Finland hosts Imminent Field 26 highway exercise with Italian F-35B fighters to train NATO Agile Combat Employment
At the Jokioinen landing site, built on a closed section of Highway 2, Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighters and other aircraft are practising landings and take-offs away from their home bases. The activity is part of Finland’s mobile battle concept and includes low-altitude flying. For the first time, Italy has brought F-35B Lightning II fighters to Imminent Field. The aircraft joined Finnish aircraft on the road strip on May 19 to rehearse short landing and take-off procedures.
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Baltic presidents call on NATO to shift from air policing to air defense
The presidents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania issued a joint statement on May 21, 2026, urging NATO to transition its Baltic Air Policing mission into a full air defense mission and to reinforce the alliance’s eastern flank with additional counter-drone capabilities.
Air Boss Orders Flight Demo Team Safety Stand Down Following Growler Crash
U.S. Naval Air Forces issued a safety stand down for four tactical aviation teams following a crash between two EA-18G Growlers at an air show over the weekend.
AIRBUS PUSHES EUROPEAN FIGHTER AS PORTUGAL STUDIES F-16 REPLACEMENT
Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury has defended the use of European-made military equipment as Portugal prepares to launch a competition for a new fighter aircraft, with the Eurofighter Typhoon expected to compete against the Lockheed Martin F-35 .
Asia-Pacific interest in loyal wingman drones grows
With small fleets of costly 4.5- and 5th-generation fighters, coupled with tight defence budgets, air forces around the world are increasingly viewing collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) – or “loyal wingmen” – as an affordable means of generating mass while undertaking dull, dirty and dangerous missions.
VIEWPOINT: Maximizing Airpower: Flexibility in Weapons and Platforms
The Joint Force is not maximizing airpower combat options due to insufficient prioritization of weapons interoperability, amidst a geopolitical era where policymakers expect the U.S. military to provide options for precision strikes on demand and across the globe.
Taiwan tracks 7 Chinese military aircraft, 8 ships
The Ministry of National Defense tracked seven Chinese military aircraft, seven naval vessels, and one official ship around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Wednesday and 6 a.m. on Thursday. Six of the seven People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country’s northern and southwestern air defense identification zone, according to the MND.
Defence Secretary highlights RAF professionalism after Russian interception over Black Sea
The Defence Secretary has highlighted the professionalism of Royal Air Force crews and reaffirmed the UK’s unwavering commitment to NATO, following an incident in which an RAF aircraft was intercepted by Russian fighters while operating in international airspace over the Black Sea.
Eurofighter Tranche 4 & Rafale F5: Germany & France Supercharge Their 4.5-Gen Fighters as FCAS Stalls
As uncertainty continues to grip the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) 6th-gen aircraft program jointly pursued by France, Germany, and Spain, both Paris and Berlin are advancing plans to bolster their air power by upgrading their existing 4.5-generation combat jets—the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Rafale.
U.S. Army plans competition for lower-cost Patriot interceptor to counter air and missile threats
The U.S. Army plans to launch a competition for the development and delivery of a lower-cost guided missile for the MIM-104 Patriot air and missile defense system. The planned effort is intended to provide a less expensive interceptor for threats that may not require the use of the PAC-3 MSE missile.
