Follow aircraft programs, flight-test milestones, defense aviation, spaceflight records and aerospace industry announcements with editorial context.
On June 12, 2026, Ukrainian long-range drones struck the TANEKO and TAIF-NK refineries in Tatarstan and a synthetic-rubber plant in Samara — more than 1,100 km from the border. Russia claimed it downed 231 drones across more than 15 regions.
A June 11, 2026 GAO report found the F-35 fleet’s mission-capable rate has dropped from 67% in FY21 to 44% in FY25, with full-mission-capable down to 25%. The watchdog blamed spare-parts shortages, software delays and contractor reliance.
At ILA Berlin on June 10, 2026, Boeing revealed an enlarged MQ-28 Ghost Bat with a 25% larger wing, lifting max takeoff weight to 12,000 lb and adding an internal bay for two AMRAAMs — days after the drone’s first operations outside Australia.
At ILA Berlin on June 9, 2026, Germany confirmed the trilateral FCAS program’s crewed Next Generation Fighter was terminated after nine years and roughly €4 billion, sunk by a workshare dispute. Europe’s next-gen fighter map is now being redrawn around GCAP.
On June 4, 2026, Rolls-Royce offered to co-develop a clean-sheet ~110 kN fighter engine in India with full IP transfer for the AMCA Mk2, going head-to-head with France’s Safran. The winner powers the heavier variant of India’s first stealth fighter.
At a Sundown ceremony at MCAS Cherry Point on June 3, 2026, the last Marine Harrier squadron sent a five-ship formation aloft to retire the AV-8B after 54 years of U.S. jump-jet service. The F-35B now carries the vertical-landing mission.
South Korea’s KF-21 Boramae is quietly becoming one of the most interesting fighter programs in the world. Born from a
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft program is the United States Air Force’s attempt to multiply the effectiveness of every sixth-generation fighter
In the rapidly evolving landscape of modern warfare, no weapon has disrupted strategic calculations quite like the Shahed-136 — a
On December 26, 2024, a mysterious aircraft appeared in a video circulating on Chinese social media — a large, tailless,