US Air Force Chief Gen Norton Schwartz wants to retire six B-1Bs and to use the saving to modernize the remaining 60 in the fleet.

Noted flying around the AgustaWestland facility in Yeovil, Somerset, on July 11, 2011 was AW101 Srs 640 ZR335 equipped with a forward looking infrared turret. The helicopter is the second of two ordered by the Royal Saudi Air Force for VVIP transport in 2008, and first flew in October 2010. The other, ZR334, initially flew on July 27, 2010, and departed Yeovil (still wearing primer) during the first quarter of 2011 to be fitted out by AgustaWestland in Italy.

F-16C 94-0088 departing Izmir-Cigli on June 6, 2011, with the 'Angry Gazelle' motif on the tail.

No.3 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force based at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, deployed seven McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A/B Hornets to Eielson AFB, Alaska, to participate in a Red Flag exercise. Red Flag Alaska 11-2 ran from July 11 until July 22, 2011 and involved packages of more than 100 aircraft flying over the Joint Alaska Pacific Range Complex. The Hornets took part in counter air, precision strike and offensive air operations, and are seen here tanking from McDonnell Douglas DC-10-401 N974W (c/n 46974) of Omega Air. During the exercise the fighters were supported by a single Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules from No.37 Squadron, which was based at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.

The first Spanish NHIndustries NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopter (GSPE01, F-ZWRE, c/n 1215) arrived at Eurocopter's facility in Albacete on July 4, 2011 after a three-hour, 15 minute flight from Marignane in southern France. It first flew on December 17, 2010, and will continue its test programme at Albacete prior to delivery to the Spanish Army. Another NH90 will come directly from Marignane by the end of 2011, while the other 43 for Spain are due to be assembled at Eurocopter Espana FAL at Albacete. The first will be delivered in the first quarter of 2013.

Nimrod R1 XW664 touches down at Nottingham East Midlands Airport on July 12, 2011, concluding the final flight of the Nimrod. The aircraft is likely to be the only example of No.51 Squadron's former Nimrods that will remain intact, although parts of the others will survive.

RAF Marham in Norfolk will become the home of the Tornado GR4 fleet following the latest defence reorganisations announced on July 18, 2011.

A330 MRTT ‘MRTT016' recently undertook dry air-to-air refuelling trials with a Tornado GR4.

Entrenched in Congressional legislation, the US Air Force could receive a 224th C-17A Globemaster.

The announcement to procure a fifth C-17A Globemaster for the Royal Australian Air Force leaves the future of the C-130 fleet open to conjecture.

Armee de l'Air (French Air Force) Dassault Rafale C 118/'113-IW' of Escadron de Chasse (fighter squadron) 1/7 'Provence' is seen at its home base, Base Aerienne (BA) 113 Saint-Dizier, on June 19, 2011. It is one of two Rafales (the other being 121/'113-IZ') painted in this special colour scheme to celebrate 30,000 operational flying hours accumulated by the air force's Rafale units. The illustration of 'The Little Prince' on the aircraft tails refers to the name of Base Aerienne 113, 'Commandant Antoine de Saint-Exupery', the famous French pilot and writer who created the character.

Etihad Crystal Cargo received its first Boeing 777-FFX Freighter (A6-DDA c/n 39682) on June 21, 2011, when it departed Paine Field, Everett, Washington. The aircraft was ordered on March 10, 2008.

Компания «TAAG Angolan Airlines» в 2006-2011 годах получила три лайнера -200(ER) и пару -300(ER). Последний изображен на снимке.
Boeing 777-3M2(ER) D2-TEG (c/n 40805) named Sagrada Esperanza is the first example of the variant for TAAG Linhas Aereas de Angola. It first flew on May 19, 2011 and was delivered to the carrier on June 14, being ferried from Paine Field, Washington, to Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola.

Boeing 777-2AN(ER) A6-ALN (c/n 29953) named Al Ain of the Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight is seen arriving at Hamburg-Finkenwerder Airport on May 24, 2011. The VIP aircraft arrived at the German airport to be worked on by Lufthansa Technik, the first time it had visited the facility. It has been operated by the Flight since June 2009, having previously belonged to Saudi Oger Ltd, which received it new as VR-BRH in October 1999.

Russian steel company Severstal will take delivery of three former Lufthansa Bombardier CRJ200LRs for use as corporate shuttles. The initial example, D-ACHE (c/n 7407), is seen at Cologne-Bonn Airport in Germany on July 12, 2011 at the start of its delivery flight to Moscow-Domodedovo.

