The Aviationist

U.S. Army Selects M1 for Flight School Next Program The U.S. Army M1 Support Services to train new pilots as part of the Flight School Next program, with the Robinson R66 helicopter replacing the UH-72 Lakota. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/14/us-army-selects-m1-flight-school-next/

Italian Typhoon Shoots Down Drone Over Latvia An Italian F-2000 Typhoon assigned to the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission shot down an unidentified drone which entered Latvia’s airspace. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/14/italian-typhoon-shoots-down-drone-over-latvia/

The Future USS John F. Kennedy Begins Acceptance Trials Ahead of Delivery The John F. Kennedy, the second Gerald R. Ford class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, left Newport News on Aug. 12 to commence acceptance trials before its handover to the U.S. Navy. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/13/uss-jfk-acceptance-trials/

U.S. Army AH-64E Apache Crashes in Texas, Both Crew Members Killed A U.S. Army AH-64E Apache crashed in Salado, Texas, leaving no survivors and sparking a 100 acres grass fire. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/13/us-army-ah-64e-apache-crashes-in-texas/

Mi-24 Hind Plays ‘Adversary’ in U.S. Marine Corps Exercise Since 2020, two Mi-24D Hind helicopter gunships have provided invaluable threat replication to the U.S. Marine Corps, Army and Air Force. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/12/mi-24-hind-plays-adversary-usmc-exercise/

BRRRRT Act’s Text Reveals New Details About Plan to Save the A-10s New details in the BRRRRT Act’s full text reveal plans to keep selected Warthogs recoverable, examine potential foreign transfers and test emerging autonomous systems. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/12/brrrrt-acts-plan-to-save-the-a-10s/

Ukrainian MiG-29 Crashes After Air to Air Missile Misfire A Ukrainian Air Force pilot was forced to eject from a MiG-29 after an air to air missile malfunction caused the aircraft to catch fire in midair. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/11/ukrainian-mig-29-crashes-missile-misfire/

Trump Secretly Took C-32A Home from NATO Summit in an Elaborate Decoy Operation After President Trump boarded the legacy VC-25A – instead of the VC-25B Bridge – for his flight home from Ankara he was secretly transferred inside a catering truck to a waiting C-32A, according to the Washington Post. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/11/trump-secretly-took-c-32a-home-decoy/

NASA WB-57 Heads to Iceland to Observe Solar Eclipse A NASA WB-57F Canberra arrived in Iceland, from where it will depart on Aug. 12 to fly in the path of the solar eclipse. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/10/nasa-wb-57-heads-to-iceland/

Damaged USAF C-17 Flies Again After First-of-its-Kind Repair A C-17 of the 445th Airlift Wing extensively damaged in March 2025 was repaired by using new technologies of the Rapid Sustainment Office, after no vendors were able to provide the needed parts. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/08/damaged-usaf-c-17-flies-again/

UK Releases RFI for New Jet Trainer and Red Arrows Aircraft A request for information (RFI) has been released to gather industry responses ahead of the replacement of the Hawk T1 and Hawk T2 in Royal Air Force service. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/08/uk-releases-rfi-for-new-jet-trainer/

Engineering the Future Force: Exclusive Interview with the Secretary of the U.S. Air Force In an exclusive interview at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026, the Secretary of the Air Force discusses modernization, readiness, pilot training, artificial intelligence, Space Force growth, recruiting, and the future of American airpower. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/08/exclusive-interview-secretary-us-air-force/

Iran Shows Off Wreckage of U.S. Aircraft Lost During Operation Epic Fury Iranian state media has released images of a display of aircraft wreckage from the U.S.-Iran war, including remnants of DUDE 44, an F-15E Strike Eagle which can now be confirmed without doubt as airframe 00-3000. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/08/iran-aircraft-wreckage-epic-fury/

GBU-75 JDAM Long Range Cleared for Production The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a procurement contract for GBU-75 JDAM Long Range kits, clearing the initial production for the U.S. Navy. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/07/gbu-75-jdam-long-range-cleared-for-production/

China Shows H-6 Bomber Carrying Nuclear-Capable JL-1 ALBM China released images of the H-6 bomber carrying the JL-1 air-launched ballistic missile as part of promotional features marking the 99th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/06/china-h-6-bomber-nuclear-jl-1-albm/

Virginia Class Submarines with New Payload Module to Receive SSGN Designation Beginning with the USS Arizona, 19 new boats in the U.S. Navy’s Virginia class of nuclear powered attack submarines will officially be referred to as SSGNs to reflect the boost in cruise missile capacity offered by the new Virginia Payload Module (VPM). Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/06/virginia-class-ssgn-designation/

Exclusive: The USAF T-1A Jayhawk Poses For Its Final Air-to-Air Photo Shoot Ahead of the type’s planned retirement from Vance AFB, T-1A 93-0654 took to the skies over Oklahoma for one last aerial photography mission with The Aviationist contributor Greg “Cactus” Davis. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/04/exclusive-the-usaf-t-1a-jayhawk-poses-for-its-final-air-to-air-photo-shoot/

USMC VMFA-115 Sets Stage for Reactivation with First F-35C Flight After being disbanded in November 2023 following the last flight with legacy F/A-18C/D Hornets, VMFA-115 is preparing for the reactivation later this year as an F-35C squadron. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/05/usmc-vmfa-115-first-f-35c-flight/

Bent Wing Beauty: How the F4U Corsair got its Distinctive Look Despite the ability to create a more streamlined and aerodynamic design with inline engines, the U.S. Navy stayed with the radial engine design, asking Pratt & Whitney to develop the largest and most powerful radial aircraft engine at the time. Story here: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/03/how-the-f4u-corsair-got-its-distinctive-look/

X-62 VISTA Conducts AI-Controlled Intercepts with IRST Pod AI agents, using data from a Legion Infrared Search and Track pod, controlled the X-62 VISTA and executed 27 autonomous intercepts of airborne targets throughout eight flights. Story: https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/04/x-62-vista-ai-controlled-intercepts-irst/