FOUR ARMÉE de l’Air (French Air Force) Mirage 2000-5Fs have been deployed to Siauliai Air Base, Lithuania, to take up leadership of the Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission. All are from Escadron de Chasse 1.2 ‘Cigognes’ at Base Aérienne 116…

LOCKHEED MARTIN’S F-35 Lightning II recently completed 25 missions, comprising of 12 weapons delivery accuracy (WDA) and 13 weapon separation tests, as part of a month-long weapon’s firing test surge.  The F-35 Joint Program Office announced the record achievement by…

LOCKHEED MARTIN has achieved another milestone in the Joint Strike Fighter programme with delivery of the US Air Force’s 100th F-35A Lightning II.  The aircraft, 14-5099 ‘LF’ (AF-100), arrived at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, on August 26 from the…

FOUR NEW MD530 Cayuse Warrior helicopters arrived at Kabul-Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 25, 2016, aboard a C-17 Globemaster III from Travis Air Force Base, California.  They are the final four of the current order for the Afghan Air…

BOEING DEFENCE and Space has given a sneak preview of its clean-sheet design, developed in conjunction with Saab, for the US Air Force’s T-X advanced pilot trainer competition. On August 22, the US manufacturer launched a Boeing T-X promotional website,…

NELLIS AIR Force Base in Nevada plans to restructure the 57th Operations Group to enhance its focus on close air support (CAS) integration, US Air Force officials announced on August 16.  The group’s mission will include high-end fight training as…

RUSSIA’S DEFENCE Ministry has confirmed that Russian Air Force Tu-22M3 Backfire-C long-range bombers and Su-34 Fullback strike/bomber aircraft carried out air strikes against terrorist targets in Syria on August 16, operating for the first time from a forward-deployed base at…

AN ORDER for a third Zephyr-S unmanned air vehicle has been placed by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). The new deal, as part of a £13-million contract with Airbus Defence and Space (ADS), was announced by the MOD on…

A first for the US Air Force’s veteran B-52 Stratofortress was achieved recently when the Joint Attack Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) from the type’s internal weapons bay.  The achievement was announced on August 12 by officials from the 412th Test…

Interim training units for F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots are to be set up by the US Air Force in order to increase fighter pilot production as part of the service’s efforts to address its fighter pilot shortage.  The USAF released…