Су-35 в первом полете над Жуковским
Sukhoi Su-35-1 prototype '901 Blue' banks over Zhukovsky during its first flight from there on February 18, 2008. An assortment of the airfield’s many stored aircraft and helicopters are visible beneath it.

A US Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin picks up the pilot of downed USAF/Hawaii Air National Guard/154th Wing/199th Fighter Squadron F-15D 78-0562 'HH' after it ditched off Hawaii on February 1, 2008.

USAF/509th BW/393rd BS B-2A Spirit 89-0127 'WM’ Spirit of Kansas on the ramp at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on October 16, 2007, shortly after deploying there with three others for a four-month rotation. All four were scheduled to depart on February 23, but this aircraft crashed on take-off as it was leaving for home.

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)/33 Squadron Boeing 707-338C A20-624 'Richmond Town’, the last of the type in RAAF service, has had this special colour scheme applied to mark its last few months of service. Seen here at RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales, on January 16, 2008, it is due to be officially retired on June 30.

Whilst development continues of the Presidential VH-71, the Lockheed Martin/AgustaWestland HH-71 team has been successfully conducting aerial refuelling trials to demonstrate its suitability for the USAF's contentious combat search and rescue requirement, CSAR-X. RAF AW101 Merlin HC.3 ZJ117, which is also being used for BERP IV rotor blade development, is seen here on February 13, 2008 taking on fuel from Italian Air Force KC-130J tanker MM62176 '46-41', marking the first time a British helicopter has demonstrated an air-to-air refuelling capability. Sorties were flown at 4,000ft and 127kts, with multiple in-flight refuellings completed up to the Merlin HC.3’s maximum flying weight of 34,400lbs.

Two F-16Cs from the Republic of Singapore Air Forces newly re-formed Black Knights display team perform at the show on February 20, 2008. Uniquely, the team previously flew mixed formations with both F-16s and A-4SU Skyhawks, but it has been re-established flying solely the F-16, using six aircraft.

Boeing C-17A Globemaster III ZZ175 (c/n F185, USAF/07-0205), also wearing temporary US civil test registration N9500Z, takes off on its first flight from Long Beach, California, on February 22, 2008. The aircraft, the fifth for the Royal Air Force, was flown to San Antonio, Texas, where final completion, including installation of its defensive aids suite, will be carried out prior to delivery. The aircraft is expected to arrive at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, on April 7 to join the other four C-17As already in service with 99 Squadron. A wing-body join ceremony for the sixth RAF aircraft was also held at Long Beach on February 22 and this example is currently scheduled for delivery to Brize Norton on June 11.

Australian Army CH-47D A15-106 from C Squadron of the 5th Aviation Regiment at Townsville, Queensland, is unloaded from a C-17A at Kandahar, Afghanistan, on February 8, 2008. The helicopter is one of two redeployed to the country for a second tour of duty as part of Operation Slipper, the Australian contribution to coalition operations in Afghanistan. Since their previous deployment, which ended in April 2007, the Chinooks have undergone engine upgrades and deep maintenance. They have also been equipped with an enhanced level of ballistic protection, together with advanced communications equipment.

Artist's impression of a KC-45A refuelling an F-22A Raptor.

Delta Air Lines’ first Boeing 777-232LR, N701DN (c/n 29740), taxies in at Seattle, Washington, after its first flight on February 7, 2008. The aircraft was formally handed over to Delta on February 29 and flown to the airline's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, the same day. This is the first 777-200LR to be delivered to a US carrier and one of eight ordered by Delta.

Boeing 777-306ER PH-BVA (c/n 35671), the first of this variant for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, was handed over on February 13, 2008 and flown to Amsterdam-Schiphol on the same day. The aircraft is one of 15 777-300ERs ordered by KLM.

Former Air Caraibes' Embraer ERJ-145MP F-OIJE (c/n 145-360) seen on the ramp at St Brieuc, France, on February 17, 2008, a few days after being rolled out in the colours of Luanda-based Diexim Expresso. The aircraft had arrived here from Fort de France, French West Indies, on December 7, 2008 for Atlantique Air Industrie (AAI) to carry out pre-delivery maintenance. It is the first of the type for the Angolan operator. The company currently flies four EMB-120 Brasilias, which are also maintained by AAI at its Nantes facility in France.

