The Aviationist

Can you remember the first images of the F-35 carrying a white 25 mm gun pod? I was visiting the booth of Terma, a Danish firm, when I stumbled upon this: The multimission pod for the F-35 is actually the same white pod carried on the centerline unveiled by the photographs released in February 2012. [...]

On the first day of Farnborough 2012, the Airbus 380 proved to be (almost) as maneuverable as a smaller, fast jet as it created impressive condensation clouds around its flight surfaces. On Day 2, it did it again. Here’s an image showing the amazing steep take off of the Malaysia Airlines Airbus 380, taken by [...]

Among the most interesting things you might happen to do at Farnborough International Airshow, there’s a ride in a combat plane simulator. During the Day 2 of FIA12 (#FIA12 or #FARN12 for the Tweeps), I had the opportunity to try the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 simulator, one of the two hosted inside the large Finmeccanica Pavilion. [...]

The three largest U.S. military planes on display at Farnborough International Airshow 2012 are the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, the C-130 Hercules and the C-17 Globemaster III airlifters. The following pictures bring you inside their cockpits.

The next step of the Galactic journey is here. During the third day of Farnborough International Airshow 2012, Richard Branson introduced a new vehicle that “will change the whose satellite industry and space-based science research.” The new satellite launch vehicle is dubbed LauncherOne. “Even before this official launch we have the largest order book of [...]

At around 17.15 local time a GPU (Ground Power Unit) took fire near a Qatar Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Firefighting vehicles were immediately dispatched and surrounded the aircraft. Flights are being diverted or holding near Farnborough.

Scenes from next James Bond’s “Skyfall” movie have leaked on Youtube. Although the footages and images were actually uploaded on the Internet in March 2012, the news has spread during the Farnborough International Airshow 2012 as the “giant” helicopter flying around Hankley Common, near Elstead, in Surrey, is an AgustaWestland AW101. At its debut in a [...]

The RF-4E that went down inside the Syrian airspace on Jun. 22 may have been downed by a technical failure. This is more or less what emerges from the latest news released by the Turkish Armed Forces. According to the report by the Presidency of the Gendarmerie Criminal Department, the remains of the aircraft collected [...]

On Day 3 of the Farnborough International Airshow, the first three AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat helicopters were officially delivered to the UK Ministry of Defense. The keys of the first Wildcat multi-role chopper, were taken over by UK Defense Secretary Philip Hammond. The first AW159 was accepted in April 2012 and since then a further four [...]

One of the highlights of Farnborough International Airshow 2012 was the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the Qatar Airways colors. The liner took part to the daily air display (until Jul. 11) with an elegant series of maneuvers (including a touch and go that is quite rare among civilian aircraft) that showed its stunning maneuverability, [...]

An unexploded “Hakim” is blown up by MAG (Mines Advisory Group) at Zintan airfield during a demo last week. Photo credit: MAG The MBDA PGM-500 “Hakim” is a 500-lb guided bomb that was carried by the UAE Air Force Mirage 2000s during Operation Unified Protector in Libya. If you wondered whether the UAE AF dropped [...]

The recent downing of a Turkish RF-4E (provided it was really gunned down or shot down with a SAM and it did not crash because of a technical failure) is just the most evident sign of the Syrian military capabilities. Indeed, even if they were not used much since the beginning of the uprising last [...]

Although its flight display is far from being exciting (at least if you compare it with the one of the Super Hornet), the V-22 Osprey, with its tilt moving nacelles, is one of the highlights of Farnborough International Airshow 2012. Belonging to the VMM-264 based at Camp Lejeune base in North Carolina, four USMC’s aircraft [...]

On Jul. 20, 2012, suspected gunman James Holmes allegedly killed at least 12 people and wounded 59 others during the midnight premier of the new Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, a suburb of Denver. All U.S. media outlets provide a detailed description of the slaughter. You can read the first interesting analysis [...]

