Always on Target
Storm Austen hit Western European air travel on 23 October, causing cancellations in the Channel Islands, France and the Netherlands and diverting Paris- and Brussels-bound flights to other airports, with impact varying by airport.
RAF Typhoons escorted French Air and Space Force Rafales over the Mediterranean as the French jets flew a simulated nuclear strike mission, highlighting close UK-French cooperation in deterrence operations.
Investigators found that a hard landing that damaged a Cessna 172 resulted from the pilot's faulty flare and control inputs. The flight instructor's slow intervention was cited as a contributing factor.
The UK and France are jointly planning a multinational military operation to protect commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. Department of War and Lockheed Martin have agreed on a 10-year framework covering 850 F-35s. Pending Congressional approval, the deal aims to give industry long-term stability in production and supply chains and to help raise fleet availability.
Japan's Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighters four days running after Chinese and Russian military intelligence aircraft flew toward Japan. Two Chinese Y-9s transited the Okinawa–Miyako-jima gap into the Pacific on Oct. 20 and 21.
Starting Oct. 26, Kadena Air Base in Okinawa will bar all BYD-made vehicles, including private and contractor cars, over concerns that the Chinese EVs could expose sensitive military data.
Propulsion faults left the Royal Navy ice patrol ship HMS Protector unable to sail from Teesside to Devonport, so she was towed. Engineers will now assess the vessel and decide on next steps.
A McKinsey study says demand for business aviation is outrunning available aircraft. Operators are struggling with tight supply, changing customer expectations and difficulty scaling, with implications for the market heading into 2027.
Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told lawmakers the 2024 rules on AI use by the Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces need revisiting, arguing the technology is advancing faster than the current framework can handle.
Chinese state media say the carrier Liaoning has finished its second far-seas training deployment to the Western Pacific this year. CCTV reviewed the ship's ten-year progression since its first such voyage in 2016, from training platform to operational warship.
China's 48th naval escort task force has returned to Qingdao after 378 days on anti-piracy duty in the Gulf of Aden and off Somalia. According to the Ministry of National Defense, it is the longest such deployment in the PLA Navy's history.
In the TURNAs-2026 unmanned maritime systems exercise in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Naval Forces used HAVELSAN's Barkan unmanned ground vehicle. It supported amphibious raid and urban combat training and also carried out simulated casualty evacuation.
UK defence minister Luke Pollard met Germany's State Secretary for Armament and Innovation at Lancaster House. They reviewed the countries' joint Deep Precision Strike programme and broader defence-industrial cooperation.
Soldiers of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment used AZAK's S26 unmanned ground vehicle to evacuate a simulated casualty during platoon training at Grafenwoehr on Oct. 21. It was the system's first field use by these US Army units in Germany.
Turkish Aerospace says its Aksungur drone carried out an anti-submarine mission using Aselsan's aselBUOY 100P sonobuoy system during the Turkish Navy's TURNAs-2026 unmanned maritime exercise, adding a new capability to the UAV.
Allegiant has started exercising options for six more Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, building on the 22 high-density MAX 8s it has taken on over roughly the past two years.
UK Defence Innovation has launched a £2.45 million Tactical Power Challenge. It wants new solutions for producing, storing, distributing and managing electrical power for British Army units in the field.
Britain says Russia is waging a campaign of sabotage and hybrid attacks across Europe. The UK is working with the US to deter and counter activity it sees as a threat to Euro-Atlantic security.
UK ministers no longer commit to a fitting date for the DragonFire laser weapon on Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers. The 2027 target had been cited three times, but a recent answer pointed back to an earlier reply that gave no date.
Two Royal Navy patrol vessels completed a ten-day South China Sea exercise with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore despite Chinese warnings. The drills included fifth-generation fighter jets, a Singaporean submarine and New Zealand boarding teams.
The NTSB found that a Cirrus SR20 accident resulted from the pilot losing control while recovering from a bounced landing. The aircraft sank just before the flare at idle power, bounced, and the pilot then applied full throttle.
The FAA has signed the certification documents for the Boeing 737-10, clearing the last regulatory step for the largest 737 MAX variant. The bulletin also covers a Perseverance record, ONEflight lawsuits, a drone casualty evacuation and business jet demand forecasts.
The NTSB's final report on a Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey accident blames the pilot's loss of directional control on takeoff. A gust raised the upwind wing and nose gear, and the aircraft lifted off early and rolled into a left bank.
The Royal Navy has withdrawn 33 warships from operational service since 2010. Eight were sold, fifteen were recycled and ten are still awaiting disposal.
techUK chief executive Julian David told parliamentarians that most UK defence technology companies see their market shrinking, in evidence on what the Defence Investment Plan means for British industry.
During Spain's ATLAS 26 counter-drone exercise at the Médano del Loro range in Huelva, EM&E Group demonstrated armored-vehicle remote weapon stations and a jamming-capable ground robot that detected and downed multiple drones.
Finland received its second delivery of F-35A fighters on Oct. 23, when jets JF-509 and JF-511 landed at the Lapland Air Wing in Rovaniemi. The country now has four F-35s on home soil, according to the Finnish Defence Forces.
A supplier dispute has reportedly stopped Boeing's 777F production for close to two months. The freighter has delivered 21 units so far this year and was recently cleared by the FAA to stay in production until 2030.
DJI has issued a new firmware release for its Avata FPV drone. The published release notes point to modest changes rather than major new features.