Italian Army Agusta Bell 205A-1 MM80551 'EI-299' is seen here at Venaria Reale, near Turin, home base of 4 Reggimento/34" Gruppo, after returning from duties with the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) along with three others. The helicopter wears a special scheme to mark the end of the deployment, which will now be taken over by newer Italian helicopters. The Italian Army has been supplying AB205s to support UNIFIL in south Lebanon since 1979.

Pilatus PC-21 9101 (c/n 109), the first of 19 for the Republic of Singapore Air Force, climbs over the Swiss mountains during its second test flight from Stans on January 23, 2008, two days after its maiden flight on January 21.

Three of the RAF's long-grounded Chinook HC.3s seen on March 6, 2006, in a hardened aircraft shelter at the QinetiQ facility at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire. They have been grounded there and hidden from the public gaze for over six years, but are now finally to see daylight again and enter service from 2009.

Former South African Air Force (SAAF) Aerospatiale SA330L ZJ957 (c/n 1474, ex 169/SAAF) departs on January 8, 2008 from the AgustaWestland facility at Yeovil, Somerset, on delivery to RAF Benson, Oxfordshire, following refurbishment and conversion to Puma HC.1 standard. This was the last of four ex-SAAF Pumas to be reworked for the RAF, although another two, ZJ958 (c/n 1420, ex 173/SAAF) and ZJ959 (c/n 1378, ex 184/SAAF) remain stored at the Defence Storage and Distribution Centre at Llangennech in Wales. These are being held for possible future conversion, although as Llangennech is scheduled to be closed down this year, they are likely to move elsewhere.

Avianca Airbus A320-214 F-WWBZ (c/n 3408, to be HK4549) undertakes a test flight on February 19, 2008. This is the first A320 family aircraft for the Colombian flag carrier and one of three A320s being leased from CIT International. It was handed over during a delivery ceremony in Toulouse on February 22. Avianca also has 32 A320s and 15 A319s, plus ten A330-200s, on order directly from Airbus.

MNG Airlines Fokker F-27-500 TC-MBG pictured at Edinburgh Airport, Scotland, after suffering an accident on February 2, 2008 when it collided with a ground power unit, resulting in the starboard engine being torn from its mountings. The aircraft is seen here later the same day.

Manunggal Air Transall C160NG PK-VTQ seen moments after its landing accident on March 5, 2008 at Wamena Airport, Indonesia, just as a post-crash fire started to take hold. Although all the crew and passengers escaped safely, the flames subsequently engulfed the fuselage and destroyed the aircraft.

US Navy EA-6B Prowler 163399 'AG-500', from VAQ-140 ‘Patriots' at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington, was a welcome visitor to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where it is seen on February 14, 2008 whilst participating in Exercise Red Flag 08-2.2. As the unit’s 'CAG bird', it wears this impressive and very patriotic scheme.

Seen here on approach to Palma de Mallorca on March 4, 2008 is the first CN-235 VIGMA to be delivered, D.4-01/T.19B-12, which is now with Esc 801. It was officially handed over at Cuatro Vientos on February 11.

Indonesian Air Force CN-235-220MPA AX-2336 on display in the static park at the Singapore Airshow on February 20, 2008. The aircraft will become AI-2317 in service and is expected to be delivered in May.

AVIC I (Xian) MA60 B-858L at Paine Field, Everett, Washington, on February 6, 2008 whilst on delivery to the Fuerza Aerea Boliviana (FAB - Bolivian Air Force) together with a second example, B-850L. The aircraft were ordered last year for the FAB's military-run airline, TAM (Transporte Aereo Militar), but delivery had been delayed. A formal ceremony was held at Santa Cruz/Viru Viru Airport on February 21 to officially incorporate the two MA60s into the TAM fleet and their Chinese delivery registrations have now been replaced by military serials.

