Denmark Retires its F-16 Fleet After 46 Years of Service The F-16 Fighting Falcon has been an important part of the Royal Danish Air Force since 1980, and will now pass the torch to the F-35A Lightning II. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/19/d...

How the F-14 Tomcat was Top Dog: A Look at the AWG-9 Radar System Developed by Hughes through the F-111 program, the AWG-9, mated with the AIM-54 Phoenix, made the Grumman F-14 Tomcat the most deadly fleet defense weapon of its time. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/19/a...

MH-139 Conducts First Minuteman III Convoy Security Mission Two MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters conducted their first operational Minuteman III ICBM convoy security mission to and from a launch facility over 100 miles away from Malmstrom AFB. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/19/m...

NASA Receives Two F-15Ds for Supersonic Research Two F-15Ds of the Oregon Air National Guard have been transferred to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, where they will join the ones already operated by the agency. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/18/n...

Mysterious ‘Dorito-Shaped’ Aircraft Spotted at Night Near Area 51 A nighttime thermal image captured during flight activity involving a B-2 shows a sharply triangular aircraft that resembles an unexplained platform photographed in 2014. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/18/d...

New AEW&C Program on the Horizon for Poland as Leaders Highlight Issues with Saab 340s In interviews to Defence 24, Deputy General Commander Maj. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak pointed to the need for a new AEW&C platform. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/17/n...

Poland Confirms Plan to Transfer All MiG-29s to Ukraine Poland has decided to transfer its remaining MiG-29s to Ukraine, with talks underway for the delivery of the first batch, in exchange for know-how on drone technology. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/17/p...

Italian Eurofighters Intercept Rare Russian Navy Be-200 Flying Boat Over the Baltic The Russian Navy operates just a handful of multirole jet-powered amphibious flying boats. One was intercepted by the Italian F-2000s over the Baltic Sea. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/16/i...

European Militaries Deploy to Greenland Amidst Trump’s Demands for Annexation and Tariff Threats European NATO Allies dispatched troops to reinforce Greenland, following the increased rhetoric by U.S. President Trump towards annexation. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/16/e...

KF-21 Boramae Completes Flight Tests Ahead of Schedule South Korea confirms the completion of the KF-21 Boramae flight test program after 1,600 sorties, paving the way for ROKAF deliveries and Block 2 development. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/16/k...

Proteus Autonomous Helicopter Completes Maiden Flight The UK’s first full-size autonomous helicopter, produced by Leonardo, has taken flight for the first time from the National Drone Hub facility at Predannack Airfield. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/16/p...

Lockheed Martin Test Fires FIM-92 Stinger’s Possible Successor Lockheed Martin completed the first flight test of its Next-Generation Short-Range Interceptor (NGSRI) design as part of the competition for the FIM-92 missile’s replacement. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/15/l...

U.S. Navy Takes Delivery of the 350th MH-60R Seahawk Lockheed Martin, parent of Sikorsky, marked the milestone with a ceremony as the aircraft, also known as the ‘Romeo’, was handed over to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 41 (HSM-41). Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/14/3...

U.S. Army’s MV-75 Tiltrotor to Fly in 2026 The U.S. Army’s MV-75 tiltrotor is advancing rapidly toward the delivery to operational units, now expected well before the original plans. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/14/m...

MQ-9B SeaGuardian Becomes First UAV to Drop MAC Sonobuoys Multi-Static Active Coherent sonobuoys allow the MQ-9B to better detect submarines over large areas with fewer buoys than DIFAR and DICASS. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/15/m...

Germany Will Buy the MQ-9B SeaGuardian Germany has announced the acquisition of eight MQ-9B SeaGuardians through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency, with deliveries to start in 2028. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/13/g...

India Approves Boeing 767 Tankers to Fill Long-Standing Refueling Capability Gap Six pre-owned B-767s will be converted by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) into aerial refuellers, as the IAF’s older Russian Il-78MKIs experience availability issues. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/14/i...

