With 27 MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters delivered so far, the latest award brings the total number of aircraft under contract to 42.

Boeing Defense has been awarded a contract for four more MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters, marking the aircraft’s entry into full-rate production, the company announced on Sept. 29, 2026. The award, whose value was not disclosed, comes a month after the U.S. Air Force announced the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the helicopter.

In Sept. 29 statement and a subsequent statement on Oct. 1, Boeing said it has so far delivered 27 MH-139As, which include 20 low-rate initial production (LRIP) airframes. The latest award brings the total number of Grey Wolves under contract to 42.

This was the program of record established after the Air Force reduced in 2024 its planned procurement from 80 aircraft to 42. The service subsequently increased its program objective to 56 aircraft in its FY2026 budget.

Strengthening the pack!

Thank you, @USAirForce, for advancing our partnership to provide four additional MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters. With full-rate production and Initial Operational Capability, #TeamBoeing is proud to deliver mission-ready capability.

More:… pic.twitter.com/ZMiZpz9GWj

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) October 1, 2026

The MH-139A is primarily meant to replace the UH-1N Huey in the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) security and convoy support roles. According to Air and Space Forces Magazine, the Air Force had also planned to use them for aircrew survival training and contingency response in the Washington D.C. area, where the 1st Helicopter Squadron (1st HS) still flies UH-1N Huey.

Boeing’s vice president and general manager for the Vertical Lift Program, Kathleen Jolivette, said the full rate production milestone “validates key readiness levels for Grey Wolf and supports the service’s fielding plans to secure vital national assets across the country’s strategic missile fields.”

“Adding these aircraft to the production queue brings additional momentum to ongoing fielding and modernization efforts,” Jolivette added. 

Grey Wolf contracts and deliveries

Boeing announced its first award for the Grey Wolf, worth $2.4 billion, on Sept. 24, 2018, covering 84 helicopters. The first aircraft was delivered in December 2019 at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida, to begin developmental testing prior to Initial Operational Testing and Evaluation (IOT&E) at Malmstrom AFB.  

The company announced on Aug. 29, 2022 that it had delivered four Grey Wolf test aircraft to the Air Force. This followed Boeing receiving a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supplemental type certificate, as the program was progressing towards Milestone C. 

In April 2024, Boeing was awarded a $178 million contract for seven more MH-139A helicopters, which included the first set of aircraft meant for Minot AFB, North Dakota.

In October 2025, Boeing also received a $173 million contract for eight additional helicopters, raising the total number under contract to 34. At the time, Boeing had delivered 18 aircraft, of which 12 were part of a 2023 $285 million Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract.

Budget allocations

After a setback in 2024 over cost overruns that triggered a Congressional review under the Nunn-McCurdy Act, the program picked up pace. The Trump administration’s July 2025 ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ included $210.3 million for an extra six MH-139As.

Then in the FY 2026 budget request, the Air Force raised its need for 56 Grey Wolves. To that end, the Air Force asked $253 million for the MH-139A in 2027 to cover four airframes.

However, lawmakers in the draft National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorized $128 million and four more helicopters, for a total of $380 million for eight helicopters.          

The MH-139A participated in its first Nuclear Convoy Course (NCC). A weeklong exercise in Wyoming to ensure the safe and secure transport of nuclear weapons and materials.

Staff Sgt. Michael A. Richmond

PS. I still can’t believe the USAF bought Italian helicopters for… pic.twitter.com/FkH25eC2Yq

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) May 22, 2025

The need for the Grey Wolf became even more acute with the new LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM program, with the Huey having been in service for around 40 years. The Grey Wolf’s improved speed, range, payload and modern avionics are better suited for the extensive support infrastructure needed for the Sentinel as the service transitions from the current Minuteman III ICBM.

In its latest release, Boeing said it “continues to work closely with the U.S. Air Force to deliver adaptable, mission-ready and reliable capabilities for decades to come.”

Before entering the full-rate production, the MH-139A Grey Wolf has been put through rigorous Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E); a Nuclear Convoy Course (NCC) featuring emergency-response drills with armed Tactical Response Force personnel from Missile Security Operations Squadrons; and the first operational Minuteman III convoy security mission in January 2026.

© U.S. Army National Guard/Staff Sgt. Cesar Rivas

An Italian Air Force F-35B was spotted carrying the GPU-9/A 25mm gun pod, providing the first known visual confirmation of the pod being used by an F-35 operator outside the United States.

An Italian Air Force F-35B Lightning II was spotted for the first time with the GPU-9/A 25mm gun pod, confirming Italy as the first export operator of the system. Aviation photographer Diego Mor captured a photo of the aircraft as it prepared to land at Decimomannu Air Base on Sept. 30, 2026, and kindly shared it with us.

Decimomannu is located in Sardinia, near the ranges used by the Italian Air Force for weapons training. While this might point out to live-fire activities, it is unclear if these were actually conducted and, in that case, if they were part of the operational training of the pilots or an Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) campaign.

The acquisition of the gun pod by Italy was already expected, although a visual confirmation of the delivery was still missing. In 2024, we reported here at The Aviationist that the GPU-9/A’s 25mm rounds were included in a multi-year program for the acquisition of new weapons for the Italian Navy’s F-35Bs.

The Italian Navy is currently replacing its AV-8B+ Harriers with 20 F-35Bs, joining forces when needed with 20 other F-35Bs being delivered to the Italian Air Force. It is unclear, however, if the Navy is already employing the gun pod on its own F-35s.

Italy is one of the three countries operating the Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of the F-35 outside of the U.S., with the others being the UK and Japan. While the UK has confirmed that it has no plans to acquire or integrate the 25 mm gun pod on its F-35Bs, there is no information regarding the Japanese aircraft.

The GPU-9/A gun pod

Contrary to the F-35A variant, the F-35B and F-35C don’t have the internal GAU-22/A 25mm cannon, and are thus forced to employ an externally mounted gun pod. The gun pod, technically known as the Gun Pod Unit (GPU) – 9/A has always been quite controversial, as both the F-35B and F-35C have to rely on this external device that, despite the “stealthy” shape is believed to induce a Radar Cross Section (RCS) degradation. It is worth noting that the variant used by the F-35C, although apparently similar, is designated as GAU-8/A.

Another controversy is related to the ammo carried in the pod, 220 rounds, which is less than the ammo carried by the aircraft replaced by the F-35 (300 rounds on the Harrier, 412 on the Hornet and 578 on the Super Hornet). It should be noted that the F-35A carries even less ammo, just 180 rounds.

The pod has its share of trouble, with some notable incidents, like the Class C mishap when a PGU-32/U Semi-Armor Piercing High Explosive Incendiary-Tracer (SAPHEI-T) 25mm round exploded after leaving the gun pod during a night CAS (Close Air Support) mission over the Yuma Range Complex.

In July 2021, an USMC F-35B, which was deployed on the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean, was forced to divert and land at Kadena Air Base because of unspecified issues with the gun pod, with the aircraft taxing to a remote area and with firefighters on standby as maintainers troubleshoot the problem.

The GAU-22 is reported to be more than 40 pounds lighter and requires 20 percent less overall space than the earlier GAU-12 5-barrel 25mm gun. The new GAU-22 weapon has a reported rate of fire of “up to 3,300 rounds per minute.”

One final point regarding the pod and its potential use by the Italian Air Force: it is not yet clear whether the F-35’s gun will be employed in both the air-to-ground and air-to-air roles, although the service may also be interested in exploring its use for counter-UAS missions.

At present, Italian F-35s, both the A and B variants, can only carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile) for air-to-air engagements. Italian F-35s have already supported both domestic and NATO QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) missions, and while they are expected to receive the AIM-9X Sidewinder in the future, using an advanced and relatively expensive air-to-air missile against a low-cost drone, such as those recently engaged by Italian Eurofighter Typhoons in the Baltic region, would not be a cost-effective solution in the long term. While using an F-35 to engage a Russian drone with the gun pod would still be a sub-optimal solution, it would nevertheless be preferable to expending an expensive air-to-air missile.

This means the Italian Air Force could be interested in using the gun pod not only against ground targets in a traditional CAS (Close Air Support) role, but also for counter-UAS missions, hence the need to test it in the Sardinian ranges.

Thanks again to Diego Mor for the photo he sent us. Make sure to follow him on Instagram for more!

© Diego Mor/@_diego.spotter_

A RAAF Super Hornet was spotted with an inert AIM-260 missile during the Gray Flag 2026 test event, few weeks after Australia announced the procurement of the new weapon.

A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet was spotted carrying an inert AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) during the Gray Flag 2026 large-force test event at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu. The photo was captured on Sept. 11, 2026, although it was only released on Sept. 30.

The sighting comes few weeks after Australia announced that it would become the first country to operate the AIM-260 JATM outside the United States. In August 2026, the Australian government said it is investing almost $736 million to acquire the new missile via foreign military sales (FMS).

The AIM-260 will be first integrated onto Australia’s F/A-18F Super Hornet, followed by the F‑35A Lightning II and EA-18G Growler. The government said “The acquisition of the AIM-260 JATM will provide Air Force platforms with a credible deterrent against airborne targets, complementing existing air-to-air missile capabilities and other surface-based missile capabilities across the Australian Defence Force (ADF).”

AIM-260 on Australian Super Hornet

The photo captured at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu shows the F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to No. 1 Squadron, flying with a mixed loadout of inert air-to-air weapons. Similarly to the first sighting on a U.S. Navy Super Hornet, the AIM-260 can be seen installed on the weapon station 7, also known as “cheek station,” on the exterior of the air intake.

The loadout also includes a CATM-9X (the inert training variant of the AIM-9X) on the right wingtip, as well as a CATM-120 (the inert training variant of the AIM-120 AMRAAM) on the weapon station 2, the left wing’s outermost pylon. The payload is completed by three external fuel tanks, a Tactical Combat Training System (TCTS) pod on the left wingtip and the AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR targeting pod on the other cheek station.

Details about the test mission are not available, although there are no reports of live firing activity with the new weapon. The test mission might have involved the captive carry of the JATM in a representative operational scenario.

Gray Flag 2026

Gray Flag, held annually at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu, is the naval aviation test community’s premier large-force test event. This year’s edition, which ended on Sept. 25, was the largest to date, according to the Navy, with more than 750 sorties flown.

Gray Flag 2026 was hosted by the Naval Test Wing Pacific and Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 9, which led test execution with Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division. The latter manages the Gray Flag program and operates the Point Mugu Sea Range, a 36,000-square-mile instrumented range.

“Our range, combined with other test and training ranges around us, gives us the space and instrumentation to test new systems the way the joint force will use them,” said Rear Adm. Keith Hash, NAWCWD commander. “We want to find the problems here, fix them here and make sure what we send to the fleet works when the warfighter needs it.”

The service said the two-week event drew more than 3,000 participants from more than 150 organizations, and crews logged more than 2,000 flight hours covering hundreds of multi-domain test objectives for the fleet and joint force. U.S. Navy and Air Force test teams were joined by the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Air Force.

“We leave much more informed with respect to future capabilities that enable Australia to shape our requirements for future projects and future platform upgrades that increase our lethality and survivability,” said RAAF Wing Commander Trent Baldry, commanding officer of No. 1 Squadron.

AIM-260 JATM

The existence of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile was first revealed in 2019 by the Air Force, who is jointly developing the missile with the Navy. However, it was also revealed that the program had been ongoing for more than two years in 2019, meaning the program might have started in 2017 or earlier.

The AIM-260 is intended to serve as the primary long-range air-to-air weapon of both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy in the coming years, becoming the successor to the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). The latter will continue to be developed, complementing the AIM-260.

The new missile will be compatible with the AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile) dimensions, but with greater range, and is planned to be carried in the F-22 weapons bay and on the F/A-18 at first, with the F-35 to follow. The AIM-260 is also expected to be integrated on the U.S. Air Force’s upcoming unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).

The missile is being developed and produced by Lockheed Martin. When the weapon was first unveiled, reports mentioned that AIM-260 production would overtake AIM-120 production by 2026, however, with the program’s details being highly classified and the recent boosts in the AMRAAM’s production, it is unclear if this goal still stands.

Initially, it was said the AIM-260 was also meant to counter the threat posed by the Chinese PL-15 and PL-17 missiles. The military in fact said the goal was to avoid foreign threats being able to outrange the AIM-120.

The project is an advanced state, with official saying in 2019 that flight tests would start in 2021 and Initial Operational Capability was expected in 2022, although the current timeline is unknown. Documents later showed that flight testing of the AIM-260 began as early as 2020.

