Multi-Role Fighter

Acquisitions

USAF now plans to buy less than 100 F-15EXs

26th March 2024

As part of its FY25 budget request, the USAF has revealed that it now plans to purchase 18 F-15EXs, rather than the 24 Eagle IIs that were initially set to be acquired. This would take the total planned F-15EX procurement from a total of 104 aircraft to just 98

Aircraft Carrier

Carl Vinson completes first Indo-Pacific deployment with Block III Super Hornets

19th March 2024

The US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) – the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 1 (CSG-1) – returned to its homeport at NAS North Island in San Diego, California, on February 23, after completing a four-month deployment to the Western Pacific region and marking the end of the first operational cruise for the service’s new F/A-18E/F Block III Super Hornets

Acquisitions

Singapore to buy eight more Lightning IIs

19th March 2024

Singapore will acquire eight examples of the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL)-configured F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighter to supplement the 12 short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL)-capable F-35Bs it has already purchased

Dassault Mirage 2000-5

Mirage 2000-5F pilots score first post-WW2 aerial victories for France

12th March 2024

Two French Air and Space Force pilots flying Mirage 2000-5F multi-role fighters have scored the first successful aerial victories against enemy aircraft since the end of World War 2, after the two jets engaged in air-to-air combat with Houthi-operated kamikaze drones over the Red Sea on March 9

Deployment

Wisconsin ANG's 'Badger Air Militia' embarks on first F-35A training deployment

5th March 2024

A number of F-35A Lightning IIs and more than 150 airmen from the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s (ANG’s) 115th Fighter Wing (FW) – which is home-based at Truax Field ANGB in Madison – completed the Weapons System Evaluation Program’s (WSEP’s) Exercise Combat Archer at Tyndall AFB, Florida, on February 23

Acquisitions

Hungary orders four more Gripen Cs

5th March 2024

Saab inked a contract with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) covering an order for four more single-seat JAS 39C Gripen multi-role fighters for the Hungarian Air Force (HuAF) on February 23

First Flight

Turkey’s first fifth-gen Kaan fighter takes flight

27th February 2024

Turkey’s first domestically developed manned combat aircraft – which is now dubbed the Kaan (formerly known as the TF-X) – graced the skies for the first time on February 21, when it completed its maiden flight from Akinci Air Base near Ankara

Fighter Pilot

First US fighter ace since Vietnam emerges in Red Sea conflict

20th February 2024

As the skies over the Red Sea grow more volatile in light of recent attacks on international shipping in the region from Houthi-backed militants in Yemen, Capt Earl Ehrhart V – a USMC AV-8B Harrier II pilot – has intercepted and shot down seven confirmed Houthi drones since December 2023, becoming the first American fighter ace since the end of the Vietnam War

Acquisitions

US finally approves sale of F-16 Block 70s to Turkey

16th February 2024

After a two-year delay, Turkey has finally gained approval from the US government to acquire 40 new-build F-16C/D Block 70 Fighting Falcon multi-role fighters and 79 F-16V upgrade kits in a deal worth approximately $23bn

Initial Operational Capability (IOC)

USMC’s first East Coast F-35B unit declared operational

15th February 2024

The USMC formally declared its first East Coast-based F-35B Lightning II squadron operational when Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 542 (VMFA-542) ‘Tigers’ – a component of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) – achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) at MCAS Cherry Point in North Carolina on February 5

Acquisitions

Ethiopia acquires Su-30K fighters and Akinci drones

13th February 2024

The Ethiopian Air Force (EAF) has taken delivery of two Russian-built Su-30K Flanker-F multi-role fighters and an unspecified number of Turkish-made Bayraktar Akinci unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs)

Ali Al Salem Air Base

Italian Tornados relieve Eurofighters on deployment in Kuwait

25th January 2024

The Italian Air Force has deployed an unspecified number of Panavia Tornado IDS ground attack/strike aircraft to Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait as part of its latest Task Group Devil detachment to the Middle East region

Air Policing

Norway deploys F-35As for Air Policing duties in Iceland

24th January 2024

The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) has deployed F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighters from Ørland Main Air Station, Norway, to Keflavik Air Base in Iceland to provide a Quick Reaction Alert capability in support of NATO’s Icelandic Air Policing (IAP) mission

Aircraft Deliveries

RNLAF’s third F-35A unit welcomes first Lightning II

24th January 2024

The first F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighter for the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s (RNLAF’s) No 312 Squadron arrived at Leeuwarden Air Base on January 11

Aircraft Deliveries

Slovak Air Force receives first two F-16 Block 70s in the US

17th January 2024

Lockheed Martin announced on January 10 that it had successfully delivered its first two F-16 Block 70 Fighting Falcon fighters to the Slovak Air Force at its production facility in Greenville, South Carolina

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Multi-Role Fighter

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