Afterburner - The Aviation Magazine

15 July 2026

MILITARY AVIATION

On the verge of its diamond jubilee – Aérospatiale Gazelle

Aérospatiale Gazelle, an icon of the French helicopter industry from the Cold War era, is steadily approaching its diamond jubilee. In March 2027, this well-known rotorcraft will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its maiden flight and, remarkably, remains in service [...]
PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Bölkow Bo 207

Bölkow Bo 207 (c/n 272, D-EHKY), a visitor to Plasy airfield during the 2024 edition of Den ve vzduchu air show, Plasy, April 2024. Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau GmbH (Klemm Light Aircraft Company Ltd.) was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1926 [...]
MILITARY AVIATION

Four NATO nations sign LOI to acquire MQ-4C Triton ISR UAVs

On Tuesday, 7 July 2026, during the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum held in Ankara, Türkiye, four countries — Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway — signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) announcing their intention to procure up to five Northrop [...]
AVIATION HISTORY

10 July 1919 – British airship R.34 takes off for the return transatlantic flight

On 10 July 1919, the British rigid airship R.34 set out on its return journey to England. Having flown for 75 hours, it reached RNAS Pulham station on 13 July. This made the R.34 the first aircraft to complete a two-way [...]
MILITARY AVIATION

NATO selects Saab GlobalEye as future AEW&C platform

At the NATO summit held in Ankara, Turkey, on 7–8 July 2026, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that the Alliance would begin formal negotiations with Saab regarding the potential purchase of up to ten GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and [...]

The world-first wingsuit formation flight over Mont Blanc

DREAMERS AND DOERS

5 July 2026

On 25 June 2026, Red Bull issued a press release announcing that a group of eight of the world’s best wingsuit pilots had completed the longest terrain formation flight ever, launching from above Mont Blanc. [...]

From active duty to history – a short review of military aircraft retirements in 2025

FEATURED

14 January 2026

The year 2025 marked aviation history with several notable farewells to iconic military aircraft. These included both well-known workhorses from the Cold War era and relatively newer designs that proved ineffective in the modern combat [...]

DREAMERS AND DOERS