© U.S. Navy photo by Dana Rene White. edited by The Aviationist

A four-day independent trial by the AFRL’s Munition Open Architecture Test and Evaluation Laboratory assessed 14 weapons-systems domains to verify the compliance of Barracuda-M.

Anduril’s Barracuda-M family of autonomous jet-powered cruise missiles has been certified to be compliant with the U.S. Air Force Weapons Open Systems Architecture (WOSA) standard, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced on Sept. 28, 2026. A four-day assessment at the AFRL’s Munition Open Architecture Test and Evaluation Laboratory (MOATEL) verified 14 weapon-systems domains, says the service.

Anduril said the Barracuda has become the “first weapon system in large-scale production to complete MOATEL’s independent WOSA verification process.” Both AFRL and Anduril identified the following capabilities and components that the MOATEL tested: Mission Autonomy, Seeker, Inertial Measurement Unit, Global Positioning System, Air-Data Sensor, Propulsion, Airframe Control, Target State Estimator, Altimeter Aiding Navigation, Clock, Autopilot, Guidance, Navigation and Munitions Data Bus (MDB).

AFRL described the milestone as an advancement of the government’s new weapons development practice to allow rapid fielding and technological innovation. Anduril says it validates its industrial approach to develop scalable, inexpensive yet effective weapons that trade exquisiteness for simplicity.

The @AFResearchLab verified that Anduril’s Barracuda-M family of cruise missiles meets the @usairforce‘s Weapon Open Systems Architecture standard, a framework intended to help weapons remain adaptable as technology, threats and mission needs change.https://t.co/JBFSyaEXB4 pic.twitter.com/vE0bBDPVFi

— U.S. Air Force Materiel Command (@HQ_AFMC) September 30, 2026

WOSA-compliant Barracuda-500M

The AFRL release quoted Department of the Air Force (DAF) Technology Executive Officer and AFRL commander Brig. Gen. Douglas Wickert, who said WOSA helps “new technology [rapidly progress] into adaptable warfighting capability.”

“By validating that open systems work at scale, we are fundamentally changing how we transition technology and enabling the rapid integration and fielding of new innovations faster than the threat evolves,” Wickert added.   

AFRL project manager and creator of WOSA Jonathan Shaver said “open architecture is only meaningful when it can be independently verified […] instead of accepting vendor self-assessment.” WOSA verification at MOATEL makes “new sciences […] ready for a weapon, showing open architecture can scale beyond prototypes.”

The four-day verification at MOATEL assessing 14 WOSA domains “demonstrated modularity between Anduril’s internal and external MDB implementations, enabling rapid technology refresh of WOSA-compliant software.” Additionally, “it also verified that Anduril’s software architecture met the WOSA requirements for the domains under test,” AFRL added.

The statement explained that “Barracuda-M’s assessment represents a production-scale example of the verification process AFRL will continue to apply as additional weapons programs move through development and production.”

@anduriltech Unveils Barracuda-M Family of Cruise Missiles

The Barracuda family of AAVs consists of Barracuda-100, Barracuda-250, and Barracuda-500. Each increment offers increasing size, range and payload capacity, but all Barracudas are compatible with a host of payloads and… pic.twitter.com/NW1RvpUI6W

— Global Defense Insight (@Defense_Talks) September 12, 2024

Anduril’s vice president of Advanced Effects Pat Morris said the challenge is to actually prove modularity and open architectures in an independent assessment, rather than to “talk about” it. “AFRL and MOATEL’s verification validates one of the fundamental design decisions behind Barracuda: build the weapon around a simple, modular architecture so that programs can integrate new technology without redesigning the entire system,” he explained.

Open Systems Architecture capability and Anduril

Open systems architecture, which allows hardware and software modularity, has become a new cornerstone of the Department of War’s acquisition doctrine, particularly in the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, where Anduril is the prime contractor for the FQ-44 Fury.

This approach can prevent vendor lock-in, potentially helping to mitigate cost overruns and acquisition delays while supporting mass producibility and scalability to meet protracted conventional wars, as well as allowing third-party component and software modification to meet various mission needs.

Anduril (@anduriltech) announced a production agreement for Surface-Launched Barracuda-500M with U.S. Department of War (@DeptofWar).

“Under the agreement, Anduril will scale production to deliver a minimum of 1,000 all-up rounds per year, with the first tranche of… pic.twitter.com/V4fNSYiK7c

— Counter Unmanned Systems (@CUAS_NEWS) May 13, 2026

Anduril has long touted a different industrial model than the legacy companies. It favors simple designs, engineering decisions and proven components from existing supply chains for its weapons. These can be produced using non-specialized manufacturing equipment and tooling on reconfigurable factory lines, supporting both weapons modifications and flexible production rates. 

Barracuda family of weapons

Anduril describes the Barracuda family as a series of Autonomous Air Vehicles (AAV) consisting of three variants: the Barracuda-100, Barracuda-250 and Barracuda-500. The ‘M’ suffix represents the kinetic effect variant of the munition.

The company designates the ground-fired version as the Surface Launched Barracuda (SLB). The U.S. Army contracted 3,000 SLB-500Ms in May 2026 for its Program Acquisition Executive FIRES (PAE FIRES) effort. 

Anduril will deliver thousands of air-launched cruise missiles per year under a new 7-year agreement with the @DeptofWar.

This framework establishes a clear pathway to move the pallet-and lug-launched Barracuda-500M from development and prototyping into large-scale production.… https://t.co/H1pa4lW1jE pic.twitter.com/TLyplb9TTt

— Anduril Industries (@anduriltech) July 15, 2026

Anduril puts the air-launched Barracuda-500M’s range at more than 500 nautical miles and claims an approximate speed of 190 to 500 knots. In September 2025, the U.S. Air Force designated the Barracuda-500M as the AGM-189A.

Anduril is also expanding internationally. It has tied up with Brazilian aerospace company Embraer to integrate the Barracuda-500M on the C-390 Millennium for palletized launches.

Additionally, An MoU with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa S.A. (PGZ) covers the weapon’s localized production in Poland. The agreement concens the surface launched variant of the Barracuda-500M.

Another potential European customer is Latvia. President Edgars Rinkēvičs visited Anduril and posted about his visit on X on September 25.

“It was great to visit Anduril to meet with Palmer Luckey and to witness signing of memoranda of cooperation with MOD of Latvia and Origin Robotics Looking forward to complete acquisition of Barracuda long-range missiles and [Latvian-U.S.] defense industry cooperation,” said Rinkēvičs. The class of Barracuda missile, the number of weapons Latvia aims to buy, the cost and the delivery timeline are not known.

It was great to visit @anduriltech to meet with @PalmerLuckey and to witness signing of memoranda of cooperation with MOD of Latvia and @OriginRobotics. Looking forward to complete acquisition of Baracuda longe range missiles and defense industry cooperation pic.twitter.com/JafnNy5RAe

— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) September 25, 2026

© Anduril

Belgium is set to deliver its first three F-16AM/BM fighters to Ukraine following a several-year delay, as Kyiv also discusses with Lockheed Martin about adopting the latest variant of the fighter jet.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Sept. 29, 2026, that Belgium will begin the transfer of its elderly F-16AM/BM Fighting Falcons to Ukraine by the end ‌of the year. The first delivery will see three aircraft sent, with the rest of the 30 promised aircraft being delivered as Belgium equips itself with F-35A Lightning IIs bought directly from the United States. The promised delivery follows a long delay, with the aircraft originally pledged in May 2024 to be delivered towards the end of the year and up until 2028.

Unlike the Dutch and Norwegian F-16 deliveries, these transfers were held up by the slow roll out of Belgium’s F-35s, as the country was not willing to part with its combat aircraft until it had at least some replacements in service. To this date, only seven F-35s have been delivered to Belgium, of which three aircraft were delivered on Sept. 24. 

Making the announcement, President Zelenskyy emphasised the importance of the deliveries of new kit to Ukraine to combat the Russian threat, with the expedited delivery of “F-16 ammunition from Belgium and other countries, including Spain” being instrumental to Ukraine’s air defence.

These deliveries likely included a number of AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and cannon rounds which are instrumental in the Ukrainian Air Force’s (UkrAF) defensive counter air campaign, shooting down large numbers of Russian drones and cruise missiles. The F-16s have also recently been augmented with the supply of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) guided rockets, which allow Ukrainian fighters to shoot down Russian drones at a far cheaper cost than the use of a normal missile.

There is an important agreement with Belgium on the transfer of three F-16 fighter jets by the end of this year. We will work to receive these aircraft through an accelerated procedure. We have already received urgent deliveries of F-16 ammunition from Belgium and other…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 29, 2026

On this point, during a meeting with Lockheed Martin representatives to discuss Ukraine’s future fighter capabilities, the Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Lieutenant General Anatolii Kryvonozhko, announced that F-16 pilots have shot down “over 3,150 enemy aerial targets which include 666 cruise missiles and an estimated 2,500 drones of various types.”

The F-16 is a potent counter cruise missile and drone platform, having the speed to chase them down and destroy them before they impact civilian areas. The F-16 has also been an effective close air support platform, conducting “650 airstrikes” against the ground forces of the Russian Federation.

The principle air-to-ground munitions employed by Ukrainian F-16s appear to be the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (SDB). A single jet can carry up to eight of the 250 lb munitions without having to renounce to drop tanks and air-to-air munitions.

Ukraine also employs several variants of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). This weapon comes in a number of different weight classes, with 500 lb and 1000 lb variants seen in use in Ukraine, and can be equipped with a glide kit or a rocket kit to extend the range, however they have not yet been photographed on Ukrainian F-16s.

Ukrainian F-16 pilots have shot down over 3,150 enemy aerial targets, including 666 cruise missiles and about 2,500 drones of various types, and have also carried out more than 650 airstrikes against enemy ground targets. This was reported by the Commander of the Ukrainian Air… pic.twitter.com/A9136JeJkF

— MilitaryNewsUA (@front_ukrainian) September 29, 2026

The F-16s and their Ukrainian pilots have proven themselves to be extremely effective since their introduction with the aircraft, now forming the bedrock of the current and future Ukrainian fighter force. However, the models delivered were all original A and B variant F-16s that were built in the 1970s and 1980s, making them similar in age to their former ex-Soviet fleet of aircraft.

These fighters did receive a midlife update to extend their service lives and to give them more advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities. However, they are reaching the end of their useful service lives due to airframe fatigue and they are facing increasing maintenance demands after intensive use in the Russo-Ukrainian War.

It was reported by the Wall Street Journal that maintenance of these aircraft is fast becoming an issue with an unnamed source stating that “more than half of Ukraine’s F-16s are currently in maintenance limbo” and that “Kyiv will exhaust the rest by the end of the year.” This is a worrying development if confirmed, as the F-16 is essential for Ukraine’s continued defence of its skies.

Reportedly, this is due to delays at Sabena Aerospace Engineering, a Belgian company that is responsible for the long term maintenance of the F-16s used by Ukraine. Retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery stated that the aircraft need to undergo regular phase inspections every 300 hours, which should take weeks. However, in Belgium it’s “taking as long as 40 weeks,” delaying maintenance and leaving aircraft unable to fly.

More than half of Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets are currently not operational due to maintenance delays in Belgium – WSJ

A significant number of the fighter jets remain grounded due to a lack of spare parts and the need for more frequent repairs following intensive use.

Given the… pic.twitter.com/9tWkGDSb8F

— Jürgen Nauditt (@jurgen_nauditt) September 30, 2026

Details on this issue are scarce, but they paint a worrying picture for the UkrAF which has already undergone years of degradation due to the war. It is hoped that the integration of further aircraft into the force would alleviate some of these maintenance issues, allowing for a large pool of spare aircraft, and the possible maintenance of the jets in Ukraine itself.

The importance of the F-16 to Ukraine’s current and future air force needs is likely what led to the meeting between Ukrainian representatives and Lockheed Martin to explore the possibility of supplying Ukraine with the far more advanced F-16 Block 70/72, which uses capabilities derived from the F-22 and F-35 programmes. The introduction of newer jets could ease the maintenance burden as these aircraft would be fresh and infinitely more capable than their forefathers.

Conor McGuire, Lockheed’s F-16 capability development lead, praised the work of Ukrainian pilots and ground crews and expressed his intention to help improve the aircraft Ukraine already operates. Whether this could be through further upgrades to the F-16AM/BM fleet or in the provision of further maintenance infrastructure is currently speculation.

