Military Aviation News Archive
12/24/2024
Combined, the world’s air forces operate in excess of 50,000 aircraft, with that number changing little year on year. Nevertheless, the World Air Forces Directory has tracked and detailed some 52,642 aircraft from 161 nations in its report for 2025.
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12/24/2024
Lockheed Martin has secured a nearly $12-billion contract to produce 145 additional F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets for the US military and its international allies. Announced on Friday, the deal covers full-rate production of three F-35 variants under procurement lot 18.
The US Air Force is set to receive 48 F-35As, while the US Marine Corps will soon welcome 16 more F-35Bs and five F-35Cs. The US Navy will also get 14 F-35C aircraft.
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12/23/2024
In this article, we analyze the latest incident that took place during the night of December 21-22, 2024, at approximately 03:00 AM local time, when a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet was accidentally shot down by a missile launched from the USS Gettysburg, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, over the Red Sea. This tragic case of friendly fire raises critical questions about the challenges and risks of modern military operations.
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12/23/2024
With the goal of strengthening a key partner in North Africa, the United States government has authorized the possible sale of new AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to equip the Moroccan Air Force’s F-16 Block 72 fighters. This information stems from one of the most recent statements by the U.S. Department of State, which notifies Congress of the potential operation through the FMS program for approval.
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12/23/2024
Bangladesh has been actively pursuing the modernization of its armed forces, and the Chinese J-10C, a fourth-generation-plus multi-role fighter jet boasting advanced avionics, weapon systems, and cost efficiency, has featured on its wish list. This news about the possible acquisition of 16 J-10C aircraft follows Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan’s visit to China last month, during which he reportedly expressed Bangladesh’s desire to acquire multirole combat aircraft and attack helicopters.
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12/22/2024
Two U.S. Navy aviators are safe after their two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet was shot down by an American ship by mistake, according to a late Saturday statement from U.S. Central Command.
The Super Hornet, assigned to aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), was flying over the Red Sea when guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64) fired upon it, according to the CENTCOM statement.
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12/22/2024
Seven Chinese citizens were arrested on charges of illegally entering Guam around the time the U.S. Missile Defense Agency conducted a key missile interception test using a new radar, the island's Customs and Quarantine Agency has said. The agency said at least four of the people arrested on Dec. 10-11 were found "in the vicinity of a military installation". Guam has many such installations, including Andersen Air Force Base, where the Dec. 10 missile test was conducted.
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12/22/2024
Serbia will build new hangars for Rafale multirole fighter jets at the Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlovic Air Base in the city of Batajnica. In addition, a refurbishment of existing aprons and taxiways is in the plans Serbian Ministry of Defense confirmed on an inquiry from the Tango Six website.
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12/21/2024
An explosion occurred at the Ostafyevo airfield (moscow oblast), as a result of which an An-72 military transport aircraft was disabled. The Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has announced this on Telegram.
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12/21/2024
Eielson-based jets accompany 2 bombers, 2 fighters flying in international airspace over Chukchi, Bering seas The North American Aerospace Defense Command detected and tracked four Russian military aircraft Tuesday as they passed through international airspace off Alaska’s coasts. NORAD dispatched four F-16 fighters and an air tanker from Eielson Air Force Base and an electronic surveillance plane out of Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson to intercept the aircraft.
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12/21/2024
On December 18, 2024, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) welcomed its final three Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft at RAAF Williamtown, marking the completion of its fleet acquisition. According to the Scramble magazine, the delivery concluded a six-year process, during which all 72 aircraft ordered by the RAAF were received, strengthening Australia’s air combat capabilities.
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12/21/2024
Spain has signed off on an order for 25 Eurofighter Typhoon fourth-generation fighter jets under its Halcon II program. A contract between the Spanish government and the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) was inked today and covers the acquisition of 21 single-seat and four twin-seat aircraft.
