In 1966 the FAA picked Boeing to build America’s supersonic airliner. Lockheed’s L-2000 lost for being too sensible. Then Boeing rebuilt it as a Lockheed.
The El Al Captain Who Dived to Beat a Hijacking
The decision that saved El Al Flight 219 was not the dive. It was made on the ground at Schiphol, before anyone boarded, and it nearly cost the captain his career. On 6 September 1970 a Boeing 707 left Amsterdam for New York with 138 passengers and 10 crew. Two of...
Harry Hawker: The Mechanic Who Gave Hawker Its Name
He left school at eleven, learned to fly in three lessons, was the first man to spin an aeroplane deliberately and recover, and was mourned as dead for six days in 1919.
Sukhoi Su-17 (1949): The Fighter Whose Nose Ejected
In 1949 Sukhoi drew a fighter whose entire nose section could separate as an escape capsule, a decade before the West tried it. One was built. It never flew.
Hawker P.1081: The Australian Fighter Australia Never Bought
One aircraft was built, offered to Australia, and never ordered. It killed Hawker’s chief test pilot, a Battle of Britain ace, and its data became the Hawker Hunter.
Bier-Order 61: Two Luftwaffe Jets Lost Over East Germany
In September 1961 two Luftwaffe F-84Fs strayed over East Germany, outran Soviet fighters in cloud and landed in Berlin. The French buried them. The Defence Minister issued an order named after beer.
C-40 Fleet: The Air Force Buys Its First Boeing 737 MAX
Air Mobility Command will spend $250 million on a Boeing 737 MAX to expand the C-40 VIP fleet, making the U.S. Air Force the first military operator of the type.
One Fighter Pilot in Congress: August Pfluger Wants Wingmen
Of 96 veterans in Congress, fifteen served in the Air Force and exactly one flew fighters. Rep. August Pfluger says that is why the Air Force struggles to make its case.
Cargo Drones: The Air Force Is Shopping Without a Programme
There is no programme of record, but the Air Force Chief of Staff says the service is evaluating uncrewed cargo demonstrators for contested logistics in the Pacific and Africa.
NewsChopper4: Three Killed in Chatsworth Helicopter Crash
An AS350 B2 covering a fatal bus collision for NBC4 Los Angeles came down in Chatsworth on 15 September, killing reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw and a man on the ground.
Next-Gen Tanker: The Air Force Asks If It Needs a Pilot
The new head of Air Mobility Command says he does not believe the Air Force’s next aerial refuelling aircraft has to be manned. The MQ-25 proves the idea; the scale is the problem.
AGM-158 FLEX: Lockheed’s JASSM With a Nose That Unclips
Lockheed Martin has revealed the AGM-158 FLEX, a modular JASSM airframe with a swappable nose cone and reconfigurable tail, funded with $35 million of its own money.
Space Force Electronic Warfare: A Guardian Under Missile Fire
The new Chief of Space Operations described a two-year Guardian jamming Iranian satellite links while missiles struck her site, until her commander pulled her off the console.
Russian Il-96 Lands in Germany to Collect Expelled Diplomats
An Ilyushin Il-96-300 of Russia’s Special Flight Squadron landed at Cologne/Bonn on 16 September to collect consulate staff Germany expelled over the Leipzig drone attack.
CCA Drones Head to Emerald Flag in Their First Real Exercise
USAF Collaborative Combat Aircraft will join a large-force employment exercise for the first time at Emerald Flag in December, in a combined fourth and fifth-generation push.
KC-135 Battle Damage: Patching a Smoking Tanker Under Fire
Air Mobility Command has described how a KC-135 riddled with shrapnel and loaded with 200,000 lb of fuel was patched on the ramp and flown across an ocean.
Istanbul Airport Overtakes Heathrow as World’s Most Connected
OAG Megahubs 2026 puts Istanbul first in the world for the first time, with 337 destinations. Heathrow slips to second as Middle East schedules stay broken.