Ukraine’s Ex-Soviet Force

Ukraine started the war with a mixed fleet of ex-Soviet aircraft which were already ageing out at the start of the conflict.

Its mainstay air-to-air fighters in 2022 consisted of a force of around 70 MiG-29 Fulcrums and 34 Su-27 Flanker jet fighters, which bore a significant brunt of the early air war. When the Ukrainian ground based air defences had to be displaced during the opening days, it was up to these aircraft and their pilots to absorb the might of Russia’s air power.

The MiG-29 and Su-27 fleets suffered several losses during those opening days, but they managed to stem the Russian tide long enough for the ground based air defences to secure the skies over Ukraine. Since then, these fleets have been upgraded to employ western missiles and bombs, including the AGM-88 High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), which is used to suppress Russia’s air defence systems, as well as the 1,000 lb GBU-62 JDAM-ER and the 500 lb GBU-39B Small Diameter Bomb precision glide bombs.

Their primary role however remained air defence, with these aircraft maintaining the defensive counter air mission against missiles and drones until the introduction of the F-16. The actions of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade, who flew MiG-29s over Kyiv during the early days of the war, birthed the legend of the ‘Ghost of Kyiv’, the name of which was later awarded to them in 2024 via presidential decree.

There have been a number of attrition replacements for Ukraine’s MiG-29 fleet, including 13 from Slovakia, 14 from Poland, along with a number of spare parts that allowed Ukraine to reactivate some of its stored fighters as well as three that Azerbaijan had in Ukraine for maintenance. However, losses have been heavy, with 39 aircraft visually confirmed damaged or destroyed, leaving the MiG-29 fleet significantly depleted over time.

The Su-27 has not received any attrition replacements, with 20 confirmed lost over the course of the fighting. This included the tragic loss of Colonel Oleksandr Oksanchenko ‘The Grey Wolf’, Ukraine’s principal Su-27 display pilot, who was killed in combat on Feb. 25, 2022. His loss was sorely felt in the air show community, with the Royal International Air Tattoo dedicating a memorial to him at the show that same year.

Ukraine’s primary air-to-ground aircraft at the war’s start were the 14 or so Su-24 Fencer and the 30 odd Su-25 Frogfoots which have also played key parts in the war to date. The Fencer fleet was essential early in the war to provide close air support and interdiction against Russian forces that landed at the Hostomel airport in 2022.

Their attack here helped to block the runway that the Russian paratroopers of the VDV were going to use to bring in reinforcements by air, which gave the Ukrainian units of the National Guard the time to counter attack and contain the Russian landing. The actions here prevented the loss of Kyiv and allowed the country to stay in the fight for the long term.

The Su-24 was also the aircraft chosen to carry the British, French and Italian donated Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG air launched cruise missiles (ALCMs), which have proven devastating against Russian supply depots, bridges and naval forces. Parts from the Panavia Tornado were bolted on to the airframe to allow for the missile to be integrated, allowing it to carry the weapon into combat.

Due to this mission set, losses have been lighter than during the early war, as the Storm Shadow has a long stand-off launch distance, enabling the Su-24 to stay out of Russia’s air defences. However, the fleet has still lost 22 airframes in total, along with many of their pilots.

Keen eyed observers will see that losses for the Su-24 are higher than their initial fleet total. This is thanks to the maintainers and engineers who were able to bring back a significant number of aircraft from storage, giving them a new lease of life to fight the invasion.

Rare footage of the release of French guided aerial bombs AASM Hammer from the board of a Ukrainian Su-25 attack aircraft. pic.twitter.com/J7lFfzA0dr

— MilitaryNewsUA (@front_ukrainian) April 11, 2026

Likewise, the Su-25 has been Ukraine’s primary close air support weapon, delivering volleys of unguided rockets at long distance early in the war due to heavy losses. The supply of Soviet munitions dwindled over time due to a lack of resupply, and so the Su-25 took more of a backseat to the MiG-29 in the ground attack role.

However, the fleet was significantly augmented with deliveries of French AASM Hammer bombs which gave the Frogfoot the stand off distance it needed to get back into the fight. Losses have still been unfortunately high, with 22 aircraft lost over the last five years of war, significantly degrading the fleet.

The ex-Soviet force of fighter planes and their pilots have soldiered on far longer than anyone had expected them to when the war started in 2022. However, it is the assistance of NATO and Ukraine’s Western allies that will enable the UkrAF to develop into the future.

The Future Fighter Fleet

The first F-16s entered Ukrainian airspace in August 2024, following extensive training programs abroad in multiple European partner nations as well as the United States. Jointly,they set up the European F-16 Training Center (EFTC) at the 86th Air Base in Fetești, Romania, which serves to train Ukrainian and Romanian pilots on the platform.

With this and several other training programmes in place, F-16AM/BM aircraft were then donated by Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and soon to be Belgium, to sustain the UkrAF. According to retired USAF pilot Lt. Gen. David Deptula, Ukraine’s F-16s now fly “80 percent” of all Ukrainian combat sorties, marking a significant change in the makeup of the overall fighter force. Even with the maintenance problems already discussed above, the F-16, being a Western jet, has more available spares than the ex-Soviet fleet, with the majority of spare parts being controlled by the Russian Federation.

Ukraine currently has an estimated 39 F-16s in service, so far having lost five to attrition over the last few years, but it is expected to raise to a maximum of 80 aircraft once deliveries from Denmark and Belgium are completed. At that point, the F-16 will be the most numerous fighter in Ukrainian service.

Tragically, Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot Captain Andrii Pilshchykov ‘Juice’, who played a key role in advocating for the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine, was killed in a training exercise in August 2023.

Following his initial wartime service, he spent months giving interviews to Western media and even traveled to the U.S. to meet and convince American lawmakers to enable the donation of the fighters to Ukraine. He was very much the public face of the campaign to see Ukrainian pilots in F-16s and their current impact on the war is in no small part due to his efforts.

A message from ‘Juice’ — the Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot I interviewed a few weeks ago.

Story: https://t.co/t4fRmqaQXI https://t.co/zOpPzN2cYI

— Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) April 16, 2022

Alongside the F-16, Ukraine has also received six Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets from France, with one lost to attrition quite soon after their initial delivery. These aircraft also allow for the employment of SCALP-EG ALCMs, taking some of the strain off the dwindling Su-24 force. It is expected that France will send more to Ukraine as it retires its current fleet, with between 12 and 20 aircraft expected to be delivered over the coming years.

This fleet acts more as an interim option before 16 Dassault Rafales can be delivered to the country, following an announcement made by French President Macron in July this year. The first four aircraft will be delivered following completion of their pilots training which is starting this year.

It is still unknown if these will be new build fighters, or more likely aircraft from existing French stocks, though they are part of a purchase that aims to see 100 Rafales in Ukrainian colours. Unlike the donated Mirages, these aircraft are paid for by the Ukraine Support Loan and will give the Ukrainians a new advantage over their Russian opponent with the introduction of the Meteor missile to the battlefield.

The Rafale will be the premier fighter of the future UkrAF, but it will not be alone. Up to 16 Gripen C/Ds are expected to be donated to Ukraine in early 2027, coming directly from the Swedish Air Force. These aircraft will then be joined by a further 20 Gripen E/F fighters, which have a capability comparable to the Rafale but with a significantly improved rough strip performance.

Sweden will donate 16 Gripen C/D fighters to Ukraine, with deliveries starting early next year.

Ukraine will additionally purchase 20x Gripen E fighters, with deliveries starting in 2030. Sweden will additionally provide maintenance and training support. pic.twitter.com/y748IDg1Bq

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) May 28, 2026

The final tally of expected aircraft will be around 150 aircraft, rising to around 300 if Ukraine’s aspirational orders of 100 Rafales and 100 Gripen Es come to fruition. Either way, the added aircraft more than make up for the losses in material incurred so far during the war and will give Ukraine an advantage over Russia in the air for the very first time.

It is still a long road until Ukraine receives all its fighters, and the logistical nightmare that such a diverse fleet represents will be a tough manage for a force already operating six types of frontline aircraft.

The F-16 Block 70/72

Given the progress made in F-16 training, UkrAF performance and the logistical challenges that introducing a new aircraft into service becomes, Ukraine is also exploring a possible pivot to newer block models of the aircraft. The F-16 training centre is a long term investment that could be greatly improved upon with the acquisition of 4.5 generation F-16s, which have capabilities similar to Gripen and Rafale, but in a package that Ukraine is already using en masse.

Finally, after years of delay, the first of the 66 new F-16V Block 70s for the Taiwanese Air Force has been delivered. Packing an AESA radar, modern avionics, and a much nastier electronic warfare suite, this latest Viper is a very different beast from the F-16 that first took to… pic.twitter.com/zcXHlmydzT

— Air Power (@RealAirPower1) August 29, 2026

The F-16 Block 70/72, or F-16V in the case of existing aircraft upgraded to the new standard, is the most modern variant of the aircraft, representing both new builds directly from Lockheed Martin as well as upgrade packages for older aircraft. The variant uses an advanced APG-83 AESA radar, a massive improvement over the older mechanically scanned arrays that Ukraine currently uses, having better range, better electronic warfare capabilities and better data links. The radar leverages hardware and software commonality with F-22 and F-35 AESA radars, giving it some of the benefits of a 5th generation aircraft.

The aircraft utilises a modernized cockpit to allow for better systems integration, and vastly improved avionics. Some versions come with conformal fuel tanks to improve the aircraft’s baseline range, which could drastically improve the survivability of the aircraft on the ground, operating further away from the front.

These capabilities could be added onto existing F-16s through a modification programme similar to that undergone by Taiwan’s F-16 force, but it would require significant assistance from the United States. Relations between Ukraine and the U.S. are at a warmer point than they were the previous year, with Ukraine having reached an agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump for the production of the missiles used in Patriot air defence systems.

The Block 70/72 variants would be a significant boon to the UkrAF, but only time will tell if the force is able to acquire them.

© Ukrainian Air Force

A Flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted to Saudi Arabia after the two pilots reportedly became involved in a violent confrontation inside the cockpit.

A Flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating flight FZ1073 from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion Airport was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Sept. 30, 2026, after a serious incident developed inside the cockpit while the aircraft was enroute. The first hints about an ongoing incident arrived when the aircraft was noticed on flight tracking websites plummeting 14,000 ft in less than 30 seconds.

The aircraft later inverted the route and landed safely at Tabuk Airport, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, after transmitting a series of emergency signals. All passengers, approximately 174 – many of which from Israel, were reported safe and accounted for by Flydubai, while Saudi authorities said that both pilots sustained injuries and were taken to hospital.

Flydubai flight #FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, registration number A6-FKF, flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, following an onboard security incident.
Timeline (UTC):
03:05 — Take off from Dubai
05:21 — Altitude fluctuations begin
05:22 — Aircraft drops… pic.twitter.com/xFS6138BIA

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 30, 2026

The incident initially triggered fears of a hijacking because the aircraft briefly transmitted the international transponder code 7500, which indicates unlawful interference. As a precaution, Israeli authorities scrambled fighter aircraft and held urgent security consultations while the airliner approached Israeli airspace.

Flydubai FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was diverted to Saudi Arabia after a serious cockpit incident during its approach to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

The flight from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport transmitted emergency squawk 7700 before switching to 7500, the international code for… pic.twitter.com/ufELugunfO

— AirNav Radar (@AirNavRadar) September 30, 2026

Following the landing, Israeli officials said that the aircraft had not been hijacked. Instead, the emergency appears to have resulted from a violent confrontation between the two pilots, which was stopped with the help of the cabin crew and passengers.

The flydubai flight that landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia appears to have sustained damage to the rudder, likely due to the rapid plunge it took amid the incident. pic.twitter.com/A2paTx7TUf

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 30, 2026

Images which emerged following the landing show that the aircraft suffered substantial damage, with the rudder missing a large part. During the descent, the Boeing 737 reportedly exceeded its maximum operating speed.

A violent altercation and stabbing in the cockpit of a FlyDubai flight over Saudi Arabia this morning caused the 737-8 to plummet 18,400 feet in just under two minutes, exceeding its maximum operating speed by nearly 100 kts.

The aircraft landed safely in Tabuk. pic.twitter.com/POg0WCN1WS

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) September 30, 2026

Emergency Over Saudi Arabia

FZ1073 departed Dubai early in the morning, at 03:05 UTC, on a scheduled flight to Tel Aviv. According to publicly available flight-tracking data, the Boeing 737 was cruising at approximately 34,000 feet when it suddenly began a sharp descent at 05:22 UTC, according to data provided by Flightradar24 and AirNav Radar.

