Friday, October 9, 2026
Finland’s first F-35s arrive home with full fleet expected by 2030
Aviation

Finland’s first F-35s arrive home with full fleet expected by 2030

Helsinki plans to field 64 of the single-engined strike fighters. Finland has brought home its first batch of US-made Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters. Two of the conventional take-off and landing variant F-35As landed at Rovaniemi airport on 18 September. The site is home to the Finnish air force’s Lapland Air Wing, which currently operates…

US Air Force retires its last EC-130H
Aviation

US Air Force retires its last EC-130H

The retirement formalises the transition to the new EA-37B jet, which has assumed the Compass Call name. A formal retirement ceremony was held at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona on 18 September to honour the last EC-130H Compass Call, tail 1590, as it conducted its final operational taxi. Taking its first flight in 1981, the Lockheed…

China’s J-50/XDS may be testing new radar

Fighter prototype underlines China’s aggressive push for new capabilities.  Recent images from China indicate that flight testing continues with a secretive, tailless fighter developed by AVIC Shenyang. Tentatively designated J-50/XDS, the new images, from Chinese social media, show the twin-engined jet with an updated radome, that could suggest that the aircraft has been fitted with…

Aeroflot Group signs deal for 90 MC-21-310s

Agreement will take total number of twinjets for Russian flag operator into triple figures. Russian operator Aeroflot Group has signed for 90 Yakovlev MC-21-310s, with deliveries set to commence in 2029. The twinjets will be powered by Aviadvigatel PD-14 engines. Aeroflot signed the agreement in Moscow on 18 September, in the presence of figures including…

Hubbard now interim NBAA leader as CEO Bolen seeks medical treatment
Aviation

Hubbard now interim NBAA leader as CEO Bolen seeks medical treatment

Hubbard is now interim chief operating officer, with day-to-day oversight responsibility. Longtime National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) executive Dan Hubbard has become the group’s interim leader while chief executive Ed Bolen steps aside for cancer treatment. The association disclosed the leadership shift on 18 September, one month before the start of its annual NBAA Business…