Dave Allport
RAAF graduates first F-35A pilots trained in Australia
Four RAAF Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighter pilots have graduated from the platform’s first operational conversion course to be completed in Australia
France orders nine more Pilatus PC-21s
Pilatus Aircraft announced on July 16 that the French Air and Space Force has ordered an additional nine PC-21s, adding to the 17 examples purchased by France in 2017 for training purposes
Indian MH-60Rs arrive at NAS North Island
The first two Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk maritime utility helicopters for the Indian Navy have been flown to NAS North Island at Naval Base Coronado in California, where Indian crews are now being trained on the type
NASA retires world’s last flying S-3B Viking
NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, has retired its sole Lockheed S-3B Viking, which was the last example of the type flying anywhere in the world
Colombia’s first two T-6C Texan IIs enter service
Two Beechcraft T-6C Texan IIs, which were delivered to the Colombian Air Force in May, have been formally inducted into operational service and will begin replacing the air arm’s Cessna T-37Bs in the training role
Report claims spatial disorientation caused Michigan F-16C crash
A US Air Force Aircraft Accident Investigation Board report into the loss of an F-16C in the Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan, on December 8, 2020, has found that spatial disorientation caused the crash
Indian Navy receives tenth P-8I Neptune
Delivery of the tenth Boeing P-8I Neptune to the Indian Navy was completed on July 13, when the aircraft – serial IN329/N536DS (c/n 64891/8296), callsign ‘BOE232’ – arrived at INS Hansa in Goa-Dabolim
USAF unveils another special schemed A-10C
A USAF-operated Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II from the Indiana ANG’s 122nd FW has been painted in a distinctive, non-standard black and grey colour scheme to commemorate 100 years of aviation in the Indiana ANG
US Coast Guard orders more MH-60T Jayhawks
An additional five MH-60T Jayhawk fuselage hulls have been ordered from Sikorsky by the US Coast Guard to support the ongoing service life extension of its existing fleet of 45 aircraft
Heavily damaged Iraqi Mi-171 moved at Al Asad
A heavily damaged Mil Mi-171 (NATO reporting name: Hip-H) tactical transport helicopter belonging to the Iraqi Army Air Corps (IqAAC) was moved by US personnel at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq’s Anbar province on July 7