The Aviationist
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U.S. Air Force Plans to Deploy Cruise Missiles from Cargo Aircraft by 2027
The Rapid Dragon program, now called Dragon Cart, transitioned to a Program of Record and will see cargo aircraft able to deploy palletized cruise missiles by 2027. The U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Dragon program is now an official Program of Record (PoR), the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) announced on Apr. 30, 2026. […] -
Stealing a MiG-29 was a Piece of Cake – Sort of. Alexander Zuyev’s Great Escape – Part 2
In the second part of this story, we cover the day Soviet Air Force Captain Alexander M. Zuyev defected in a MiG-29 fighter after executing a brilliant and bold plan in 1989, landing at a coastal airport in Turkey. This article is the second of a two-part story covering the prepararations and then the defection […] -
Russian Victory Day Parade Takes Bizarre Turn with CGI Flyover
During this year’s Victory Day parade, Russian media showed a CGI flyover by the Russian Knights and Swifts aerobatic teams, followed by real images of Su-25s painting the Russian flag in the sky. Russia’s annual Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square took an unusual turn this year when state media broadcasts appeared to replace […] -
RAF Airdrop Response to Suspected Hantavirus Case on Remote Island
A Royal Air Force Airbus A400M has been used to parachute British Army medical personnel and supplies to Tristan da Cunha, a remote South Atlantic territory with no airstrip, after a suspected case of Hantavirus on the island. Accessible only by sea, Tristan da Cunha is an island in the South Atlantic administered as part […] -
U.S. F-16 Sports AGM-88 HARM Kill Marking in New Photo
A small silhouette of a High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile can be seen painted below the cockpit in this new photo released by CENTCOM, indicating that the jet was likely responsible for destroying an Iranian air defence site. The small but clear marking almost certainly denotes a direct hit against an Iranian air defence radar site or […]