One non-airworthy F-16B has been delivered for familiarisation:

https://theaviationist.com/2025/02/27/a ... rst-f-16b/

According to that article, six will be delivered this year.

US aircraft designations are such an unregulated mess now. CMV: "V/STOL adapted for special missions adapted for cargo missions" Why they couldn't accept CV-22C is a mystery. Apparently the Navy said that it could be too easy to confuse with the CV-22B ( which should be MV-22B anyhow ) even though t...

"The Eurofighter consortium has chosen Typhoon as the name for the export version of the EF2000."

Flight International, 09 Sep 1998.

Hence why the ICAO code is EUFI, not TYPH; based on the home-market name.

The oddity is not that the Luftwaffe didn't adopt the name, but that the RAF did.

As an historical aside, the F-105D had both probe and receptacle receiving equipment, the only tactical aircraft I can think of that had both. Very handy over Vietnam as it could receive from USAF or USN tankers. Both were mounted in the port nose so that they shared much of the same plumbing, savin...

Aviation Week will be hiring a Cessna again, I presume, for the embargo-busting overhead shots!

Considering half the countries spotters and a fair few I know from Europe will be descending on STN, and knowing there is room for about 20 cars where they prefer you to go to, is there any parking anywhere near ?? Stansted is connected by rail directly to Birmingham New Street, Norwich and London ...

It's the other way round. F-4 was always the Navy designation; the USAF were originally going to use F-110 for their version, but common sense (pun intended! :P ) eventually prevailed. No so much common sense as the harmonisation of tri-service designations in September 1962. Both the USN and USAF ...

When the X-35 was announced as the winner for JSF, a journalist asked the Under Secretary if it would become the F-35 in service. He said yes. And that was that, designation sequence over-ruled.

Similar to the EHI-01 gaffe, or the RS-71

The name reflects the role of the aircraft in defence diplomacy and relationship building. The original Envoy aircraft in RAF service was known as the Envoy III. It was a twin-engine light transport aircraft, used by the RAF before and during World War 2 in the communications role; one of which ser...

We should really have been at 52 years service! The very first RAF Chinook order was placed in March 1967, for 15 CH-47B models, after competition with the Super Frelon. The squadron was intended to be based at Singapore from 1969 to replace Belvederes, so presumably 66 Sqn was earmarked. But that o...

Pedantically, they're always visible on primary radar . ADS-B sites, though, are not radar.

Quick question, does include lists of attendees or is it more high level?

My biggest disappointment with the 25th Anniversary book was that it only mentioned 'highlight' visitors of each show.

How can it cost extra to remove? They were built as standard A330s in France then flown Spain to be converted to tankers.. at no point would a boom have been fitted that then needed removing.. The UK's configuration had to be separately certificated by Spanish certification agency INTA because it v...

Seems a lot more useful than the A330, plenty of range and decent capacity without being huge in size or op costs. I can see this being used for 95% of flights including trans-Atlantic.

Maybe a couple of A220 ACJs would be a good replacement for the 146s.. ? Throw a bit of wing work to Belfast too!

Heading to EMBRAER facility at Fort Lauderdale for servicing. Civvie reg for ease of transit since it's not technically a state aircraft.

So all this palaver to move to Waddington, and then in 2030 the Hawk T.Mk.1 goes out of service.

Would have been a perfect opportunity now to just disband RAFAT and be done with it.

is it official that the official designation for the P8 will be the MRA1 or will it also retain the A designation as used my the US Navy and its other operators? I''m not sure what you're asking but yes the official MoD designation is Poseidon MRA1. Pedantically it should be MRA.1 or MRA.Mk.1 The P...

The airframe and control components can be salvaged

The solid motors are usually disposed of by controlled burning

Electronics and seeker - I don't know, the white-coated fairies dealt with that stuff.

It's not lack of money that's a problem, a few million can always be found when the right people are behind an idea. The issue is lack of top-down interest.

If an ACM wanted invasion stripes on a dozen Typhoons, invasion stripes would be painted.

Sorry to be pedantic, but it wasn't a 707, it was the Boeing Dash 80, which led to the KC135. The 707 while visibly similar is a quite different aircraft with a wider fuselage diameter. And nor was it a barrel roll. A messy aileron-roll, perhaps. Even Tex wasn't sure how to describe it, which sugge...