In a ceremony at Heli-Expo in Houston, Texas, on February 26, 2008, Eurocopter marked formal delivery of the first EC225 in the US to Era Helicopters. This followed granting of US Federal Aviation Authority type certification for the EC225 on January 30. Era will take delivery of three more EC225s this year, two in 2009 and a further two in 2010.

Sikorsky's tandem, two-seat X2 technology demonstrator is now complete and was displayed publicly for the first time at Heli-Expo.

Virgin Galactic unveiled the design for its new space launch system, comprising the SpaceShipTwo and White Knight Two (WK2) carrier aircraft, on January 23, 2008 in New York. Construction of WK2, the world's largest, all carbon composite aircraft, is now close to completion at Scaled Composites' facility in Mojave, California, with flight-testing expected to commence this summer. The WK2 is powered by four Pratt & Whitney PW308A engines. SpaceShipTwo, which is designed to carry eight astronauts into sub-orbital space flight, is also now 60% complete.

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan PK-VVH of Indonesia's Susi Air pictured on display in the static park at Singapore. Cessna announced on February 18, 2008 that the Indonesian operator had ordered a further six of the type - a formal signing ceremony was held at the show on February 20 to seal the contract. Deliveries are scheduled for 2009 and 2010, joining eight Grand Caravans already in service. A further two are due for delivery in the first quarter of this year under a previous order.

Eurocopter chose Heli-Expo to launch its latest helicopter, the EC175, which is primarily targeted at the oil and gas sector. During the three-day show the helicopter received an impressive 111 orders.

US Coast Guard Lockheed Martin HC-130J Hercules 2006 (c/n 5542) seen during a test flight on January 19, 2008. In a ceremony at the Lockheed Martin Aircraft and Logistics Center in Greenville, South Carolina, on February 29, the fully-upgraded, long-range surveillance maritime patrol aircraft was formally handed over. Primary role-specific modifications include a nose-mounted forward-looking infra-red/electro-optical sensor and 360" belly-mounted multi-mode radar, the latter being the first of its kind on an HC-130. This is one of six HC-130Js being modified to the new configuration.

Boeing 737-524 LY-AGZ (c/n 26340) seen on February 18, 2008 at Southend Airport, Essex, shortly after roll-out of the Air Livery paint shop in the colours of Minsk-based Belavia Belarussian Airlines. It was previously leased to Lithuanian Airlines by International Lease Finance Corporation and retains its Lithuanian registration, with its new Belarus registration, EW-252PA, taped over. The aircraft left the same day on delivery, routing via Vilnius, Lithuania, to become the airline's third 737-500.

This Fuerza Aerea de Chile (FACh - Chilean Air Force) Boeing 737-330F(QC), 922 (c/n 23524, ex D-ABXC), from Grupo de Aviacion 10 at Santiago/Arturo Benitez International Airport was seen at Weeze Airport (the former RAF Laarbruch) in Germany on February 16, 2008. It was picking up a new production Extra EA.300L, c/n 1268, for the FACh's 'Los Halcones' aerobatic display team and departed on February 18. The new aircraft is expected to replace another EA.300L, 148 ’5', which was written off when it crashed in a street in San Bernadino, Santiago, on August 7, 2007.

Boeing delivered the 1,400th 747 on February 28, 2008, when 747-41NERF VP-BIK (c/n 35421) was handed over to GE Commercial Aviation Services for lease to AirBridgeCargo Airlines, a subsidiary of Russia's Volga-Dnepr Group. The aircraft left on delivery, initially to Shannon, Ireland, on the same day. Seen here during its first flight from Everett, Washington, on February 19, it is the seventh 747 freighter for AirBridgeCargo, joining five 747-200/300Fs and one 747-400F. The Volga-Dnepr Group has also ordered five of Boeing's new 747-8 Freighters.

Boeing KC-767JS 7-3601/N763TT and 7-3602/N768TT, the first two for the JASDF, formate over Kansas on February 1, 2008 during pre-delivery test flying. The first of these arrived on February 20 at Gifu, Japan, where it was officially handed-over, following a direct flight from McConnell AFB, Kansas. The second was delivered to Gifu on March 3.