Afterburner - The Aviation Magazine

13 July 2026

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 [...]
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 [...]

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