Afterburner - The Aviation Magazine

9 July 2026

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 [...]
PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Short SC.7 Skyvan

Short SC.7 Skyvan (c/n SH.1954, G-BEOL, formerly JA8803 of the Japan Maritime Safety Agency), taxiing after landing at Kleine-Brogel Air Base, September 2015. The story that led to the development of the Short SC.7 Skyvan, commonly nicknamed the “Flying Shoebox”, [...]
DREAMERS AND DOERS

The world-first wingsuit formation flight over Mont Blanc

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. The project, led by Fred [...]
AVIATION HISTORY

3 July 1937 – first flight of Dornier Do 24

On 3 July 1937, the prototype of the German flying boat, the Dornier Do 24, successfully performed its maiden flight. In August 1934, Reichsluftfahrtministerium (the German Reich Ministry of Aviation – RLM) issued a requirement for a long-range, ocean-going reconnaissance [...]
MILITARY AVIATION

No-fly means no-fly – G7 Summit sees first-ever paraglider interception

Between 15 and 17 June 2026, the 52nd annual G7 Summit took place in Évian-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, France. As always, the event required extensive security measures on the ground and in the air. The French and Swiss authorities imposed week-long restrictions, [...]

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