Northrop Grumman to Build New MK54 MOD 2 Torpedoes for U.S. Navy The MK54 MOD 2 is an advancement over the MK54 MOD 0 and MOD 1, with a more advanced and lethal warhead, and enhanced target tracking and classification system. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/13/n...

U.S. Navy Continues BQM-177 Target Drone Demos with Hivemind AI The U.S. Navy demonstrated the manned-unmanned teaming capabilities of BQM-177s using Shield AI’s Hivemind software in a simulated CCA air combat scenario. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/12/u...

Tanker Seizure Updates: More Details Emerge About U.S. Interdiction of Russian-flagged Ship Thanks to official imagery slowly trickling out, and new sightings by UK aviation enthusiasts, we now know some more about the assets involved in the seizure. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/11/t...

Lebanese Army Captures Hezbollah’s Tu-143 Reys Jet Drones Three Tu-143 high-speed reconnaissance drones have been photographed during ongoing Lebanese Army operations against Hezbollah. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/09/l...

Lockheed Martin Delivered 191 F-35s in 2025 Lockheed Martin said it set a record delivering 191 F-35 Lightning II jets in 2025, clearing backlog deliveries in the process, with a global fleet that now counts 1,300 aircraft. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/09/l...

Northrop Grumman, Kratos to Develop XQ-58 Valkyrie as CCA for the USMC Northrop Grumman will integrate its uncrewed and autonomous technologies onto Kratos’ Valkyrie for the USMC's MUX TACAIR Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/08/n...

F-35 Pilots Control CCAs in U.S. Navy’s Super-Realistic JSE Simulator The Joint Simulation Environment is playing a key role in developing tactics and operational concepts for integrating Collaborative Combat Aircraft with the F-35. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/08/f...

Chinese National Charged With Unlawfully Photographing Home Of U.S. B-2 Fleet In Missouri Federal prosecutors say the suspect took images of sensitive military infrastructure at Whiteman AFB. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/08/c...

Italy Approves First Multinational F-35 Pilot Training Center Outside The U.S. The new facility at Trapani AB will make the Sicilian base Italy’s third operational F-35 hub and a future multinational training center for NATO and partner nations. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/07/i...

U.S. Forces Seize Russian-flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic U.S. forces successfully launched a mission to seize the Marinera, on Jan. 7. Russian state media released imagery from the vessel showing a 160th SOAR MH-6 Little Bird nearby. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/07/t...

Seizure of Russian-flagged Sanctioned Oil Tanker in North Atlantic Now Underway U.S. officials confirmed that a mission to seize the tanker has been launched. RT released imagery from the vessel showing a 160th SOAR MH-6 Little Bird nearby. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/07/t...

Tanker Pursuit Continues as Russia Reportedly Sends in Submarine The tanker continues heading through the Atlantic while watched by ISR acft and a USCG cutter. Special forces train at Fairford, and a US.official tells WSJ that a Russian sub is lurking. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/07/t...

Taiwanese F-16 Crashes at Sea During Night Operations The F-16 pilot, Hsin Po-yi, is believed to have ejected from the aircraft around 10 NM off the coast. Search and rescue efforts are, at the time of writing, understood to still be in progress. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/06/t...

Lockheed Martin to Bring PAC-3 MSE Interceptor’s Production to 2,000 per Year Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon announced plans to increase the annual production of the PAC-3 MSE interceptor from 600 to 2,000 weapons. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/06/l...

A Look at NATO Air Assets Employed during Operation Allied Force Employing a variety of air assets from 13 nations and seemingly striking targets with precision and impunity, NATO enjoyed overwhelming air superiority over Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/06/o...

The Saga of the Bella 1 and the Mysterious U.S. Special Forces Movements As rumors swirl over the deployment of 160th SOAR to the UK as the sanctioned tanker, approaches the GIUK gap, let’s look at what we do and don’t know about the bizarre situation. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/06/t...

MANPADS Becomes Latest Addition to Russia’s Geran-2 Attack Drone A nearly intact Geran-2, landed upright on the ground, was found with a 9K333 Verba Man-Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) mounted on the top. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/05/m...