At around 12.20pm local time on Wednesday Jul. 25 the RAF Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoons based at RAF Northolt (London) for Olympic Games security got their first scramble. Using radio callsign 6NK31, the first Typhoon roared into the skies above northwest London whereas a second jet was kept on holding on the runway threshold [...]

Since it made its first appearance on-line in the night of Jul. 24, I’ve been asked to identify the “mysterious” aircraft spotted over Aleppo earlier on the same day. Depicted in a BBC report as one of more “Russian-made MiG planes [that] arced through the sky. We watched as they dropped in, bombing and strafing [...]

As the Syrian air war escalates, with fixed wing aircraft joining the Syrian Arab Air Force’s gunships in the strikes against the rebels and their Free Syria Army (FSyA), Assad’s chemical weapons arsenal has become one of the main concerns of the international community. Needless to say, Israel is one of the neighborough nations that [...]

During Farnborough International Airshow 2012, we published the images of the cockpit of the U.S. Air Force C-130J on static display. Now, you can compare the digital cockpit of the “J” version with the one of the Colombian Air Force C-130H, operating with the Grupo de Transporte Aéreo 81 based at El Dorado, Bogotà. Although it [...]

The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, a massive 30,000-lb bomb that can destroy deeply buried bunkers, has been upgraded and ready to be carried by the U.S. Air Force B-52, B-1 and B-2 bombers. “If it needed to go today, we would be ready to do that,” he said. “We continue to do testing on [...]

Have you ever wondered what happens during an ordinary day’s mass launch of Red Flag missions at Nellis Air Force Base, in Nevada? The following video will give you a clue. You’ll see several Aggressor F-15s and F-16s, U.S. KC-135s, B-52s and B-1s, A-10s, F-15s, EA-6B Prowlers as well as Colombian Air Force Kfirs and [...]

Farnborough 2012: Close up view of the mysterious F-35′s multimission pod. Did it really carry a gun in February 2012?

Farnborough 2012 photo: Airbus 380 amazing steep takeoff

Farnborough 2012: A flight with the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 simulator. Including a taste of the Master’s Helmet Mounted Display

Farnborough 2012: Inside the cockpit of the U.S. MV-22 Osprey, C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III

Farnborough 2012: Richard Branson introduces the Launcher 1. “It will go around the world at 80,000 mph in 80 minutes”

Farnborough 2012: Exclusive Images: Ground Power Unit takes fire near Boeing 787. Firefighting vehicles dispatched.

Farnborough 2012: New James Bond film’s helicopter scenes leaked to Youtube

Neither gunned down nor hit by a missile. A technical failure may have caused the crash of the Turkish RF-4E in Syria

Farnborough 2012: AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat delivered to the UK Ministry of Defence

Farnborough 2012 photo: Boeing 787 Dreamliner shows its amazing maneuverability

Photo: Unexploded MBDA PGM-500 500-lb guided bomb “Hakim” blown at Zintan, Libya

Impressive video: Syria flexes muscles with live firing exercise including Mig-29s, Mig-23s, Mig-21s, Su-24s and gunship helicopters

Farnborough 2012: Boeing MV-22B tiltrotor aircraft attracts spectators as Marines claim “human factor” caused Osprey crash in Morocco

Colorado shooting through the Police radio communications. Scanner captured the moments after the tragedy unfolded.

Olympics air security gets its first test as Typhoon is scrambled from RAF Northolt, in noth-west London

L-39 Albatros jet trainer spotted over Aleppo, Syria.

Israel’s satellites, reconnaissance aircraft, drones spying on Syrian chemical weapons arsenal

Photo: Inside the cockpit of the (special colored) Colombian Air Force C-130H

Upgraded 30,000-lb Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb ready to destroy deeply buried bunkers in Iran, Syria etc.

If you want to know what a Red Flag’s mass launch from Nellis Air Force Base looks like, watch this video