5/12/2024

How an Air Force F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighter Flew Under Iran's F-4 Undetected

The F-22’s pilot, operating undetected, had sidled right in. “He flew under their aircraft to check out their weapons load without them knowing that he was there,” then-Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said. Having determined the F-4’s payloads, the Raptor pilot finally alerted the Iranians to his presence.

5/12/2024

Mini F-35? Turkey’s TAI TF Kaan Fighter Has Arrived

The first prototype of Turkey’s TAI TF Kaan fighter made its second test flight on May 6. According to the secretary of Turkish Defense Industries, the test flight went well. “Our National Combat Aircraft, which successfully made its first flight on February 21, took off from the runway at 08:46 this morning, stayed in the air for 14 minutes and reached an altitude of 10,000 feet,” Secretary Haluk Gorgun said.

5/12/2024

Ukraine forces shoot down Russian Su-25 attack aircraft near Avdiivka

The 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, named after General Marko Bezruchko, has successfully downed a Russian SU-25 attack aircraft in the Avdiivka direction, marking another significant achievement in aerial defense by Ukrainian forces. According to the General Staff, Russia has already lost 348 aircraft and 325 helicopters in its war against Ukraine. According to Ukrainian intelligence, at the outset of the full-scale invasion, Russia had approximately 1500 combat aircraft.

5/12/2024

Russia's Su-35S Fighter Is Trying to Make a Comeback in Ukraine

Russian authorities have long touted the Sukhoi Su-35S (NATO reporting name Flanker-E”) as being among its most capable combat aircraft in widespread service—and this week, it was announced that the Kremlin received a new batch of the multirole fighters. According to a report by Russian state media, the new aircraft were produced by the Gagarin Aircraft Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur and flew to a deployment airfield after passing ground and flight trials.

5/12/2024

Ukraine's pilots are flying high-risk 'wild weasel' missions first developed in the Vietnam War by the USAF, says defense analyst

Pilots in Ukraine's Soviet-era airforce, a fraction of the size of Russia's, are using a tactic first developed by the US Air Force to contest the skies above the 600-mile frontline. Videos in recent months appear to show Ukrainian pilots conducting so-called "wild weasel" missions.

5/11/2024

US says Israel may have breached international law with American weapons in Gaza

The US says Israel may have used American-supplied weapons in breach of international humanitarian law in some instances during the war in Gaza. It is "reasonable to assess" that US-supplied arms have been used in ways "inconsistent" with Israel's obligations, says the state department.

5/11/2024

Singapore air force freezes F-16 training after crash

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has suspended training for its F-16 fleet as a safety measure after one of its Lockheed Martin F-16 combat aircraft crashed at Tengah Air Base in western Singapore on 8 May. According to the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the pilot – who has accumulated over 2,000 hours of flight time on the F-16 – had experienced flight control issues shortly after taking off. He responded in accordance with emergency procedures and successfully ejected from the aircraf

5/11/2024

US transfers fighter jets, armed drones from UAE to Qatar amid regional tensions

The United States Department of Defense has initiated a significant transfer of fighter jets, armed drones and other aircraft from its air base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Qatar. This decision follows the UAE’s refusal to allow its territory to be utilized as a staging ground for attacks on Iraq and Yemen.

5/10/2024

BAF training jet crash kills pilot in Ctg

The fourth crash of the Russian-made advanced multirole aircraft Yakovlev Yak-130 in less than a decade on Thursday left one Bangladesh Air Force pilot killed and another injured in Chattogram. Instructor pilot Squadron Leader Muhammad Asim Jawwad, 31, died hours after ejection along with another instructor, Wing Commander Md Shohan Hasan Khan, as the two-seat subsonic light combat aircraft caught fire in mid-air during a low-altitude acrobatic.

5/9/2024

Will the future of the U.S. military aircraft fleet be uncrewed?

The U.S. military has been increasing efforts to develop trusted autonomy capabilities for its aircraft fleet. The Department of Defense (DoD) and its services and agencies have been working on several programs to enable the operation of their in-service airplanes by using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) software.