Joint UK-France Strike Mission Targets Daesh in Syria An underground facility operated by the terrorist group north of Palmyra, Syria, was hit by strike aircraft in a combined raid on Jan. 3, 2026. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/04/u...

Ukrainian Mirage 2000s Are Now Equipped with MICA Missiles A recently emerged photo shows a Ukrainian Mirage 2000 equipped with a MICA air-to-air missile, after being initially showcased only with the older Magic 2. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/05/u...

New Details Emerge about Operation Absolute Resolve, the U.S. Raid in Venezuela U.S. officials detail Operation Absolute Resolve, revealing the scale, planning, and aftermath of the joint operation that captured Venezuela’s president. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/03/o...

U.S. Launches Military Operations in Venezuela, Maduro ‘Captured’ Airstrikes and helicopter raids have been seen inside Venezuelan territory as President Trump confirms attacks, stating that President Nicolás Maduro has been captured by U.S. forces. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/03/u...

Denmark Close to Becoming Next P-8 Poseidon Operator The U.S. has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Denmark of up to three P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, worth $1.8 billion. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/02/d...

Israel Signs Contract for 25 F-15IA Aircraft The Israeli Air Force will get 25 new F-15IA fighter jets as part of a deal worth up to $8.5 billion, with 25 more jets on option. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/01/01/i...

Saab Receives French Contract for two GlobalEye AEW&C Aircraft The French government is acquiring two Saab GlobalEye platforms, with an option for two more, to maintain a credible and deterrent airborne radar capability. Story: theaviationist.com/2025/12/31/f...

China Conducts “Justice Mission 2025” Exercise Around Taiwan China’s PLA launched “Justice Mission 2025” snap drills around Taiwan, combining blockade simulations, live-fire drills, and strategic messaging aimed at Taipei and Washington. Story: theaviationist.com/2025/12/31/c...

Spain Signs Contract for 30 Hürjets Spain signed a €2.4 billion contract to acquire Turkish Aerospace Industries’ Hürjets, with Airbus leading the work on the new Integrated Training System. Story: theaviationist.com/2025/12/30/s...

The UK Armed Forces’ 2025 in Pictures The UK’s Ministry of Defence has unveiled an image gallery showcasing some of their best photographs from the past year. Let’s take a look at some of our favorites. Story: theaviationist.com/2025/12/30/u...

USAF MQ-9A Reapers are Carrying Up to Ten AGM-114 Hellfire Missiles in the Caribbean At least nine MQ-9s are deployed to Puerto Rico’s Rafael Hernández Airport, each carrying between six and ten AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. Story: theaviationist.com/2025/12/29/u...

China’s J-10C Allegedly Seen Carrying YJ-21E Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile for the First Time The YJ-21E spotted on the J-10C is a smaller variant of the larger YJ-21/KD-21 spotted on the H-6K bomber, specifically designed for fighter jets and drones. Story: theaviationist.com/2025/12/27/c...

U.S. Navy Awards Leonardo UK Contract to Equip F-35 with BriteCloud Active Expendable Decoys The U.S. Navy is acquiring and undisclosed number of BriteCloud Active Expendable Decoys specifically for the F-35 Lightning II. Story: theaviationist.com/2025/12/26/u...

Supposed Third Prototype of China’s J-36 Next-Generation Jet has Flown The supposed third J-36 prototype emerged exactly a year after the first one was spotted in December 2024. Story: theaviationist.com/2025/12/26/t...

USS Nimitz Decommissioning in Sight as HII Awarded Contract Modification The 50 year old nuclear-powered aircraft carrier returned to Bremerton, Washington on Dec. 16, 2025 after its final scheduled deployment. Story: theaviationist.com/2025/12/24/u...

Boeing Awarded $2 Billion Contract to Continue Work on B-52’s New Engines The new contract covers the Post-Critical Design Review phase of the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program, which will replace the TF33 engines with the new F130s. Story: theaviationist.com/2025/12/24/b...