Military Aviation News Archive
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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).
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
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.”
Read More...
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.
Read More...
08/09/2025
The U.S. company Northrop Grumman recently published a concept image of the F/A-XX, the sixth-generation fighter projected to be the future backbone of the U.S. Navy’s carrier air wings. The image, available on the company’s Naval Aviation section, depicts a sleek, stealth-focused design.
Read More...
08/09/2025
Spanish media reports circulated earlier in the week indicating that the Spanish military—which had planned to purchase the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jet—would no longer go through with the deal. If those reports prove accurate, Spain would be the second country from the Iberian Peninsula to turn away from the stealth fighter jet, after Portugal’s hesitations to procure the aircraft earlier in the year.
Read More...
08/09/2025
Spanish defence company Indra is pioneering the development of a new generation of fully digital self-protection systems for military aircraft and helicopters, designed to improve response times to missile threats and increase survivability in combat environments. The company has finalised the design phase and produced the first units, which will be delivered this year for integration and testing.
Read More...
08/09/2025
Recent second-quarter reports from the U.S.’s two prime fighter producers—Boeing and Lockheed Martin—reveal some strengths, but also underlying challenges at the midpoint of 2025. Together, they delivered 117 fourth- and fifth-generation fighters during the period, including Boeing’s F-15 and F/A-18, and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 and F-35.
Read More...