Between 05:22:07 and 05:22:36 flight #FZ1073 dropped from 30,875 feet to 16,750 feet (-14,125 feet in just 29 seconds) pic.twitter.com/hHfnX7cKWI

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 30, 2026

The aircraft reached approximately 15,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. This abrupt maneuver was followed by a sharp climb and another sharp descent, before the aircraft stabilized at approximately 15,000 feet and continued the flight toward Saudi Arabia.

The sequence was accompanied by a series of emergency transponder codes which were transmitted from 05:31 UTC, about ten minutes after the beginning of the first descent. The aircraft first transmitted 7700, the internationally recognized transponder code for a general emergency.

Timeline of flight #FZ1073 — all times UTC:

03:05 — Take off from Dubai International Airport
05:31 — Squawk changed to 7700
05:38 — Squawk changed to 7500
06:11 — Aircraft left Flightradar24 ground-based coverage
06:28 — Squawk 7700 received via satellite
06:58 — Last signal… pic.twitter.com/ChlUs4kRDU

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 30, 2026

Several minutes later, it briefly transmitted 7500, the standardized code which indicates possible unlawful interference, raising concerns that the aircraft could have been hijacked. The aircraft subsequently returned to 7700 before turning south and diverting toward Tabuk.

Meanwhile, Israeli fighter aircraft were scrambled as authorities attempted to determine what was happening aboard the aircraft. The incident also prompted urgent consultations involving Israeli officials, reportedly including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

An Israeli official subsequently told Reuters that the emergency signals had been transmitted following a physical altercation between the two pilots.

What Happened in the Cockpit?

The precise sequence of events remains under investigation, but increasingly detailed accounts from Israeli officials and passengers point to a violent confrontation between the pilots. Reuters reported that two Israeli officials said the current Israeli assessment was that the incident may have been an attempted terror attack.

Following situation assessments and passenger testimonies, Israel is treating the incident as a full-fledged terrorist attack. It appears that the co-pilot repeatedly stabbed the captain. Once the attack began, several crew members and passengers managed to break through the… https://t.co/BXS4kIjGXk

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) September 30, 2026

“During the flight, as they were approaching Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and, apparently, tried to crash the plane with its passengers on board,” said Netanyahu.

After speaking with passengers, the Prime Minister said a passenger and one of the crew members were able to break into the cockpit and overpower the pilot, while another crew member managed to stabilize the aircraft. The pilot who carried out the stabbing was arrested upon landing by Saudi authorities.

Israeli media have also circulated a photograph purportedly showing a passenger with a blood-soaked shirt. Reuters said it was unable to independently verify the photograph.

Meanwhile, Saudi authorities have confirmed that both the pilots were injured. The precise nature and severity of their injuries has not been fully disclosed, although authorities confirmed that both were transported to hospital for medical treatment.

Flydubai later sent two replacement planes to Tabuk, and all the passengers of flight FZ1073 have now departed Saudi Arabia.

A pair of flydubai 737s now en route to Tabuk. https://t.co/kzhjefmNVh & https://t.co/GrhDdr1Ei1 https://t.co/D5neSYCwse pic.twitter.com/nqHhyu0qVm

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 30, 2026

© Flydubai, Reuters and Flightradar24

The new award is a step towards the Air Force’s planned fleet of 267 F-15EXs, replacing the aging F-15C/D Eagle and also beginning the recapitalization of the F-15E Strike Eagle fleet.

The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing Defense on Sept. 29, 2026, a new contract for 22 F-15EX fighters as part of Lot 7, worth $2.38 billion, which will bring the total number of jets under contract to 120 units. The Air Force had originally planned a fleet of 129 jets but increased the planned size to 267 aircraft in April 2026.

As The Aviationist had reported, the larger acquisition will allow the service to begin the recapitalization of the aging F-15E Strike Eagle fleet, in addition to replacing the F-15C/D Eagle which the F-15EX was originally meant to supplant. The award of the new contract also comes on the same day Boeing was chosen by the Navy for its F/A-XX next-generation fighter jet, after being selected last year for the Air Force’s F-47 NGAD.

Air and Space Forces Magazine, considering the $2.38 billion contract value disclosed by Boeing, estimated an average cost per airframe of $108 million. This value does not include the GE Aerospace F110-GE-129 engines, which the Air Force will purchase separately. 

Boeing, for its part, said that it is currently delivering Lot 3 aircraft, and will continue for the remainder of this year. The deliveries of the Lot 3 started earlier this month with the delivery of the EX-22. The company also added that it is working with the Department of War (DoW) and the U.S. Air Force to hike F-15EX production to two aircraft a month.

EXciting progress for F-15EX!

We’ve delivered the 22nd F-15EX to the @usairforce. The aircraft will be the first F-15EX destined for @KadenaAirBase in Japan. pic.twitter.com/RlrTKuCCFl

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) September 3, 2026

The DoW also awarded on Sept. 29 another F-15EX-related contract to the Wisconsin-based Astronautics Corp. of America for the fighter’s engine fuel hydraulic display depot activation. The $10 million sole-source acquisition contract covers the “knowledge, skills and operational resources to independently perform depot-level repair of F-15EX engine fuel hydraulics display.” Work will be performed at Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and is expected to be completed by October 2029.  

F-15EX Lot 7 contract

Air & Space Forces Magazine also reported that the Sept. 29 contract came just before a deadline for using funds allocated through last year’s $2.8 billion ‘One Big Beautiful Act’ reconciliation package and the $115 million in the FY 2026 budget. The Trump administration’s 2025 reconciliation bill mandated a reduction of the allotted funds by 8.3% if they were not spent by Oct. 1, creating pressure to award the contract to Boeing before the fiscal year ended on Sept. 30.

The press release by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) reflected the urgency in closing the deal with Boeing:

“Through focused, complex negotiations, the F-15 Program Office and Boeing reached an agreement that maintains the procurement of all 22 Lot 7 aircraft within available funding […] This award followed extensive collaboration among program management, contracting, pricing, engineering, financial management, logistics and other acquisition professionals. The team assessed the impacts of changing production conditions and inflation, aligned the aircraft procurement with available funding, and completed the action before the fiscal-year deadline.”

Portfolio Acquisition Executive for the Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate Brig. Gen. Timothy Helfrich described the Lot 7 contract as a disciplined approach that balanced available resources and industrial capacity. “The team remained focused on affordability, production continuity and delivering the aircraft needed to modernize the U.S. Air Force’s fighter fleet for the threats we face today and into the future,” Helfrich said in the release. 

The release noted functional areas such as senior-level decisions, cost, schedule, and aircraft quantity that the team carefully accounted for before awarding the contract to Boeing. 

“The Lot 7 award demonstrates what is possible when the acquisition enterprise moves with purpose, remains accountable to the taxpayer and stays focused on delivering capability to the warfighter,” said Col. Jonathan Varoli, System Program Manager of the directorate’s F-15 Program Office. “This effort brought together the right expertise, at the right time, to achieve an outcome that strengthens the F-15EX program and supports the future fighter force.”

Flying high for 5⃣!

Five years ago, the first #F15EX test jet flew. Since then, F-15EX has really taken off, completing hundreds of test flights and achieving several milestones — including Initial Operational Capability. Now, we’re delivering over 100 jets to the @USAirForce. pic.twitter.com/qwz6yEulL1

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) February 2, 2026

F-15EX 

The F-15EX is the modern evolution of the twin-engine heavyweight multirole jet, featuring advanced avionics, large-area displays, digital backbone architecture and enhanced survivability capabilities. “It is intended to replace aging F-15C and F-15D aircraft while providing a platform for continued modernization as operational requirements evolve,” the Air Force said. 

One of its defining features is the AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS), an electronic warfare suite that provides integrated radar warning, threat detection and advanced jamming and countermeasure capabilities.

Thanks to its capabilities, the F-15EX is also being introduced in the Indo-Pacific, with Kadena Air Base in Japan, home to the Air Force’s 18th Wing, selected as its first permanent overseas operating location.

© U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Steph Sawyer

SM-6, Sea Venom, and Naval Strike Missile munitions were paired alongside a Mark 48 ADCAP torpedo to send the decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. 

Concluding Exercise Atlantic Thunder 2026, the sink exercise (SINKEX) was conducted in the Northern Atlantic off the Outer Hebrides in Northern Scotland. The former USS Klakring, an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate commissioned in 1983 and decommissioned in 2013, was specially prepared for the exercise with extensive cleaning and hazard removal. 

The SINKEX was used to validate the capabilities of a number of new munitions which have entered service in recent years. Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) fired an SM-6 missile in its secondary role as an anti-ship weapon, testing the performance of the missile towards the upper end of its range. 

Decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS Klakring (FFG-42) being towed out of Philadelphia Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) for SINKEX reportedly around Scotland – August 12, 2026 SRC: FB- Delaware River Shipping / John Curdy pic.twitter.com/y5JIvPBLVu

— WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) August 13, 2026

“Atlantic Thunder demonstrates the unmatched lethality and interoperability of the United States and United Kingdom,” said Captain Kelechi Ndukwe, Commander, U.S. Task Force 65. “This sinking exercise not only validated the power behind U.S.-UK offensive weapons but delivers a clear message to adversaries that the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy remain a ready allied force.”

New onboard SINKEX views — including some wild slo-mo

US-UK forces send the decommissioned guided-missile frigate USS Klakring to the bottom of the Atlantic

Blows delivered by USS Paul Ignatius, the newly commissioned USS Massachusetts, others

(Compiled by MC1 Austin Ingram) pic.twitter.com/cS8Ok1O3Nc

— J.D. Simkins (@simkins_jd) September 29, 2026

Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Portland (F79) used the opportunity to conduct the service’s first ever ‘warshot’ launch of the Norwegian-built Naval Strike Missile (NSM) that has replaced the Harpoon in UK service. Petty Officer James Kenyon, an Above Water Warfare specialist on HMS Portland, said: “Being the first person to fire war-shot NSM and achieve a hit is a very proud moment, and one that will stay with me for the rest of my career. This was the culmination of over a year’s effort in planning and bringing the drills into service, and I am glad that I was able to contribute.”

Lieutenant Commander Louise Kirkaldy, Portland’s Principal Warfare Officer (PWO), said: “The successful firing of NSM marks a significant milestone for the Royal Navy, demonstrating our ability to deliver credible, modern maritime strike capability.”

HMS Portland launches a Naval Strike Missile during Exercise Atlantic Thunder off Scotland, striking the decommissioned USS Klakring in the Royal Navy’s first operational firing of NSM.

LPhot Henry Parks / Royal Navy pic.twitter.com/mvZUh7NLSU

— UK Defence Journal (@UKDefJournal) September 29, 2026

Portland’s contribution was added to by the ship’s embarked Wildcat helicopter, hailing from 815 Naval Air Squadron. In another first, the Wildcat fired a Sea Venom anti-ship missile at the Klakring in the first operational live firing of the weapon type against a realistic target. 

A Wildcat helicopter can carry as many as four Sea Venom missiles per sortie, with each weapon packing a 120 kilogram warhead. Though much smaller than ship-killing weapons like NSM and Harpoon, the Sea Venom is designed to deliver enough destructive capability to destroy smaller naval vessels, or using multiple finely targeted missiles complete a successful mission kill against larger frigate or destroyer sized targets. 

Lieutenant Commander Rhydian Edwards, Test & Evaluation Commander, Maritime Aviation Strike Operational Advantage Group, said: “This was a landmark moment for the Wildcat Force. For the first time we demonstrated the live firing of an operational Sea Venom missile against a representative maritime target. More importantly, we proved our ability to execute the full maritime strike kill chain under realistic operational conditions.”

“This was about giving commanders confidence that Wildcat can find, fix and strike maritime targets using Sea Venom as part of a wider task group. The lessons learned from this activity will directly inform future tactics, training and operational capability development, ensuring Maritime Aviation Strike remains ready to fight and win when called upon.”

More air-launched munitions came in the form of guided bombs dropped by F-15E Strike Eagles based with the 48th Fighter Wing (FW) at RAF Lakenheath. P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from the U.S. and UK also took part in the SINKEX, though no weapon launches have been attributed to them and their contribution may have simply been as surveillance platforms. 

Finishing off the Klakring, the USS Massachusetts (SSN 798), commissioned into the U.S. Navy in March 2026, targeted the frigate with a Mark 48 Advanced Capability (ADCAP) torpedo. 

USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) Virginia-class Block IV attack submarine leaving Faslane, Scotland – September 11, 2026 SRC: FB- Argyll Sea Glass pic.twitter.com/Ba4k7jzjyJ

— WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) September 11, 2026

Massachusetts, the 25th Virginia class submarine, was pushed into service without the traditional post-commissioning shakedown period in order to mitigate current shortfalls in U.S. attack submarine availability. The decision has been described as a ‘calculated risk’. The submarine was noted at the Royal Navy’s Faslane base earlier in September.

© U.S. Navy, Royal Navy

Boeing has won the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX competition for the sixth-generation carrier-based fighter, with a contract valued at more than $20B for the full-scale development phase.

After months of wait, the U.S. Navy has finally announced Boeing as the winner of the competition for the F/A-XX sixth-generation carrier-based fighter as part of the service’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. With the award, Boeing will now develop and build the NGAD crewed fighter jets of both the Navy and Air Force.

The highly anticipated award comes after an imminent announcement was reported multiple times since March 2025, with the program apparently stuck in a limbo. The last such report mentioned the Navy would announce its selection by the end of August 2026.

Welcome to the next generation of Naval aviation! https://t.co/yI1vlrJcoc

— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) September 29, 2026

Earlier this year, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Daryl Caudle warned that the Navy must accelerate development of F/A-XX to ensure it can penetrate future air defense environments over the next decade. “Our ability to fly with impunity with our existing airframes is fleeting,” Caudle said. “If I don’t start building that immediately, you’re not going to get it for some time.”

The announcement

In the statement released on Sept. 29, 2026, the Department of War said Boeing was awarded a contract valued at more than $20B for the full-scale development phase of F/A-XX. The contract covers multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems, and weapons integration testing.

“The F/A-XX is a critical pillar in our commitment to maintaining peace through strength. F/A-XX will dominate contested airspace, extend operational reach, and deliver a decisive combat advantage for the warfighter,” said Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. “The F/A-XX platform represents a crucial, non-negotiable investment in America’s national security and long-term air combat capabilities. We are joining forces with Boeing to field these capabilities rapidly, ensuring our warfighters possess the lethal and highly networked systems required to deter aggression, project undisputed power, and secure absolute air superiority.”

The F/A-XX is expected to provide advanced carrier-based power projection, further extending the range of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. The new fighter jet will augment and eventually replace legacy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers beginning in the 2030s, and operate alongside the F-35C and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).

“This achievement marks a new era for the U.S. Navy,” said acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao. “The Sixth-Generation fighter is a generational leap in air superiority and will provide the world’s best aviators with unparalleled capabilities to fight, win, and come home safe. We are excited to partner with Boeing, and for our warfighters to continue to dominate the skies and defeat our nation’s enemies.”

6th-gen edge.

Thank you, @USNavy, for continuing our partnership to design, build and deliver your F/A-XX aircraft. We’re honored to produce the 6th-generation fighter that will revolutionize advancements in naval aviation to maintain U.S. carrier air superiority.

Release:… pic.twitter.com/LaGUxgefSm

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) September 29, 2026

The statement released by Boeing puts emphasis on the company’s work on the NGAD programs of both the Navy and Air Force.

“Delivering two advanced fighters in parallel was always our plan, and we invested accordingly. We are ready and able to build multiple concurrent future combat aircraft franchise programs,” said Steve Parker, president and chief executive officer, Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

History of the F/A-XX program

The F/A-XX is the strike fighter component within the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Family of Systems (FoS). The requirement for this aircraft has been around since 2008, with a formal Request for Information in 2012, to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in the 2030s.

Later, the F/A-XX was included in the service’s NGAD program, which is a separate program from the identically named Air Force program. The Navy says that its “specific capabilities and technologies are under development, however analysis shows it must have longer range and greater speed, incorporate passive and active sensor technology, and possess the capability to employ the longer-range weapons programmed for the future”.

The NGAD FoS will include unmanned platforms with F/A-XX as the quarterback, exploiting the Manned/UnManned Teaming (MUM-T) concept to reduce risk to the manned aircraft, while simultaneously increasing capability, capacity, and survivability. The new MQ-25 Stingray will be the first unmanned asset to employ this capability, extending the strike range and enhancing maneuverability of the Carrier Air Wing.

Continued development of MUM-T will enable information sharing across a distributed force, increasing survivability, reducing risk to manned aircraft, and ensuring weapons capacity. The Navy is evaluating the appropriate mix of F/A-XX, manned and unmanned platforms to ensure the most lethal and affordable CVW possible, depending also on the maturity of autonomy and Machine Learning technologies.

The Navy envisions future unmanned air vehicles with survivable planforms, sensors, and robust autonomy able to find, fix, identify, track, engage, and assess land, sea, and air targets. These UAVs will be employed alongside manned aircraft and unmanned attritable assets to enable integrated kinetic and non-kinetic fires at tactically relevant ranges in multidomain operations.

In a 2021 document, the Navy showed a fictional F/A-XX operating in a MUM-T environment with four drones, whose shape represents the MQ-25. Interestingly, the drones were shown employing Air-to-Air (AA), Electronic Warfare (EW) and Command and Control (C2) payloads, much like the Loyal Wingman drones currently being developed. This falls in line with the service envisioning Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) to fill refueling, communications relay, logistics, airborne electronic attack, strike, and ISR&T missions in the future air wing.

In 2024, in an interview released to Aviation Week, Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly, director of the air warfare division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, said the Navy will develop its aircraft independently, a reverse of previous reports who said the Navy and Air Force would share the developments of their next generation aircraft programs.

The Navy’s decision to move forward independently might have shielded the F/A-XX from the results of the NGAD’s review and the subsequent decisions. The service is confident in the suitability and affordability of the F/A-XX and is committed to move forward with the program.

“We have to have an affordable platform to make it relevant to our force structure and force design, so we’ve got that in mind,” said Donnelly. “We think we’ve got an affordable solution that supports our force structure of the future.”

According to Donnelly, the F/A-XX program was on track for the Milestone B decision to move the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase by the end of fiscal year 2025.

“We feel really good through the concept development that we’ve got the right bracket for those requirements and the attributes we need to deliver the capability,” Donnelly says. “We’ll continue to look at that as we go through the next phases of the acquisition process and make smart decisions.”

What F/A-XX Is Expected to Deliver

The Navy envisions F/A-XX as more than a simple replacement for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the EA-18G Growler. The new aircraft is expected to combine stealth, extended range, electronic warfare, and command-and-control functions into a single next-generation platform.

Navy officials previously said F/A-XX is expected to have approximately 25% more range than the F-35C, as well as more advanced jamming capabilities than the Growler. Moreover, it is also designed from the outset to control multiple Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), as noted by the CNO.

“The next-generation airframe, F/A-XX is so vital,” Caudle said. “It’s vital because of, one, the CCAs it will command and control. Its penetration – the Growlers won’t last forever, so it’ll be our electronic attack airplane as well. Its range will be coupled with the MQ-25 for clandestine refueling and organic refueling from the carrier.”

The aircraft is therefore central to the Navy’s future carrier air wing concept to maintain the service’s ability to project power in high-threat environments. In this mix of crewed and uncrewed platforms, the F/A-XX will be the quarterback, often said the Navy.

Navy’s and Air Force’s NGAD relation

According to Rear Adm. Donnelly, the new carrier-based fighter will be affordable, versatile and independent of Air Force-funded technologies such as an adaptive-cycle turbofan engine. While the service already said it would require a different airframe than the Air Force’s NGAD, other systems to be included were not mentioned.

Initially, the Navy appeared interested in the adaptive-cycle technology being developed for the Next-Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) program. In the past decade, however, propulsion plans for the two services have diverged, according to Donnelly.

“We’re looking at more of a derivative-type engine solution,” said Donnelly. “That’s just one example where we probably are different in many ways from the Air Force. In totality, they are two unique programs from an acquisition point of view and also going forward, so we’re relatively independent of each other at this point.”

Both programs appear to be under budgetary pressure, as both services are currently working on multiple large programs. In the Navy’s case, the 2025 budget for the new aircraft suffered a cut of 67%, with the $10.3 billion requested between 2025 and 2028 reduced to just $3.3 billion. The senate voted to restore $450 million to the budget but, even if approved, there would still a cut of 59% compared with last year’s budget.

Earlier this year, lawmakers agreed on the Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Appropriations Act to allocate $897 million specifically to F/A-XX, mandating the Pentagon to award a development contract aimed at accelerating initial operational capability. The wording used called out the Department of Defense for the slow pace of the program.

Another difference between the Navy’s and Air Force’s 6th gen fighter could be their roles. While the latter envisions its new aircraft mainly as an air superiority fighter, the Navy wants it to be multirole, optimized for air-to-surface strike but still capable of fleet defense.

“The central focus of its design is to be able to conduct long-range fires, sea control and those types of missions. Inherent in its design is its ability to participate in fleet defense,” Donnelly says. “We can’t afford to have a break-glass capability or a really unique single-mission or single-phase-of-operation focus.”

A final difference is the manned or unmanned debate. The Air Force left the door open for an optionally manned configuration, which was also the initial configuration proposed for the F/A-XX. However, the Navy has now opted for a fully manned platform.

“F/A-XX is intended to be a manned platform,” Donnelly says, noting that the “F/A-XX will really be our pivot point from a manned air wing to a hybrid future, with a manned-unmanned air wing.”

© NAVAIR via Boeing

In the waning days of the Cold War, a Soviet MiG-23M flew pilotless across Warsaw Pact and NATO airspace, eventually crashing into a house in Belgium and killing one person.

On July 4, 1989, a MiG-23 departed a Polish airbase for a routine training flight and lost power while ascending on climb-out, or so the pilot thought. Believing the engine had failed, the pilot ejected.

However, this unbelievable flight was far from over, with the jet continuing across Europe, causing F-15s to scramble after the radio-silent intruder ignored NATO airspace and warnings.  What the F-15 pilots discovered was a mysterious ghost plane cruising along at 39,000 ft.

A Frightening Takeoff

On July 4, 1989, Soviet Colonel Nikolai Skuridin climbed into a MiG-23M for an ordinary training flight at Bagicz Air Base near Kołobrzeg, Poland, located on the Baltic coast. The aircraft belonged to the 871st Fighter Aviation Regiment, which operated MiG-23s as part of the still heavy Soviet military presence in Poland, even though the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the collapse of the Warsaw Pact were just months away.

Col. Skuridin’s MiG-23M, with the bort number 29 below the cockpit, was a product of the Cold War, codenamed ‘Flogger-B’ by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). The aircraft utilized a variable-geometry wing design which featured wings that could be swept back or forward. Despite its late 1960s roots, the aircraft was capable of exceeding Mach 2 powered by a single Tumansky R-29 turbojet engine. It was this engine that would ultimately set the bizarre flight in motion.

Seconds after takeoff, while at very low altitude, Skuridin heard a sudden loud bang. The afterburner shut down and, with the engine RPM dropping rapidly, the MiG began to quickly lose airspeed. Indications were engine failure and Skuridin was given permission to eject from the aircraft.

Skuridin attempted to point his aircraft toward the Baltic in hopes of preventing it from crashing into populated areas, and ejected, landing safely on the ground. Both ground control and the pilot expected the MiG-23 to crash any second now. But it didn’t.

Back to Life

The R-29 engine didn’t completely shut down. In fact, shortly after the pilot ejected, the RPMs began to surge, restoring the thrust. With the pilot and ejection seat gone and the canopy separated, the aircraft was significantly lighter. The renewed engine thrust was enough to arrest its descent, while the automatic flight-control system stabilized the aircraft.

 

The resurrected fighter continued a westerly course while climbing, eventually reaching close to 39,000 ft of altitude. The now empty, unarmed, and stabilized MiG continued on west, cruising along at a leisurely 400 mph toward one of the most heavily monitored airspaces on the planet at the time, with the Soviets not realizing the aircraft was continuing on this flight path.

Soon Polish territory was behind the stray fighter and East Germany on the horizon. Soviet authorities had lost track of the MiG and NATO was unaware of the situation as the aircraft continued on towards NATO airspace.

Threat Detected

NATO radar picked up the MiG as it neared the end of East German airspace and approached West Germany. As it crossed the border, it appeared a Soviet fighter had just blatantly entered NATO airspace without authorization. Soviet intimidation flights were a common incident during the Cold War years, but normally the aircraft came in pairs, and this one flying alone was ignoring radio contact attempts.

