BVR air combat promised to kill the enemy before he could be seen. How radar, missile energy, F-pole tactics and AWACS made it work, from Vietnam to Meteor.
Link 16 Explained: How Allied Jets Share One Air Picture
Link 16 lets NATO fighters, AWACS and ships share one tactical picture. How its time slots, frequency hopping and J-series messages work, and why stealth jets need more.
Pan Am 707 Clipper America: The First US Jet Service to Paris
On 26 October 1958, Pan Am’s Boeing 707 Clipper America flew 111 passengers from New York to Paris, opening American jet service three weeks after BOAC’s Comet 4.
First Kamikaze Attacks: Onishi, Seki and the Sinking of USS St. Lo
On 25 October 1944 the first organised kamikaze attacks hit US escort carriers off the Philippines. Lt Yukio Seki’s Shikishima unit sank USS St. Lo.
Operation Urgent Fury: The Air War Over Grenada, 1983
On 25 October 1983 the US invaded Grenada. Spectre gunships, Combat Talons, SeaCobras, Black Hawks and A-7s fought an improvised air war that changed the Pentagon.
Western Sydney International Opens: First Jetstar Flight Takes Off
Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport opened to passengers on 25 October 2026 as Jetstar flight JQ362 took off for the Gold Coast.
Palm Beach Intercept: NORAD F-16 Headbutts Plane Over Mar-a-Lago
A NORAD F-16 intercepted a general aviation aircraft that entered the Temporary Flight Restriction over Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach on 24 October 2026.
Boeing 777 Freighter Production Halted by a Wing-Part Dispute
Reuters reports Boeing 777 Freighter production has been halted for nearly two months by a dispute with Florida supplier Vaero over a wing part.
CC-130H Hercules Retires: RCAF Bids Farewell to the Mighty Herc
The RCAF held a retirement ceremony for its last CC-130H Hercules at 17 Wing Winnipeg on 24 October 2026, after 52 years of service.
Pebble Island Raid 1982: The SAS Night That Wrecked 11 Aircraft
On the night of 14/15 May 1982, D Squadron SAS raided the Argentine airstrip on Pebble Island in the Falklands and destroyed eleven aircraft, including six Pucaras.
Iraqi Air Force Flight to Iran: Saddam’s 1991 Gamble With His Jets
During Desert Storm, well over 100 Iraqi Air Force jets fled to Iran, their enemy of eight years. Iran kept most of them as reparations.
Flight Levels and Transition Altitude: Why Pilots Set 29.92
Why pilots switch their altimeters to 1013.25 hPa or 29.92 inHg, why the US transition altitude is 18,000 ft while Europe’s varies, and how RVSM added six flight levels.
Project Genetrix: The 1956 Spy Balloons That Drifted Over the USSR
In January 1956, the US launched more than 500 camera balloons from Europe and Turkey to drift over the USSR. Project Genetrix lasted 27 days.
St Elmo’s Fire on Aircraft: The Blue Glow Pilots See in Storms
Why aircraft windscreens and wingtips glow blue near thunderstorms: St Elmo’s fire, corona discharge and the static wicks on every airliner.
Project Homerun: The RB-47 Spy Flights Over the Soviet Arctic
In spring 1956, SAC RB-47s flew 156 sorties from Thule, Greenland, across the Soviet Arctic in Project Homerun, without losing a single aircraft.
Airborne Weather Radar: How Pilots See Storms Through the Nose
Airborne weather radar sees rain, not clouds or turbulence. How the X-band radar in an airliner nose works, what the colours mean, and how pilots use tilt to dodge storms.
Operation Carpetbagger: The Black B-24s That Armed the Resistance
From RAF Harrington, black-painted USAAF B-24 Liberators flew alone at night in 1944–45 to drop agents and supplies to Europe’s resistance movements.