Military aviation news

After 14 years of service, a Royal Air Force Sentinel R1 aircraft has carried out the last operational flight of the aircraft type. The Sentinel R1 from RAF Waddington, part of V (Army Cooperation) Squadron, was one of five aircraft commissioned through engineering firm Raytheon to provide an Airborne Stand-off [read more]

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) is set to spend this summer demonstrating the maritime capability of its MQ-9B Sea Guardian Remote Piloted Aircraft (RPA) to the UK and other NATO allies. The company will bring one of its MQ-9B Sea Guardians to RAF Waddington this summer in order to conduct [read more]

Air Commodore Paul Godfrey OBE has been announced as the inaugural commander of the newly formed UK Space Command. [read more]

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a three-year contract to Spirit Aerosystems to build an unmanned fighter code named “Loyal Wingman” worth £30m. The contract will see a prototype for the unmanned aircraft designed and built at the former Bombardier site in Belfast, Northern Ireland and will support 100 [read more]

Christmas has come early for a World War II Spitfire pilot whose stolen heirloom – a photograph of him flying a Spitfire – has been replaced by the RAF. Dr Edmund James, the last surviving pilot of his Squadron, had a photograph of him flying a Spitfire stolen earlier this [read more]

RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland has been announced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as the UK’s home for the E-7 Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control Aircraft (AEW&C) aircraft. The MOD placed an order for five of the Boeing 737-700NG based surveillance aircraft in 2019 will replace the Boeing E-3D [read more]

A US Navy contingent, including Poseidon and F-35 aircraft, have this week been training with the Royal Air Force in Scotland. RAF Lossiemouth, where the RAF’s recently acquired P-8A Poseidon aircraft are based, has been hosting the US detachment as part of “training and maritime security tasks”. The RAF declined [read more]

Boeing has successfully completed the first test of its MQ-25 T1 Automated Aerial Refuelling Store. The 2 1/2 hour test flight was conducted in partnership with the US Navy and was designed to test the aerodynamics of the vehicle using the underwing mounted Cobham Aerial Refuelling System (ARS). The Cobham [read more]