In response, the United States Air Force (USAF) scrambled a pair of F-15C Eagles. Stationed at Soesterberg in the Netherlands, the American fighters belonged to the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS). Known as the ‘Wolfhounds’, this unit was part of the U.S. air defense of Western Europe.

Intercepted

USAF Captains J.D. Martin and Bill Murphy caught up with the MiG-23 in their F-15Cs, only to find a strange sight. The aircraft was obviously unarmed, displaying no weapons on the pylons. As they closed in, they were surprised to see the canopy of the MiG was missing along with the pilot and the ejection seat. The aircraft was flying along almost perfectly at 400 mph and 39,000 ft altitude with no human guidance.

The USAF pilots radioed their findings and were given permission to down the aircraft in case the aircraft ran out of fuel, to avoid it crashing into a populated area. However, the problem was that shooting down the MiG with missiles would shower populated areas below with deadly flaming debris.

It was decided to simply accompany it to the English Channel at watch it run out of fuel and splash into the sea. But again, that is not what happened. The RAF (Royal Air Force) placed a Phantom FGR2 on alert should the MiG continue on and find its way into British airspace.

Tragedy Strikes

However, the MiG-23 did not continue on course for the Channel, but instead veered towards Belgium and Northern France. The thirsty Tumansky R-29 turbojet engine finally flamed out and, after an uncrewed flight of over an hour, the unpowered jet was now beginning its inevitable descent towards the earth. The French Air Force went on alert as the aircraft seemed to have the city of Lille in its sights.

At around 10:30 am, the MiG now turned heavy glider was near the city of Kortrijk, continuing on into Belgian airspace and just few miles from the French border, when it finally came down in Bellegem.

Wim Delaere, an 18 year old man, was home alone when the big warplane plowed into his farm house residence. He was killed upon impact. The rest of his family was away from home at the time. The tail section of the MiG, bearing the red star insignia of the Soviet Union, could be seen protruding from the rubble. The absence of a significant weapons load likely limited the potential consequences of the crash, preventing a worse disaster for residents and responders.

This video mistakenly describes the incident as a shoot down, but is valuable as it contains the actual radio chatter of the intercepting F-15 pilots that continues to the crash as well as images of the crash site and crashed aircraft.

Fallout

The fact a stray Soviet military jet had flown over multiple nations without notification from the Soviets to sovereign governments created a diplomatic crisis at a time when the Cold War was already approaching its end. Belgium issued a formal protest and publicly criticized the lack of communication from the Soviets about the phantom flight and the details of the aircraft’s armaments or lack thereof.

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev publicly expressed his regrets and the Soviets issued an official apology. Moscow compensated with the equivalent of approximately 25 million Belgian francs, equivalent to about $685,000 at the time. After a Belgian investigation, the Soviets were allowed to retrieve the wreckage of the aircraft ten days after the incident.

A very simple automated flight control system on an empty fighter had exposed the weaknesses of both NATO and the Warsaw Pact. NATO was successful in intercepting the MiG, but seemed powerless to prevent it from crashing into civilian populated areas. The Warsaw Pact lost track of its own aircraft and failed to notify other countries of the possible danger.

A pilotless aircraft seemingly defeated the two most powerful military/defense organizations on earth. Abandoned just after takeoff and lost track of, it managed to streak 625 miles across much of Europe ending up on the other side of the continent even after being intercepted and ended in taking the life of a teenager.

© DoD photo

The W93 warhead and Mk7 reentry body assembly are part of the Trident II D5 Life Extension (D5LE2) which will modernize the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad.

The U.S. Navy’s W93 warhead and Mk7 reentry body assembly, which will equip the Trident II Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) as part of the D5 Life Extension 2 (D5LE2) program, have entered the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) stage, the Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) announced on Sept. 24, 2026.

The program reached Milestone B earlier this year, and the EMD phase will now “focus on completing production design and proving that the design is producible to meet the needs of the Navy,” the PAE SSP said. The W93 warhead and the Mk7 reentry body assembly are the first U.S. nuclear warhead and reentry system in nearly four decades, says the service, providing a modern warhead to the Navy’s submarine-launched ballistic missiles and strengthening the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad.

The announcement also comes after Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) – the design agency for the W93’s nonnuclear components and the lead warhead systems integrator for nuclear weapons programs – announced on Aug. 31 the launch of the Atrax sounding rocket to collect critical physical performance data and match its simulated models for the W93’s development.

SNL subsequently revealed that the W93’s first flight test is scheduled approximately two years after the Atrax test. The W93/Mk7 program is an interagency Nuclear Weapons Life Cycle effort between the PAE SSP and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

The US announce the progression of the new W93/Mk7 nuclear warhead for TRIDENT D5LE2 into its Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase. This directly touches the UK as well: the W93 is effectively the US counterpart and “sister” to the UK’s ASTRAEA A21/MK7, with some… pic.twitter.com/EqbzfmpwOV

— Gabriele Molinelli (@Gabriel64869839) September 24, 2026

Trident D5 Life Extension 2

The D5LE2 is being developed for the U.S. Navy’s upcoming Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), meant to replace the 14 older USS Ohio-class boats. The first eight Columbia-class SSBNs will enter service with the D5LE system, while D5LE2 will be introduced on the ninth SSBN and retrofitted to the earlier ones.

During its service aboard Ohio-class submarines, the Trident II D5 also underwent its first life extension program, the D5LE, that upgraded critical electronics and guidance components, which will allow it to remain operational through the 2040s.

Lockheed Martin Awarded $850 Million Contract for Trident II D5LE2 Program

Lockheed Martin has received an $850 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy to continue the design and development of the Trident II D5 Life Extension 2 (D5LE2) program, a key component of the… pic.twitter.com/cq3Dt6Wr25

— Global Defense Insight (@Defense_Talks) July 14, 2026

Navy officials later deemed additional upgrades would be insufficient for long-term aging of critical components and the modern demands of the Columbia fleet, prompting the D5LE2 effort. D5LE2 effort ensures the Trident remains credible through 2084.

The Trident II D5 also arms the four boats of the Royal Navy’s Vanguard-class ballistic missile nuclear submarines (SSBN). A January 2025 Lockheed Martin release about a $383 million contract modification for the D5LE2 confirmed that the UK will participate in the effort under the Polaris Sales Agreement.

Effective interagency coordination

PAE SSP director Vice Adm. Douglas Williams emphasized the “flexibility and adaptability” that the W93/Mk7 provides to “ensure an uninterrupted at sea deterrent for the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad.”

“We were able to accelerate our entry into this next phase because of the dedicated partnership between PAE SSP, National Nuclear Security Administration, and our industry base,” Williams said in the Navy release. “This is what working at hyper-speed looks like.”

The collaboration between PAE SSP, NNSA and SNL under the interagency Nuclear Weapons Life Cycle supported the design and development of the W93 warhead and Mk7 reentry system. NNSA administrator Brandon Williams said in the release: “Credible deterrence demands that we move with urgency, and the progress we’re making on W93/Mk7 demonstrates exactly that.”

Happy 8-26
The largest submarine ever built by the US, Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine USS District of Columbia (SSBN 826), will be launched next year. pic.twitter.com/b3FnamR0jy

— 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿 (@USN_Submariner) August 26, 2026

“We are revitalizing and modernizing the Nuclear Security Enterprise to design, develop, and produce this critical new weapon with the precision our Warfighters demand,” added Williams. “We will continue working together to deliver this capability to the fleet and ensure our sea-based strategic deterrent remains ready for the future.”

As mentioned earlier, while the PAE SSP will sustain the existing Trident II D5 on the Ohio-class boats, and integrate the Trident II D5 Life Extension 2 (D5LE2) on the new Columbia-class SSBNs, it is also “pioneering regional strike capabilities of the future.”

This includes the development of the Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N) and the non-nuclear hypersonic Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) system. The CPS shares the same Common-Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) with the U.S. Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) “Dark Eagle.”

Sounding rocket tests provide W93 development data

Ross Wagnild, an aerospace engineer at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), said the Atrax sounding rocket test helped them improve the credibility of their modeling and simulation tools in preparation for the W93 warhead’s development. SNL is also developing the Mk7 reentry vehicle, meant to “safeguard and carry” the W93 warhead and the Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles (MIRV) – as shown in the official concept illustration by PAE SSP – to the target.

Sounding rockets are suborbital experimental vehicles carrying instruments “to collect [general] environmental data in flight without the scope of a full program test,” otherwise difficult to be replicated on the ground.

The Atrax test is not intended to assess “the precision or accuracy of the reentry vehicle.” The Atrax specifically measured the interplay of “aerodynamic forces and structural response” during reentry conditions.

A sounding rocket flight test is giving Sandia engineers real-world reentry vibration data to improve modeling and inform nonnuclear component designs for nuclear weapons.

https://t.co/ib5WqE7R6x pic.twitter.com/dBj06oLkhg

— Sandia National Labs (@SandiaLabs) September 21, 2026

The trial provided data that can be compared with the models developed through NNSA’s Advanced Simulation and Computing program and make them more accurate. The measurements of the actual vibration, aerodynamic load and impact on internal physical components helped “better evaluate the survivability of nonnuclear components of our weapon systems,” Wagnild added.

The data generated by the Atrax test also supports future weapons programs as it aids correct engineering and component design decisions, reducing costs and cutting development timelines, according to Kelsey Forsberg, who works in nuclear deterrence at Sandia. Forsberg said NNSA investments in programs like High Operational Tempo Shot and the Enzo demonstrator helped pave the way for the Atrax test and “reduced risk to the W93 program.”

The “cutting edge sensors” on the reentry vehicle collected data to test the accuracy of their simulation codes on “thermal, fluid and structural models to better understand where improvements might be needed.” The test vehicle itself had a new reentry vehicle, a three-stage sounding rocket and a new separation system.

In addition to the W93, Wagnild said the Atrax test will provide the broader hypersonic community with data that could improve hypersonics modeling and build confidence in modern sensor suites for other hypersonic vehicles.

© U.S. Navy/Jermaine Eubanks

The U.S. Navy said that two Naval Aviators ejected from their EA-18G Growler following an arresting gear failure aboard the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier and were promptly recovered by search and rescue forces.

The U.S. Navy announced that a recovery mishap aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) resulted in two Naval Aviators assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 ejecting from their aircraft. The service says that both were promptly recovered by search and rescue (SAR) forces and were safely returned to the ship to be evaluated by medical personnel.

https://t.co/3cNDtGbqgw

— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) September 29, 2026

Additionally, four shipboard personnel were also injured during the mishap and are receiving medical care. However, one Sailor is being evacuated to a Norfolk-area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

DSTY613 (MH-60S) brought the injured into Sentara Norfolk General Hospital last night.

Audio via @liveatc and tracking via @ADSBex https://t.co/V1o0nyB70R pic.twitter.com/hmNLb0fcQN

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) September 29, 2026

The mishap happened at approximately 6:18 p.m. EDT on Sept. 28, 2026, as the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier was sailing off the coast of Virginia. According to USNI News, the USS Eisenhower is currently at sea for a carrier qualifications campaign, and left Naval Station Norfolk in the afternoon of Sept. 28.

The service did not release details about the aircraft involved in the mishap and whether it went overboard or stopped on the deck. The ejection of two Naval Aviators seemingly points to either the F/A-18F Super Hornet or the EA-18G Growler, the only two types of twin-seater aircraft currently in service with Carrier Air Wings.

CVW 3 is assigned one squadron of each aircraft, the Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 32 “Swordsmen” and the Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 “Zappers,” respectively. The Navy did not mention the squadron involved.

In the past, similar outcomes have resulted from rare mishaps in which an arresting cable snapped during an arrested landing and struck deck personnel as it recoiled, much like a whip suddenly released under tension. However, we can’t confirm that this is what happened in this case, as the Navy has not released specific details about the mishap.

The carrier recently completed its Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. A PIA is a scheduled period for an aircraft carrier to undergo extensive maintenance, repairs and modernization to meet future operational demands, spanning a wide array of overhauls and inspections.

Update

The U.S. Navy confirmed that the aircraft involved was an E/A-18G Growler attached to the “Zappers” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130. The two Naval Aviators were forced to eject following an arresting gear failure and were promptly recovered by search-and-rescue personnel assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 7.

UPDATE 1: At 6:18 p.m. EDT on Sept. 28, a mishap involving an E/A-18G Growler, attached to VAQ-130, occurred during aircraft recovery operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) off the coast of Virginia.

