-role combat aircraft to the advanced F-16V Block 72 configuration, enhancing the country’s airpower and interoperability with other Polish platforms such as the F-35 Lightning II, AH-64E Apache helicopters, and M1A2 Abrams tanks.
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08/14/2025
Chinese jet fighter "intercepted" a Philippine aircraft carrying journalists during a patrol flight over the Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday, the Manila government said, days after two Chinese vessels collided in the area while allegedly trying to block a Philippine supply mission.
A Reuters journalist aboard the Philippine Coast Guard flight watched as the Chinese fighter closed in on the small Cessna Caravan turboprop.
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08/13/2025
The Panavia Tornado is a multi-role jet developed by a tripartite European consortium—originally comprising Italy, the United Kingdom, and West Germany—and designed to combine the qualities of several types of aircraft, offering a modular approach to combat aviation. The design, a twin-engine, swing-wing aircraft, combined several roles, including air defense, reconnaissance, strike, and maritime operations, into a single aircraft.
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08/13/2025
On the night of June 27, a drone strike by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) hit several of the aircraft at the Marinovka Airbase in the Volgograd region of Russia. Satellite imagery of the aerodrome confirmed that two Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighters were destroyed in this raid and that two others were damaged.
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08/13/2025
Lockheed Martin is expanding its industrial collaboration package for the Philippines as part of its F-16 Block 70 solution for the country's Multi Role Fighter program. The enhanced offer includes a strategic partnership with Southern Methodist University (SMU) to drive digital innovation, intellectual property creation, and workforce development with Philippine universities and industry.
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08/13/2025
The Rafale entered service with the French Navy in 2004 and with the French Air Force in 2006. Rafale is one of the most experienced fighter aircraft in the world. It has been combat-proven since 2007. Daussault’s export success with the fighter is well-documented, as the company now has more export orders than French orders.
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08/12/2025
A British F-35B Lightning stealth fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing in Japan on Sunday after developing a technical fault. The £88m aircraft, one of the world’s most advanced combat jets, landed at the Kagoshima international airport at around 11.30am local time. It was operating from the HMS Prince of Wales as part of the UK Carrier Strike Group in the Indo-Pacific.
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08/12/2025
Pakistan’s refusal to procure China’s J-35 raises new questions over the aircraft’s performance and the state of Beijing-Islamabad military ties. Eurasian Times reports that Pakistan, once expected to become the first international customer of China’s fifth-generation J-35 (formerly J-31) stealth fighter with a planned order of 40 aircraft, has dismissed the procurement claims.
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08/12/2025
The U.S. Air Force is moving ahead with a major modernization program for its F-22 Raptor fleet, aiming to keep America’s premier fifth-generation air-superiority fighter competitive well into the next decade. In its budget request for Fiscal Year 2026, more than $90 million has been earmarked to launch a “viability” upgrade program that will bolster the jet’s stealth profile, radar performance, electronic warfare defenses, and overall survivability against rapidly advancing threats from China a
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08/12/2025
Ukraine and Sweden are preparing a large-scale combat aviation project expected to last for decades, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The president announced a "strong project" on combat aviation currently being developed jointly by Ukraine and Sweden.
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08/11/2025
Few aircraft can boast of having endured the test of time with the effectiveness, reliability, and versatility of the Northrop F-5. In a world where fighter jets are renewed every two or three decades, Chile’s F-5 continues to defy that logic, combining modernization, doctrine, and a history rich with milestones.
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08/11/2025
Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet successfully carried out a precise airstrike on a concentration of enemy assault forces in the Pokrovsk area, using the GBU-62 guided bombs. This operation represents a significant effort in disrupting the enemy’s offensive capabilities and protecting Ukrainian positions.
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08/11/2025
The United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike Group shared an image on X of the three carriers, plus the U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS America, sailing side by side in the North Philippine Sea on Aug. 10, with a large aerial force flying overhead. It’s a strong naval presence, with the HMS Prince of Wales, the American Nimitz-class USS George Washington and Japan’s JS Kaga among them.
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08/10/2025
Fresh footage from Russia confirms a small batch of Su-34Ms in an export configuration, supporting earlier reports of a signed contract between Moscow and a foreign client. According to Military Watch Magazine, the appearance of these desert-toned aircraft “strongly indicates that the first batch of Su-34Ms for a foreign client is already in production.”
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08/10/2025
“The (Department of the Air Force) will not implement or carry forward the beddown of up to 12 Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) F-15 aircraft nor associated aircraft airfield operations, to include temporary support aircraft, and RSAF personnel or their families and no periodic temporary increases in associated support personnel will be required at Andersen AFB,” the July 16 decision states.
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