3/19/2025 Pentagon Denies Existence of ‘Kill Switch’ for F-35 Fighter Jets  The U.S. Department of Defense has denied the existence of any kill switches for the latest F-35 fighter jets. Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II announced this on its official account. The U.S. Department of Defense noted that while the systems on 5th-generation fighter jets are subject to some level of control by the United States and Lockheed Martin, disabling them does not deprive the aircraft of the ability to carry out flights and combat missions. |
3/19/2025 U.S. Air Force, Navy Brief Trump On Future Fighter Plans  Leadership of the U.S. Air Force and Navy have recently pitched to President Donald Trump their future fighter plans, as the Pentagon and the administration prepare to decide how to fund procurement of the aircraft. Rep Rob Wittman (R-Va.) said March 18 both the service leadership briefed Trump on the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) penetrating counter air fighter and the F/A-XX programs ahead of the upcoming fiscal 2026 budget request. |
3/19/2025 Allvin: Air Force Needs ‘High-End Penetrating Capability’ in Future Combat  The Air Force needs a high-end aircraft that can operate in contested environments and work with new Collaborative Combat Aircraft semi-autonomous drones, the service’s top officer said March 18—requirements that still yet may be met by the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter. |
3/18/2025 Chinese Fighter Jet Crash ‘Exposes’ PLA; Despite 6th-Gen Aircraft Hype, Indigenous Aeroengines Worry Beijing  The crash of a Chinese Navy J-15 “Flying Shark” fighter jet on March 15 during a routine training exercise near Jialai Town in Lingao County, Hainan Province, has reignited scrutiny of China’s military aviation program. While the pilot ejected safely and there were no reported casualties on the ground, the incident raises questions about the reliability of the aircraft and its components. |
3/18/2025 China sends most military aircraft near Taiwan since October  Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had detected 59 Chinese military aircraft and nine navy vessels operating around the island over the past 24 hours as part of “joint combat patrols,” days after the democratic island’s president called Beijing “a foreign hostile force.”
The aircraft tally was the highest reported for a single day near Taiwan since October, when China’s military held massive drills around the island. The Defense Ministry in Taipei said it was closely monitoring the exerc |
3/18/2025 NATO fighter jets intercept Russian aircraft over Baltic states three times in a week  NATO fighter jets conducting air patrol missions in the Baltic States carried out three sorties over last week to detect and escort Russian aircraft violating flight rules. The Ministry of Defence reported that NATO fighter jets conducted a sortie on 10 March to intercept a Russian An-72 military transport aircraft flying in international airspace. On 12 March, they escorted two Russian Su-27 fighters, two supersonic Tu-22 bombers and one Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft. |
3/18/2025 European NATO: Combat Air Patrols for Ukraine  As European leaders plan to put thousands of ground troops into Ukraine as a deterrent force following a possible ceasefire, the question arises: where will these military boots come from?
British officials said on March 15 that a force of 30,000 would be assembled and that operational planning was now underway. Reports said the UK, France, Turkey, Australia and Canada would form the backbone of the deployment, and that others would help with logistics and other aid. |
3/17/2025 Colombia to decide which NATO fighter jets to buy within months, minister says  Colombia will decide within months from which NATO country it will purchase fighter jets, new Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said, acknowledging that illegal armed groups have taken advantage of peace efforts to strengthen themselves militarily. Colombia has been looking to replace its fleet of more than 30-year-old Israeli Kfir planes for more than a decade and is considering U.S.-made F-16s, Sweden's Gripen and France's Rafale, Sanchez said in a Sunday interview. |
3/16/2025 Rescuers find Philippine fighter jet’s wreckage, bodies of 2 pilots  Rescuers found the wreckage of a Philippine fighter jet and the bodies of its two pilots on Wednesday in a mountainous region in the country’s south where they had been deployed on a nighttime mission to fight communist guerrillas, military officials said. |
3/16/2025 Chinese Navy J-15 crashes during training in Hainan province  According to posts on X, the incident occurred in an open area near Jialai Town, Lingao County, in Hainan Province, China. Video footage shared alongside these claims purportedly shows a large explosion followed by a parachute, suggesting the pilot ejected safely and survived the crash. |