RAF Hawk T2 issues see just two fast-jet pilots graduate in six months
Only two RAF fast-jet student pilots graduated in the first half of the current financial year because the number of flying hours on the Hawk T2 training aircraft at RAF Valley has been significantly curtailed due to a fault with its Rolls-Royce turbofan engine, an influential group of MPs has been told
BAE Systems: RAF’s Tranche 1 Typhoons could be upgraded and retained
BAE Systems has told MPs that the RAF’s ageing fleet of Tranche 1 Typhoon FGR4s – which is slated to be phased out of UK military service in 2025 – could be upgraded and retained for operational use
Engine issues with RAF’s Hawk T2 fleet may take three years to solve
BAE Systems has said that technical issues with the Hawk T2’s Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour Mk 951 non-afterburning turbofan engine could take between two and three years to resolve, leaving the fleet’s flying hours greatly reduced
Lockheed Martin reveals cost of British F-35B procurement
Documents have revealed that the UK has paid $4.17bn (£3.36bn) in procuring its first 35 short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL)-configured F-35B Lightning II fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighters from Lockheed Martin
RAF grounds entire Hawk T2 fleet after engine fault
The RAF has grounded its BAE Systems Hawk T2 fast-jet training aircraft as a precaution after one aircraft suffered an engine failure on the runway at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales
Ukraine calls on Germany to donate 93-strong Tornado fleet
Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrij Melnyk has made a direct plea to Germany to donate its entire ageing fleet of Panavia Tornado IDS/ECR ground attack/strike jets to help in the war with Russia
Russian jets fly in as Belarus begins fortnight of joint air force ‘exercises’
Belarus has launched a joint air force exercise with Russia on January 16, 2023 that will last until February 1, as fears grow that start that Moscow is seeking to persuade Minsk to join the war against Ukraine
Ex-RAF chief condemns US-hosted ENJJPT pilot training programme
Training British fast-jet pilots in the US is a waste of taxpayers’ money and does not meet the needs of the RAF, a former senior commander has said
Friendly fire downs former Ukrainian Falcons MiG-29 display jet
A Ukrainian Air Force-operated MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter painted in the colours of the air arm's long-disbanded 'Ukrainian Falcons' aerobatic team has been shot down in a friendly fire incident, resulting in the death of its pilot
First Algerian Be-200ChS seaplane unveiled in Russia
The first Beriev Be-200ChS (Be-200ES) amphibious aircraft ordered by Algeria has been publicly unveiled in Russia prior to it undergoing flight tests