Full release: https://t.co/DkzXwbIS2i

— U.S. Fleet Forces (@USFleetForces) September 29, 2026

The service said that a total of eight Sailors were evaluated by ship’s medical personnel following the incident, while one Sailor was flown to a Norfolk-area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The two aviators and two additional Sailors injured on the flight deck were flown to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth for follow-on evaluation.

An investigation into the causes of the mishap is ongoing.

© U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan T. Beard

NASA quietly removed the SR-71 #844 from static display at the Armstrong Flight Research Center, where it sat since the type’s last flight in 1999, just as NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is promising a new generation of high-speed X-planes.

An SR-71 Blackbird has disappeared from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The aircraft, NASA tail number 844, had been sitting on display outside the Armstrong facility for years since the last flight on Oct. 9, 1999.

Aviation Week and The War Zone were the first to report about the disappearance. According to Aviation Week’s Defense Editor Steve Trimble, commercial satellite imagery indicates that the Blackbird was no longer at its usual location since at least May 17, 2026.

Aviation Week subsequently reported that the aircraft was moved into a hangar earlier this year for an inspection. Sources familiar with the matter indicated that NASA had been exploring whether the SR-71 could potentially return to flight, although the agency said they have no additional information to share regarding the aircraft when contacted by The War Zone.

However, the timing is particularly intriguing. In fact, only few days before, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman presented an image of a mysterious high-speed aircraft during the All-In Summit in Los Angeles. The slide, titled “Rebuilding our X-plane portfolio,” showed an aircraft emerging from clouds whose silhouette immediately recalled the iconic Blackbird.

Asked whether the aircraft shown was an SR-71, Isaacman cryptically replied: “You sure that’s a Blackbird?” He did not clarify what the aircraft actually was. Instead, he said that NASA was “getting back in the business of flying high and fast again.”

However, information reported by Aviation Week in its ‘Check Six’ podcast suggests that there may be more behind the movement of SR-71 #844 than a routine change in display location.

The SR-71 that disappeared

The SR-71 #844 is not any Blackbird, as it was the final SR-71 to be produced and the last one to fly. The aircraft started its career with the U.S. Air Force, which assigned it the serial number 64-17980.

In 1990, this SR-71 was loaned to NASA by the U.S. Air Force. Throughout the 1990s, it was one of the Blackbirds operated by NASA as a high-speed and high-altitude research platform.

NASA’s final SR-71 flight took place on Oct. 9, 1999. Following the end of its flying career, 844 remained at what was then Dryden Flight Research Center, now Armstrong, where it eventually became part of the facility’s outdoor display.

Aviation Week Defense Editor Steve Trimble reported that sources indicated that 844 had been moved into a hangar for an inspection. Obviously, that alone would not establish that NASA is preparing the Blackbird to fly again as static display aircraft can require inspection, maintenance and preservation work after years in the open.

However, there is a significant detail which might change the story. In fact, according to Trimble’s reporting, NASA also contacted former members of the SR-71 program to determine whether they would be interested to participate in a potential return-to-flight effort.

That information has not been confirmed by NASA. If the reporting is accurate, any such effort has evidently not been publicly acknowledged; Trimble noted that he could find no identifiable funding line associated with it in available budget documents.

If NASA really were considering returning an SR-71 to flight, #844 has several characteristics that would make it an obvious candidate. As mentioned earlier, it was the last SR-71 built and also the last one to fly, and the Mojave Desert – where the Armstrong Flight Research Center is located – offers an environment which is highly favorable for long-term preservation.

Additionally, #844 benefited from upgrades introduced late in the Blackbird’s operational career, including the Digital Automatic Flight and Inlet Control System (DAFICS), which integrated flight and inlet controls and made the violent inlet ‘unstarts’ that had characterized earlier SR-71 operations increasingly rare.

Going higher and faster

The timing of the aircraft’s disappearance becomes even more interesting when considered alongside Isaacman’s recent comments. As we recently reported here at The Aviationist, during his September 2026 All-In Summit presentation, the NASA administrator described the agency’s intention to rebuild its X-plane portfolio.

The X-59 QueSST, currently NASA’s most visible experimental aircraft program, is focused on demonstrating quieter supersonic flight. Isaacman made clear that he sees the aircraft as only the beginning of a broader effort.

At EAA AirVenture in July, Isaacman had already spoken about the SR-71 in the context of NASA’s historical X-plane portfolio. When asked about plans for a new crewed hypersonic aircraft or an SR-71 successor, Isaacman said the area was of significant developmental interest.

At another AirVenture panel, Isaacman was asked which aircraft he would like to fly but had never flown. His immediate answer was the SR-71 Blackbird. This led the moderator to ask whether he had the authority to bring one back, with Isaacman replying: “That’s classified.”

Obviously, none of those comments constitutes confirmation that NASA is restoring the SR-71 to fly again. However, they provide an intriguing backdrop to what is otherwise an unexplained move.

Why would NASA want an SR-71 again?

What makes the SR-71 interesting enough to NASA for a potential return to flight is its flight envelope. In fact, the SR-71 was designed to cruise at around Mach 3.2 and at altitudes approaching 85,000 feet.

Its ability to operate at extreme speed and altitude made it an unusually useful research platform, and NASA used its Blackbirds for work involving aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, thermal protection materials, high-speed instrumentation, atmospheric research and sonic booms. None of the aircraft currently used by NASA can reproduce this combination of capabilities.

NASA operated SR-71s during the 1990s specifically because their performance opened research opportunities unavailable to conventional aircraft. Considering the ongoing research in the hypersonic flight regime, the Blackbird could potentially provide a unique bridge between conventional supersonic flight testing and the much more challenging regimes associated with hypersonic speeds.

The SR-71 could also conceivably serve as an airborne test or launch platform for experimental high-speed vehicles. There is historical precedent within the Blackbird family: the M-21, a modified A-12, was developed to air-launch the D-21 high-speed reconnaissance drone. Any comparable use of an SR-71 today, however, would require an entirely new integration effort.

However, NASA may not necessarily want an original SR-71 to become a conventional flying aircraft again. Instead, the agency could use the aircraft as a technological and aerodynamic reference for a new X-plane.

Isaacman’s comments suggest that NASA is interested in radical airframe and propulsion designs rather than simply incremental improvements to existing systems. A new aircraft could retain some of the fundamental aerodynamic principles that made the Blackbird successful while taking advantage of six decades of advances in materials, manufacturing, avionics, flight controls and propulsion.

Bringing an SR-71 back would be an enormous undertaking

Returning an SR-71 to flight status is easier said than done. Because of its extreme operating environment and unique characteristics, the maintenance of the Blackbird required a substantial effort, with a dedicated support infrastructure that however disappeared after the fleet’s retirement.

The Pratt & Whitney J58 engines were designed around the aircraft’s unique operating requirements and used JP-7 fuel, a fuel with a high flash point and high thermal stability specifically produced for the SR-71. The last stocks of JP-7, which is no longer in regular production, were burned in 2002, although ten years later an unspecified quantity of JP-7 was produced again for the X-51 Waverider unmanned ramjet-powered hypersonic demonstrator.

Aviation Week also noted the economic challenge to return the SR-71 to flight. About two years after the final flight, the possibility of reactivating an SR-71 for intelligence missions was examined, with estimates reportedly reaching $40–45 million. Almost 27 after the final flight, the challenge would be considerably greater.

Could the SR-71 follow the F-117’s example?

While it remains unclear whether an SR-71 will ever return to flight, there is already a remarkable precedent for a supposedly retired aircraft continuing to play an important role years after leaving operational service: the F-117 Nighthawk.

The F-117 was officially retired in 2008, with the remaining aircraft transferred to the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. Following retirement, the remaining aircraft were placed in Type 1000 recallable storage at Tonopah, preserving them in a condition that initially allowed for possible return to service. That requirement was eventually repealed in 2016, allowing the Air Force to begin divesting portions of the fleet.

Yet retirement did not mean the end of the Nighthawk’s flying career. Nearly two decades later, F-117s continue to fly regularly, supporting training as low-observable adversary aircraft and cruise-missile surrogates, while also being used for research, development, test and evaluation activities that may include support for next-generation programs. The Air Force has even taken steps to keep the type viable for years to come, including work associated with aerial refueling certification with the KC-46A.

In that respect, the F-117 offers an interesting parallel to what could potentially happen with the Blackbird.

Both aircraft emerged from extraordinarily advanced engineering programs and possess characteristics that remained relevant, or potentially useful, decades after they were designed. An SR-71 returning to the air would therefore not necessarily imply a return to its former reconnaissance mission. Like the F-117, it could instead serve as a unique test, research or development asset, exploiting capabilities that remain difficult to reproduce even decades after the aircraft was designed. A testament to another design that was remarkably far ahead of its time.

 

© NASA/Lori Losey

The test validated the MV-22B’s as an alternative platform to the P-3C Orion for the Navy’s Sonobuoy Quality Assurance Program, while laying the groundwork for expanded tactical employment of the Osprey.

Building upon an ongoing effort to repurpose the MV-22B Osprey for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) by rapidly distributing sonobuoys over water, the U.S. Navy has conducted its first production lot acceptance test of new sonobuoys using the tilt-rotor aircraft. The Sonobuoy Quality Assurance Program (SQAP) test took place on Aug. 19, 2026, off the coast of San Clemente Island, California, and was announced by the Anti-Submarine Warfare Systems Program Office (PMA-264) on Sep. 22, 2026.

The demonstration marked a departure from the use of the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30’s (VX-30) P-3C Orions, with the Osprey being used both as a substitute SQAP platform and helping to reduce the testing backlog. The test validated “the tiltrotor aircraft as an alternative platform for the Navy’s SQAP, boosting operational readiness and laying the groundwork for expanded tactical employment across the fleet,” the PMA-264 said in the release.

Images from the Aug. 19 test, posted on the DVIDS network on Sept. 2, showed sonobuoys being loaded onto a MV-22B from the Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1) at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, California.

Consistent with the Osprey’s emerging ASW role

Both the caption and the release mentioned that the demonstration tested hand-launching sonobuoys by opening the Osprey’s rear ramp. The release also provided details about the mechanics of that manual method and how the crew adopted suitable piloting procedures and flight profiles.     

It must be noted that sonobuoys have already been hand-launched from the MV-22B Osprey during tests that took place last year, as The Aviationist had reported. Ospreys from the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 (VMM-162) and VMM-265 had seen crews release A-size sonobuoys during the Atlantic Alliance 2025 exercise in July and a dedicated ASW test with crewed P-8A Poseidon and MH-60R Seahawks in August. 

The significance of the August 2026 event, therefore, was not the first deployment of sonobuoys from an Osprey, but the first time the aircraft was used for the Navy’s SQAP lot acceptance testing. In its press release, PMA-264 said the first SQAP using the Osprey also supports the broader effort to utilize the tiltrotor’s speed for the ASW mission by generating performance data and laying down varied operational procedures.

“In addition to meeting test criteria, the mission also provided operational experience that will help VMX-1 refine tactics, techniques, and procedures for future tiltrotor anti-submarine warfare support,” said the press release. “PMA-264 and PMA-275 will analyze acoustic and deployment data from the flights to refine procedures for future quality assurance missions and joint fleet operations.”

First Sonobuoy Lot Acceptance test using the Osprey

PMA-264 said that the SQAP involves subjecting “random production samples to over-water testing to evaluate reliability and acoustic performance before delivering vendor inventory to operational squadrons.” PMA-264 Program Manager Capt. Greg Hinkle explained the goal is to ensure that “the sonobuoys delivered to the fleet perform exactly as expected.”

The U.S. Navy operates a range of sonobuoys, some of which are: the AN/SSQ-125 Multi-Static Active Coherent (MAC) sonobuoys; the AN/SSQ-36 Bathythermal sonobuoys; the passive AN/SSQ-53G Directional Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR) sonobuoys; and the active AN/SSQ-62F Directional Command Activated Sonobuoy System (DICASS). Images show SSQ-53H written on the sonobuoys being loaded onto the Marine Osprey. 

Historically, the SQAP has relied on VX-30’s P-3C Orions, which “performs quality assurance drops using automated launchers.” The August test “proved the MV-22B Osprey can serve as a dependable substitute if primary test platforms are unavailable, helping prevent testing backlogs and keeping delivery schedules on track.”

Hinkle said utilizing the MV-22 for a role like conducting sonobuoy acceptance trials helps “reinforce our supply chain and ensures frontline aircrews have the mission-ready stores they need to detect and track undersea threats.”

