Rafale A: When France Walked Out of the Eurofighter in 1985
Share this story On 4 July 1986, a white delta-winged jet with canards and two American engines lifted off from Istres in the south of France. Test pilot Guy Mitaux-Maurouard climbed to 11,000 metres and pushed it to Mach 1.3 on its very first flight, which lasted...
Montana Super Range: Trump Announces a New Weapons Test Complex
Share this story Presidents usually announce military bases with a press release and a map. Donald Trump announced this one from a rally stage. Speaking at the Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell, Montana, on Wednesday evening, 14 October, he told the crowd that the...
Saab GlobalEye: Sweden’s First S 106 Radar Jet Unveiled
Share this story Ever since it gave its radar planes to Ukraine, Sweden has defended its airspace without an airborne early warning aircraft of its own. That gap is now closing. On 15 October 2026, Saab presented the first GlobalEye built for the Swedish Air Force, a...
Snowbirds Fly Their Last Tutor Home Show at Moose Jaw Today
Share this story At noon Moose Jaw time today, Friday 16 October, nine red-and-white jets will taxi out at 15 Wing Moose Jaw for a show that has no paying crowd and no grandstand. It is the last “home closer” the Snowbirds will ever fly in the CT-114...
ACF Fighter: France Goes It Alone on the Rafale’s Successor
Share this story France has made up its mind. The fighter that will one day replace the Rafale will be French, designed and built at home, with partners invited only on France’s terms. General Jérôme Bellanger, chief of staff of the French Air and...
Borisoglebsk Strike: Neptune Missiles Hit Six Russian Su-34s
Share this story Shortly before 22:00 local time on 14 October, the missile alert sounded over the Voronezh region. A few minutes later residents of Borisoglebsk heard explosions, and a large fire lit up the military airfield east of town. By morning, Ukraine’s...
Landing Signal Officer: The Pilot Who Grades Every Carrier Landing
Share this story On every carrier landing, a small group of pilots stands on a platform at the back left edge of the flight deck, inches from the landing area. One holds a radio handset and a small switch box. If the approaching jet is drifting low, he tells the...
A-29 Super Tucano: The Propeller Fighter Europe Wants as a Drone Hunter
Share this story In an age of stealth fighters and hypersonic missiles, one of the most-discussed combat aircraft in Europe has a propeller. The Embraer A-29 Super Tucano, a Brazilian turboprop designed for counter-insurgency in the jungle, is now being studied as a...
NATO Nuclear Sharing Explained: Steadfast Noon and the Dual-Capable Jets
Share this story Every October, a few dozen NATO fighter jets fly a rehearsal for a mission their crews hope they never fly for real: delivering an American nuclear bomb on behalf of the whole alliance. The exercise is called Steadfast Noon. This year it began on 13...
Johannes Steinhoff: From a Burning Me 262 to the Head of NATO’s Military Committee
Share this story On 18 April 1945, three weeks before the war in Europe ended, a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter of Jagdverband 44 was taking off near Munich when its left wheel hit debris. The jet swerved off the runway and exploded in flames. Its pilot, Colonel...
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