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Too cool to be true: a night sortie on board the B-52 Stratofortress. As seen through the Night Vision Goggles

July 26, 2012, 1:22 pm
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I’m not sure how many recent wars have begun in the same way: swarms of B-52 Stratofortress bombers start up their engine, taxi and take off in sequence to strike a series of vital targets of the enemy’s air defense system. A scene that could be played on the opening stages of an air strike [...]
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Indonesia’s (once top-secret) Sukhoi Su-30 jet fighters arrive in Australia for their first deployment abroad

July 27, 2012, 5:00 am
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Indonesia’s front-line jet fighters have just arrived in Australia to take part in Pitch Black 2012, the largest multi-national biennial air combat exercise held downtown, which officially kicks off on Jul. 30. The arrival of the once top-secret Sukhoi Su-30s, at their first deployment abroad, marks the beginning of a new era in the Australia [...]
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James Bond daredevil chopper leap, helicopter’s eight billion confetti air drop: some of the Olympic opener highlights

July 27, 2012, 7:00 am
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Although the presence of the Red Arrows at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games has already been made public, the London 2012 Olympic Games show promises some rather funny helicopter action. Details leaked so far through the organization’s secrecy curtain are scarce, however rumors (and more detailed media reports) are spreading quite fast. According [...]
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F-22 to deploy to Japan. With a solution to the oxygen problem (and some concerns about the AMRAAM missile)

July 27, 2012, 8:00 am
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As the debate about the F-22 “invicibility” goes on after the confrontation with the Eurofighter Typhoon during the Red Flag Alaska, some good news should ease some tension will help ease tension within the Raptor community. First of all, the U.S. Air Force has finally narrowed down the root cause of the hypoxia like symptoms [...]
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All the most interesting aviation-related moments of the Olympic Games opening ceremony

July 27, 2012, 5:17 pm
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In order of appearance. The Red Arrows fly over the Olympic Stadium The world’s most famous-spy James Bond personally escorts The Queen Elizabeth II to the games on an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter. The unusual duo parachutes into the stadium. Unfortunately, there was no video coverage of the AW101 airdrop of 7 billion biodegrable confetti into [...]
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Israeli F-16 damaged in air-to-air refueling mishap

July 27, 2012, 8:00 pm
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An Israeli pilot made an emergency landing after getting too close to the tanker and being damaged. Haaretz news agency reported on Jul. 27, that a  F-16 (Sufa) was undertaking a routine training mission when the flying boom struck the canopy damaging the F-16′s HUD (Head Up Display) and the pipe itself. The F-16 pilot [...]
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Here is why the alleged video of a Syrian regime helicopter downed by rebels doesn’t show a shot down gunship

July 28, 2012, 5:10 am
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The following video, allegedly showing a Syrian Mil Mi-8 helicopter shot down by the rebels, was published by several media outlets all around the world as the first kill achieved by the Free Syria Army (FSyA). However, I’m not sure it actually shows a chopper hit by the anti-aircraft fire. First of all, the flight [...]
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British pilots flew armed U.S drones during the Libyan conflict

July 29, 2012, 2:08 pm
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Several online news outlets, including the British Newspaper The Guardian, have been running news articles stating that British exchange pilots in the U.S flew armed American Predator drones during the Libyan conflict. The disclosure had slipped out during a parliamentary answer, some 10 months after the end of the conflict, during which the British Government [...]
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China’s new carrier-borne Airborne Early Warning aircraft can’t operate from an aircraft carrier

July 30, 2012, 6:00 am
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A couple of interesting images were published on some interesting Chinese defense forum of what appears to be a testbed for a carrier-borne Airborne Early Warning aircraft. Is this a sign that China is currently evaluating the possibility to develop such a platform for its aircraft carrier(s)? Image credit: http://club.mil.news.sina.com.cn/ Designated JZY-01, the aircraft seems [...]
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Video: Red Flag night launch and recovery time lapse (spanning about 5 hours or so in just 3 minutes).

