aviation

From hypersonic ghosts scribbling donuts-on-a-rope across the Texas sky to F-16s without tail codes and dark Ghost Hawks prowling the Nevada desert, Groom Lake remains the twilight buffer between America’s most sensitive secrets and the rest of the world.

The arrival of the NH90 Caïman TTH TFRA Standard 2 — a semi-matte-black, Special-Forces-tailored evolution of the multinational NH90 family, fitted with EuroFLIR, TopOwl helmet displays, heavy .50-caliber mounts and extended-range tanks — marks a decisive step for France (and Europe) toward fielding a stealthier, more capable rotary-wing enabler for clandestine troop insertions beginning in June 2026.

When Anduril’s YFQ-44A cleared the runway it did more than prove a prototype; it announced an era in which affordable, software-first wingmen will rewrite the rules of air combat.

On October 13, 2025, Belgium’s first Block 4 F-35A Lightning IIs rolled into Florennes to stand up 1st Squadron Stingers, a clear pivot toward a 45 aircraft fifth generation fleet with APG-85 and TR-3 that adds fresh teeth to NATO’s growing wall of stealth over Europe.

Flying low and hard over the Somme on April 21, 1918, the Red Baron chased a green Camel into Australian guns until Sergeant Cedric Popkin’s cool 200 round burst sent a single .303 round through his heart and the legend hit the beet field eight seconds later.

Facing Kaliningrad, Belarus, and a live war next door, Poland is pushing its F-16s to the Viper standard with APG-83 radar, Viper Shield, and standoff punch to hold the line while F-35s spin up.

A Ukrainian Yak-52—once a humble trainer—now screams low over Kherson with a rear-seat gunner and a shotgun, turning the sky into a drone-killing skeet range.

From the moment Erieye lit the Super Flanker at 150 miles, our silent Viper stalked in, loosed a single AIM-120C, and wrote a new line in this war’s air combat ledger.

Never before in history has any fighter jet carried an arsenal of up to 50 precision-guided air-to-air missiles—until now, as the U.S. Air Force transforms its frontline warbirds into drone-slaying platforms armed to the teeth with AGR-20F FALCOs.

Robin Olds roared into combat with a handlebar mustache, a middle finger to bureaucracy, and a brain wired for turning aerial warfare into an art form.

A routine day in the skies over Marana turned deadly in an instant when two small aircraft collided mid-air, underscoring the unforgiving nature of aviation.

After 60 unforgettable years of high-octane thrills in Reno, the National Championship Air Races are setting a new course to Roswell, where alien lore meets the roar of high-performance aircraft and the grit of the world’s best pilots.