The Aviationist

1. Spotter Captures F-117’s Return to Area 51

   

   Aviation spotter Michał Rokita captured two F-117s landing at Groom Lake, where the stealth fighters have relocated as Tonopah Test Range Airport undergoes maintenance. Over the last couple of years, we have published a few articles featuring videos by Michał Rokita, an aviation spotter and photographer known for traveling to remote public lands in Nevada […]

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2. MQ-9 and F-16 Crews Work Together in ACE-Focused Project Iron Agility Exercise

   

   Project Iron Agility is a dynamic exercise which sharpens deployment readiness skills through ACE operations with F-16s, MQ-9 Reapers, and integrated logistics support. The third iteration of the Project Iron Agility exercise at Holloman AFB (Air Force Base), New Mexico, saw unique approaches to refine ACE (Agile Combat Employment) capabilities. These include a table top […]

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3. F-22 Raptors Flying with B757 Test Bed Suggest New Upgrades and Sensors are Coming Up Fast

   

   The Boeing 757 FTB is the F-22’s highly modified and instrumented aircraft that tests avionics and systems, saving costs and development timelines. Amid reports of the F-22 Raptor being slated to receive a series of software and hardware upgrades, Edwards AFB, California, released on the DVIDS network  an image on Apr. 25, 2025, showing two […]

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4. U.S. Nuclear Weapons Will Cost Nearly $1 Trillion Over Next Decade

   

   New Congressional Budget Office’s projections show that operation and modernization of America’s nuclear weapons will add up to a cost of $946 billion between 2025 and 2034. According to newly released projections by the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal will cost nearly $1 trillion over next decade. In fact, the projections show […]

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5. Swedish Gripens Intercept Russian Aircraft for the First Time in NATO’s Enhanced Air Policing

   

   The Swedish Gripens conducted their first Alpha Scramble for the NATO Air Policing mission, intercepting a Russian Il-20 Coot over the Baltic Sea. Two Swedish Air Force’s (Flygvapnet) JAS39 Gripen conducted their first interception of a Russian Air Force (RuAF) aircraft as part of the NATO Enhanced Air Policing mission on Apr. 24, 2025. The […]

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