July 30, 2012, 9:00 am
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Brought to my attention by Jeff Merkowitz, the following video combines about 5 hours of night launches and recoveries from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, north of Las Vegas, in just 3 minutes of mesmerizing footage. By means of either the aircraft taxi, navigation lights or the flame of the afterburner, you can see the [...]
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Syrian Arab Air Force trainer jets turned into attack planes to strike rebel positions

July 30, 2012, 2:20 pm
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On Jul. 24, the L-39 Albatros, mistakenly identified by several media outlets as “Migs”, made their first appearance in the Syrian skies. Since then, many videos uploaded to Youtube have shown Syrian Arab Air Force L-39 combat trainers equipped with an under fuselage gun pod and external stores flying over Aleppo during strafing attacks against Free [...]
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Video: U.S. Navy initial flight (and heavy landing) of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator.

July 30, 2012, 8:00 pm
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On Jul. 29 (or Jul.30 – the news release and the footage have a different timestamp), the U.S. Navy made history after it conducted the Naval Air Station Patuxent River’s initial flight of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D). The tailless, unmanned aircraft launched from “Pax River” and flew for a planned 35 [...]
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Grand Forks, North Dakota, to become a Predator hotbed for drone-fired lasers

July 31, 2012, 6:00 am
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The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has finally given the go ahead for the use of remotely-piloted Predator drones in the airspace above 10,000 acres in North Dakota. According to an article published on RT.com, Starting in October Grand Forks will see a domestic training facility for military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with the trainee pilots [...]
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If your vehicle’s key fob or garage door don’t work, a Navy radio might be jamming you

August 1, 2012, 6:00 am
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Taken at the Hertz Rental counter at San Diego International Airport, the below photograph shows a sign used to warn people of the possible interferences to vehicles key fobs caused by naval vessels activity in the Bay area. “Once you travel approximately 5 miles away from the vicinity of the San Diego Bay, the key fob [...]
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Audio: U.S. Air Force F-15s scramble to intercept United Airlines Boeing 767 with “suspicious package” onboard

August 1, 2012, 9:30 am
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On Jul. 31, two F-15s were scrambled from Barnes Air National Guard Base, when United Airlines Flight 956, a Boeing 767 with registration N654UA and 157 passengers on board, flying from Newark to Geneva, informed Boston Air Route Control Center that they had found a “suspicious package” on board and needed to divert to Boston [...]
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Photo: Lightning fills the sky behind a B-1 bomber during a late night thunderstorm at Ellsworth Air Force Base

August 1, 2012, 3:00 pm
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Taken on Jul. 24 at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, by Airman 1st Class Zachary Hada, the following image shows a B-1 bomber on a local apron as a thunderstorm gets closer to the airport. Image credit: U.S. Air Force The image was made available to the public as approximately 350 airmen deployed to [...]
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Is Incirlik airbase in Turkey being used to direct military and communications aid to Syria’s rebels

August 2, 2012, 5:05 am
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According to an interesting article recently published by Reuters Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have set up a secret base in the Turkish city of Adana, some 100 km (60miles) from the Syrian border, whose purpose is to direct arms and communication aid supplies to Syrian opposition forces. “It’s the Turks who are militarily controlling [...]
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[HD Video] Hang onto the wing of a C-130 Hercules as it flies at tree top height in the valleys during Red Flag Alaska

August 2, 2012, 8:30 am
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As already explained, even in the hi-tech age of stealth bombers, low-level flying is still one of the most important parts of combat pilot training. The fact that some recent scenarios give combat planes the opportunity to quietly operate at medium or high altitude with standoff weapons, because of the lack of anti-aircraft threats, doesn’t imply [...]
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Close call at Reagan National: Radar Replay and Air Traffic Control Audio

August 3, 2012, 5:00 am
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On Aug. 2, three commuter jets operated by US Airways were involved in a near collision near Reagan National Airport, in Washington DC. Because of an Air Traffic Control error an incoming flight flew head-on at two planes that had just taken off. According to the Washington Post, the approaching plane (Flight 3329, an Embraer [...]
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RAF Typhoon scrambles for second intercept in London Olympics No-Fly Zone

August 3, 2012, 4:12 pm
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On Aug. 3, at 16.49 local time, a Royal Air Force Typhoon was scrambled for the second time since a No-Fly Zone was established, from RAF Northolt, North West London. Eye witnesses stated that the fighter jet took off and performed a near vertical climb out from the base. Whilst the Typhoon thundered into the [...]
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