The official information does not specify how many trials took place and how many Ospreys were employed, but the framing suggests a single event and Osprey may have been used. One image appears to show a batch of 15 sonobuoys prepared to be loaded on the MV-22B through the rear ramp.

Hand-launching sonobuoys

Unlike the P-3, which uses automated launch containers triggered from the cockpit, the MV-22B required aircrew to manually launch the buoys from the open rear cargo ramp. Crew chiefs removed container caps and inverted launch tubes to release the sonobuoys into the slipstream.

Because manual sonobuoy deployments are slower – creating longer gaps between drops compared to automated launchers – VMX-1 aircrew “adjusted by reducing flight speed, matching the precise target pattern and spacing needed for acoustic testing,” the release said.

The hand-launch process also requires tight coordination between the pilots and crew chiefs. “The pilot holds steady flight parameters while the co-pilot manages navigation, timing, and communications, queuing crew chiefs in the cargo bay to program and release the buoys on schedule,” the release explained.

For the first time @USMC #MV22B‘s deploy a screen of SSQ-53G sonobuoys. MAG-39 has been working with @USNavy HSM Weapons School Pacific to develop tactics emphasizing the speed, range, and expeditionary nature of MV-22’s to support the Navy in their anti-submarine warfare mission pic.twitter.com/Yfk9YMiD5n

— 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (@3rdmaw) February 25, 2022

 

V-22 pilot and VMX-1 advanced projects lead Lt. Col. Brandon Pope said the event served as “an invaluable opportunity for our pilots and crew chiefs to build proficiency” for the intricate synergy between the load crew and the pilots during cargo release from the rear ramp. 

Pope added: “Hand-launching from an open ramp requires split-second coordination; the crew must be deliberate with timing, airspeed control, and internal communication. This test demonstrated how the V-22’s range, speed, and versatility can support broader maritime domain awareness and distributed fleet operations.”

© U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alexander Vaughn

After U.S. forces at RAF Fairford rapidly stepped up security precautions yesterday, police have now confirmed that arrests have been made and residents evacuated in the adjacent village of Whelford as explosive ordnance disposal teams investigate a number of vehicles. 

Following widespread reports on Sep. 26, 2026 regarding security levels at RAF Fairford – with spotters reporting alerts audible over the base’s Giant Voice tannoy system, aircraft being dispersed across the airfield, crash gates being blocked and reinforced, and an apparent rise in security level to FPCON Delta – we now have an indication as to the kind of imminent threat the base might have been preparing for. 

BREAKING: Major incident declared and number of properties evacuated in Gloucestershire after men arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act.https://t.co/bvcwRBh8HP pic.twitter.com/lpBj6ePvEw

— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 27, 2026

Whelford, a small village just outside RAF Fairford’s security fencing, has seen a large police presence descend and vehicles are investigated by British Army explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams. As a precaution, many local residents have been evacuated from their homes to a temporary emergency shelter established at a nearby leisure centre. 

#UKPolice National Police Air Service

Airbus EC-135 1x
#406176 G-HEOI – POLICE 01

Another Police helicopter is currently circling Whelford Village near RAF Fairford. The last helicopter departed around 2am. https://t.co/yyMwOjdEQO pic.twitter.com/Y3Hke9Yqc7

— Armchair Admiral (@ArmchairAdml) September 27, 2026

Gloucestershire Police, in an official statement, said: “A number of properties are currently being evacuated in the Whelford area following the declaration of a major incident. It follows the arrest of several men on suspicion of offences under the explosives act.”

Tractors have been seen blocking the entrances to the RAF base in Fairford. pic.twitter.com/flCTjcPMwH

— Lydia (@LydiaB_reports) September 27, 2026

Exclusive footage from Whelford shows a Oshkosh JLTV armored vehicle patrolling the perimeter of RAF Fairford, UK.

Helicopters continue to fly over the airbase, while all roads leading to it are currently closed and guarded by police. pic.twitter.com/I5NFzmXnsn

— MoloMonitor (@MoloWarMonitor) September 27, 2026

“A cordon is currently in place but we’d like to reassure people that we believe this incident is contained,” the force added.

As well as Fairford, other U.S. bases in the UK – including RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall – have stepped up their own security. Yesterday, unusually, an air ambulance was even denied a requested transit across Mildenhall’s military air traffic zone (MATZ). 

HELIMED 85, an Air Ambulance operated by East Anglian Air Ambulance, was denied transit through the Mildenhall MATZ this evening.

These helicopters frequently transit through the airspace. https://t.co/pFUzGNCStz pic.twitter.com/f0uXTr7lWE

— Armchair Admiral (@ArmchairAdml) September 26, 2026

While U.S. military force protection condition (FPCON) levels are not directly advertised to the public, clues to them being changed can be seen from outside the fence, and occasionally the boards advising arriving personnel of the current FPCON level can be seen at entry/exit gates. 

It is still unconfirmed, though very likely, that Fairford went to FPCON Delta – the highest level possible – while other bases like Lakenheath went to FPCON Charlie.

Another user on Facebook posts:

‘Can confirm base has apparently declared FPCON Delta, meaning highest threat level, civilians are told to stay clear of the base perimeter’ https://t.co/OAACqHD7CD

— Christopher Sharp (@ChrisUKSharp) September 26, 2026

FPCON Delta is reserved for when an attack is deemed imminent or has just occurred. Entry to the base becomes limited to strictly essential personnel only, with ID and vehicle checks strictly enforced, while on the base personnel are effectively locked down to their specific place of work. FPCON Delta can sometimes be accompanied by an order to shelter in place. 

Covering the situation last night, you could tell people were on edge.

Spotters were spooked upon hearing about the FPCON Delta.

I called the UK MOD for comment, they declined to issue the comment.

But the USAF did provide a statement – in essence they didn’t deny the reports… https://t.co/C6xXLsF6Fm

— Christopher Sharp (@ChrisUKSharp) September 27, 2026

Though the investigation has only just begun, eyes will almost certainly first turn towards Iran, who said any base used to support Operation Epic Fury is seen as a valid target, including those in Europe. Fairford is still home to a forward deployed contingent of B-1B Lancer strategic bombers which, along with B-52 Stratofortresses, flew daily missions from the Gloucestershire airfield during the height of the U.S.-Iran War. 

Munitions, including cruise missiles, could be seen being loaded onto the aircraft before departure to the south or southwest. They would then return after almost a full day in the sky. 

Iranian agents are widely known to operate quite extensively on foreign soil, and previous arrests have been made in the UK of Iranian-linked individuals under the National Security Act. Other arrests have been made of Iranian nationals under the Terrorism Act. 

In many cases, agents are thought to have arrived in their assigned countries through legal means – under work or student visas – in order to attract as little attention as possible. Homegrown agents with national citizenship can also be recruited, allowing them to operate even further below ‘radar’. 

Earlier this month, we reported on a security alert at RAF Fairford following the surprise landing of a civilian business jet, though in that case all details were relatively quickly resolved and the landing established as accidental. 

Update: Sept. 27, 1230 UTC (1330 local time)

Live camera feeds from news helicopters have documented activity by military EOD robots inspecting three vans in Whelford. One of these vans is marked with what is apparently fake branding for a fuel delivery company, displaying a mobile phone number which is not publicly linked to any such company. 

This appears to be an L3Harris T7 explosive ordnance disposal robot. The max lifting capacity is 250lbs near the chassis with it’s single arm, and 60lbs at full extension.

It seems unlikely that the robot would be able to manipulate full barrels from the back of the van onto the… https://t.co/LzesC0GRRM

— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) September 27, 2026

Video of British military EOD robots defusing suspected bomb vans near RAF Fairford courtesy of SkyNews. pic.twitter.com/PbrrVH6V1x

— WarMonitor (@WarMonitor3) September 27, 2026

An image is also circulating purporting to show the arrest of several men by armed police (regular police in the UK are not routinely armed) early in the morning in Whelford. They appear shirtless, likely having been made to undress as a precaution against suicide vests. 

PICTURED: The four men arrested over the major incident near RAF Fairford pic.twitter.com/tUAlK2KGyq

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) September 27, 2026

Gloucestershire Police were due to deliver a press briefing before 1300 local time, but at the time of writing this has been delayed with no details as to when it will now happen. 

Update: Sept. 27, 1300 UTC (1400 local time)

Gloucestershire Police’s short press briefing began shortly before 1400 local time, in which they confirmed five arrests had been made following an emergency call placed at 0045 regarding three suspicious vehicles near RAF Fairford. 

Around 85 households have been evacuated inside the 400 metre cordon. 

“Work to establish the full nature of this incident is ongoing,” a police spokesperson said. “We are in constant communication with our partners both locally and nationally, in particular we are working closely with our partners in counter-terrorism policing.”

The BBC live shot shows the proximity of the vans (red circle) to the base.

A stone’s throw. https://t.co/S2fbgSCgQZ pic.twitter.com/TcMpR8nsTV

— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) September 27, 2026

Update: Sept. 27, 1315 UTC (1415 local time)

The five men have now been rearrested by counter-terrorism police on suspicion of the preparation of an act of terrorism. This rearrest (a formal measure – they had not been released from custody) means the expanded allowances of the Terrorism Act may now be applied, and the men are able to be detained for a longer period without being charged. 

Confirmed: Armed officers arrested five men in the Whelford area on suspicion of committing offences under the Explosives Act. They were further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act.

— Michael Knowles (@Express_Knowles) September 27, 2026

Under the Terrorism Act, suspects can be detained for up to 14 days without formally being charged with an offence. Usually detention without charge is limited to 24 hours, with extensions up to 96 hours allowed with judicial approval.

Update: Sept. 27, 1400 UTC (1500 local time)

A NOTAM has now been issued restricting airspace within a 4 nautical mile radius around the incident site to approved traffic only. News helicopters are now unable to gain a view of the scene.

The NOTAM reads: 

RESTRICTED AREA (TEMPORARY) INSTALLED (WHELFORD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE) WI 4NM RADIUS OF PSN 514120N 0014527W. APPLIES TO ALL ACFT INCLUDING ANY SMALL BALLOON, ANY KITE, ANY UAS AND ANY PARACHUTE INCLUDING A PARASCENDING PARACHUTE OR PARAMOTOR. PILOTS ARE FORBIDDEN TO FLY WITHIN THE DESIGNATED AREA WITHOUT THE PERMISSION EMERGENCY CONTROLLING AUTHORITY GLOUCESTERSHIRE POLICE DRONE TEAM, CTC TEL 07966 516802. ATC UNITS CLOSE TO THE AREA ARE REQUESTED TO ADVISE AIRCRAFT ON THEIR FREQUENCIES OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS NOTAM. RESTRICTION OF FLYING REGULATIONS MADE UNDER ARTICLE 239 OF THE AIR NAV ORDER 2016.

It applies up to an altitude of 9,500 feet, and has a notional end date of Oct. 5 – though it could be cancelled before this date.

Update: Sept. 27, 1530 UTC (1630 local time)

Both UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and U.S. President Donald Trump have commented on the unfolding events. Burnham, who wrote his statement on social media, said: “I know today’s incident near RAF Fairford will be deeply concerning for local residents and for many people following developments across the country. My thanks go to Gloucestershire Police, Counter Terrorism Policing, our Armed Forces and all those working to keep the public safe.”

I know today’s incident near RAF Fairford will be deeply concerning for local residents and for many people following developments across the country.

My thanks go to Gloucestershire Police, Counter Terrorism Policing, our Armed Forces and all those working to keep the public…

— Andy Burnham (@andyburnham) September 27, 2026

“I am especially grateful to those residents who have been asked to leave their homes while precautionary checks are carried out. The safety and security of the public is our first priority, and I want people to know that we will always take every step necessary to protect our communities and keep our country safe. The investigation remains ongoing, and I would urge people not to speculate while the authorities establish the full facts,” he added.

This is the first major security incident faced by Burnham’s government after he succeeded Keir Starmer as Prime Minister in July.

BREAKING: Donald Trump responds to the suspected bomb plot at RAF Fairford

“Working with Britain, it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort, and working with the British worked out great and we got them” pic.twitter.com/PlChiTQlSx

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) September 27, 2026

President Trump, who spoke informally to reporters after stepping down from Air Force One (notably a VC-25A) in Chicago, said: “Working with Britain, it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort [sic], and working with the British worked out great and we got them.”

This article concerns a developing story, and may be updated if and when new information becomes available.

© Main image: Ian Capper/CC BY-SA 2.0. Inset left: U.S. Air Force. Inset right: Google Maps, annotated by The Aviationist.