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12/21/2024
A recent internal Air Force analysis supports the development of a manned, next-generation fighter jet, three sources told Breaking Defense — a finding that comes amid a high-profile debate over the future of the multi-billion-dollar Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
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12/20/2024
Bangladesh may be exploring options to modernise its ageing fleet of fighter jets, with China’s J-10C emerging as a potential choice, according to a report by The South China Morning Post. However, acquiring the advanced multirole aircraft could strain regional relations and impose significant costs on the nation. This news follows Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan’s visit to China last month, where he expressed Bangladesh’s commitment to acquiring multirole combat aircraft and attack helicop
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12/20/2024
In 1979, Department of Defense (DOD) official Norman Augustine conducted a legendary study of U.S. fighter aircraft cost growth over time. He found that the unit cost of new-generation fighter aircraft has increased, on average, roughly an order of magnitude every 20 years since 1910. Augustine observed, “In the year 2054, the entire defense budget will purchase just one aircraft.
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12/20/2024
Turkey’s bid to acquire Eurofighter jets appears to be advancing positively. On December 18, two Eurofighter Typhoons from the United Kingdom touched down at Mürted Air Base, approximately 35 kilometers north of Ankara, for inspection by Turkish officials. This arrival coincides with ongoing discussions regarding Turkey’s potential purchase of Eurofighter aircraft. The jets recently participated in a military exercise in Qatar before arriving in Turkey.
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12/20/2024
China’s air force is very good and improving quickly, but has not yet matched the air combat capabilities of the U.S. Air Force, according to the Pentagon’s annual report on Chinese military power and officials who helped prepare it. The 2024 edition of the report particularly emphasized how the People’s Liberation Army Air Force has expanded the capabilities of its unmanned aerial systems, saying they are now comparable to USAF systems. It also noted strides the Chinese have made with air-to-a
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12/20/2024
The Pentagon should continue to buy and upgrade the Lockheed Martin F-35, Frank Kendall said today, while underscoring that “better performance” is needed from the stealth jet’s manufacturer. As his tenure overseeing the Air Force comes to an end, Secretary Frank Kendall today offered a word of advice for the incoming Trump administration: the F-35 is here to stay, and now is not the time to talk about replacing manned fighter jets with drones.
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12/19/2024
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported on Dec. 18 that it had detected and tracked four Russian military aircraft operating within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The ADIZ as a designated stretch of international airspace that necessitates the identification of all aircraft for national security purposes. NORAD reported that the Russian planes remained in international airspace and did not breach U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace.
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12/19/2024
The Ministry of National Defense tracked 15 Chinese military aircraft, nine naval vessels, and four official ships around Taiwan between 6 a.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday. According to the MND, two of the 15 People's Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the southwestern and eastern air defense identification zone (ADIZ). These included fighter jets, fighter bombers, support aircraft, and a helicopter.
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12/19/2024
Bell Textron Inc., already one the largest employers in the Metroplex, has chosen its hometown of Fort Worth to build components for the next generation of military assault helicopters. The news, announced Tuesday by Bell CEO Lisa Atherton and Gov. Greg Abbott at a Bell facility in northern Fort Worth, represents an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in North Texas. The company’s new facility in Alliance is expected to create more than 500 high-paying jobs after it opens in 2025.
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12/19/2024
Additional units of the two-seater, twin-engine multirole fighter will be built under license by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at its Nasik plant, with an indigenous content of 62.6%; “enhanced due to the indigenisation of many components to be manufactured by Indian defence industry,” explained the MoD.
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12/19/2024
Dutch fighter pilots intercepted Russian fighter jets and bombers while monitoring NATO’s northeastern airspace north of Russian coastal exclave Kaliningrad on Tuesday, the Dutch Defense Ministry confirmed on Wednesday. “Yesterday, together with Finland and Sweden, we intercepted Russian planes [armed] with supersonic missiles over the Baltic Sea,” said Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans on X.
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12/19/2024
The Washington, D.C., Air National Guard would transfer ownership of its F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter squadron to the Maryland Air National Guard as part of a proposed stopgap government funding bill unveiled in Congress on Tuesday.
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12/18/2024
The Rafale F4 marks a crucial step in enhancing the offensive capabilities of the French military aviation with the upcoming integration of the 1,000 kg AASM, developed by Safran Electronics & Defense under the name Hammer. This optimized version of the AASM represents a major innovation, enabling the Rafale F4 to destroy targets with extreme precision, regardless of weather conditions and from a safe distance.
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