Royal Air Force

From Cpl Ashley Keates, 3rd Place in Photographer of the Year. The Red Arrows pull up and loop over the top in Short Diamond formation just before the Spaghetti Break over their home base of RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. Cpl Ashley Keates, Circus 10 flew with Red 9, Flt Lt Dan Lowes to capture the flypasts.

Aircraft

2019 Royal Air Force Photographic Competition winners

The winners of the 2019 Royal Air Force Photographic Competition offer a peek inside the United Kingdom’s aerial armed forces.

The first Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the United Kingdom lifts off from Renton, WA for its inaugural flight

Military

The RAF's new sub-hunter aircraft takes to the air

Boeing announced today that the first of the RAF's new P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft has made its maiden flight in the skies over Renton, Washington at 10:00 am on July 12 for a 90-minute test flight that will be followed by the installation of military systems.

The BriteCloud missile decoy system is being tested on RAF Typhoons

Military

RAF tests BriteCloud missile decoys on Typhoon fighters

The Royal Air Force (RAF) has begun testing the latest version of the BriteCloud missile decoy on its Typhoon fighter aircraft. The disposable soda-can-sized anti-radar electronics packages began testing in April by the RAF’s 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron based at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire.

The Tornado served with the RAF for 40 years

Military

Royal Air Force retires iconic Cold War fighter jets

A Cold War veteran bowed out today as the last eight Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado strike aircraft retired from active service after 40 years. The swept-winged multi-role fighters touched down at RAF Marham in Norfolk, England after flying back from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

An RAF Typhoon equipped with Meteor missiles takes off from RAF Lossiemout

Military

RAF Typhoon fighters carry first Mach-4 Meteor missiles on intercept mission

RAF Typhoon Eurofighters have taken off for the first time on an active mission armed with the latest-generation Meteor air-to-air missiles that are capable of flying at over Mach 4 (2,967 mph, 4,775 km/h).

The SkyGuardian flew for 24 hours and two minutes on its historic transatlantic flight

Drones

SkyGuardian drone completes historic transatlantic flight

A SkyGuardian drone made history today by becoming the first Medium-altitude, Long-endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) to complete a transatlantic flight. The unmanned aircraft touched down at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England after a 24-hour flight from North Dakota.

The MQ-9B will fly from General Atomics' Flight Test and Training Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, UK

Aircraft

SkyGuardian drone to make transatlantic flight

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) is sending an MQ-9B SkyGuardian drone on the first-ever transatlantic flight of a Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) next month.

D-Day beaches recce photos from 2014 and 1944 (Photo: Ministry of Defence)

Military

RAF recreates historic D-Day recon photo

As part of the 70th-anniversary commemoration, RAF Tornado jets from II (Army Co-operation) Squadron (II (AC) Sqn) recreated that historic D-Day recon mission over Normandy, giving us a glimpse of how far aerial reconnaissance has come in three generations.

The Taranis test flight was at an undisclosed location outside the UK

Drones

Details of successful first test flight of Taranis UCAV demonstrator revealed

The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) and BAE Systems this week announced details of last year's first test flight of the Taranis unmanned combat demonstrator aircraft, which BAE bills as the "most advanced aircraft ever built by British engineers."