Starlux Reaches Europe for the First Time

Starlux Reaches Europe for the First Time

Just after midnight on August 1, 2026, an Airbus A350-900 lifted off from Taipei and pointed its nose at Central Europe. In the left-hand seat sat K.W. Chang — not a rostered captain, but the chairman of the airline, flying his own inaugural. Nine hours later...
Two J-20s Escort a Very Big Missile

Two J-20s Escort a Very Big Missile

Chinese state television does not show its most sensitive hardware by accident. So when the final episode of the CCTV documentary Zhisheng (“Victory”) aired on August 4, 2026, one sequence was clearly meant to be seen: an H-6N bomber lumbering along with a...
AI Flew 27 Live Intercepts by Itself

AI Flew 27 Live Intercepts by Itself

An artificial-intelligence agent just strapped into a fighter, stared at an enemy jet through an infrared eye, and ran it down twenty-seven times — and no human touched the stick.Lockheed Martin Skunk Works pulled the curtain back on August 4, 2026, revealing...
A New Engine War for the F-15EX and F-16

A New Engine War for the F-15EX and F-16

For decades, if you wanted to put an engine in an American F-15 or F-16, you had exactly two phone numbers to call: Pratt & Whitney and GE. That cozy arrangement may be about to end. On August 4 the U.S. Air Force went public with a Request for Information —...
IndiGo and Norse Rip Up Their 787 Deal

IndiGo and Norse Rip Up Their 787 Deal

For a few months, the world’s cheapest big airline flew the world’s trendiest long-haul jet. It did not last. IndiGo — India’s low-cost giant, and the largest airline in the country by a country mile — is tearing up its damp-lease deal with Norway’s Norse...
The Tanker That Flew Home on a Borrowed Tail

The Tanker That Flew Home on a Borrowed Tail

Look closely at the KC-135 that touched down at RAF Mildenhall on the afternoon of August 2 and something does not add up. The fuselage wears the serial 63-8017. The tail wears a different one: 63-8002. This is one airframe stitched together from two — a flying...
WestJet Grounds Its Entire Mainline Fleet

WestJet Grounds Its Entire Mainline Fleet

Just after midnight on Sunday, the busiest travel weekend of the Canadian summer fell silent. Roughly 150 WestJet aircraft that should have been shuttling holidaymakers between Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and a long list of sun destinations stayed exactly where they...
Japan Just Joined the Tomahawk Club

Japan Just Joined the Tomahawk Club

For decades Japan built warships bristling with missile cells and used them only to shoot things down. That just changed. On Jul. 29, 2026, the destroyer JS Chōkai fired a Tomahawk cruise missile into the Pacific — the first time a Japanese warship has ever...