German Army Bell UH-1D Huey 72+67 from Leichtes Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 (LHTR 30, Light Transport Helicopter Regiment) based at Niederstetten has been painted in this unusual scheme to celebrate the unit's 40th anniversary on September 18, 2011. An open day will be organised to mark the occasion but, as the future of the base is currently uncertain due to upcoming budget cuts, it may also be combined with the departure of the helicopters from the base.

At the recent Paris Air Show CMC revealed that the first Lockheed C-130H Hercules of the Fuerza Aerea de Chile (Chilean Air Force) to undergo a night vision goggles compatible cockpit upgrade was redelivered in April 2011. CMC was selected in autumn 2009 as prime contractor for the C-130 Avionics Upgrade Program, providing installation kits, training and support. At the core of the upgrade is the CMA-9000 Flight Management System with six multi-function displays, the CMA-5024 IntegriFlight GPS-WAAS receiver, new radios, autopilot, weather radar, auxiliary power unit and numerous other subsystems. The modified transport completed its formal test flight in March 2011 during a sortie between Antarctica and Santiago.

Making its UK airshow debut at the Royal International Air Tattoo 2011 at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, over the weekend of July 16 and 17, 2011 was Lockheed L100-30 Hercules HZ-128 (c/n 4950, named God Bless You, ex HZ-MS05) of the Royal Flight/No. 1 Squadron of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). The transport provided support to the Saudi Hawk team, which was also making its UK debut at the event. The green and white six aircraft display team is operated by No. 88 Squadron of the RSAF.

One of Russia's current Open Skies aircraft, Tupolev Tu-154M/LK-1 Careless RA-85655 (c/n 89A798), is seen arriving at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, around noon on June 26, 2011. The aircraft departed soon afterwards for Keflavik in Iceland on its way to the United States. The Careless is based at Chkalovskay - 'Star City' - on the outskirts of Moscow, and carries titles for the Y A Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre on the starboard side.

Royal Saudi Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons 313/ZK081 (CS015) and 314/ZK082 (CS016) departed BAE Systems' airfield at Warton, Lancashire, on June 29, 2011 for their delivery flights. On their way to Saudi Arabia the aircraft made a public appearance at an airshow at Zeltweg in Austria between July 2 and 3, before heading on via Greece to their destination. They will enter service with No.3 Squadron, 2 Wing, based at Taif-King Fahd AB.

Canadian Force Sikorsky CH-124A Sea King 12436 (c/n 61-347) wears special markings to celebrate the centenary of the Canadian Navy. The helicopter is seen on July 3, 2011 at Prince Edward Island Canada.

The first images of the Guizhou JT-9 (JL-9H) advanced trainer appeared on Chinese state television on June 20, 2011. It is expected that the aircraft will become the standard carrier trainer of the People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force, on which its pilots will learn the carrier approach and landing techniques at shore-based facilities. The aircraft is based on the JL-9 Shan Ying, but has a divertless supersonic inlet, a leading edge extension to the inner section of the delta wing, a redesigned vertical tail and no fins under the rear fuselage thus enabling an arrestor hook to be fitted.

To commemorate 30 years of service with the Royal Air Force, Chinook HC2A ZH895/'HJ' of No.18 Squadron carries special markings on its rear rotor pylon. The helicopter is seen performing its display routine at the RAF Waddington International Airshow in early July 2011.

The first of 28 upgraded Puma HC2s made its maiden flight at Marignane in southern France on June 22, 2011. Wearing the test registration F-ZWDE, XW232 is the first RAF Puma HC1 that has been modified under the Puma Life Extension Programme. The project was approved in September 2009, mating more powerful Turbomeca Makila 1A1 engines to the existing airframe to improve hot and high performance, a digital flight control system and enhanced communication and navigation equipment. Flight testing will continue throughout 2011 before the new variant enters service the following year. Full operating capability is expected in 2014.

Boeing 767-32LER 4K-AIO1 (c/n 40342) operated by AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines for the Government of Azerbaijan, is seen landing at Brussels on June 21, 2011. The aircraft was registered 4K-BAKU-1 when first flown on May 13, 2010, and delivered as such on April 7. However, on April 30, it arrived at Dublin in Ireland for a visit to Eirtech Aviation, emerging from the paint shop two days later with its current registration, larger titles and the name BAKU-1 on the nose.

Seen on a test flight from Eurocopter Espana (ECE) at Albacete on June 2, 2011 is EC665 Tiger HA.28-04/ET-704. This is the first of the six Ejercito de Tierra (Spanish Army) Helicoptere d'Appui Protection (HAP, Support and Escort Helicopter) Tigers to be converted by ECE to the Spanish Helicoptero de Apoyo y Destruction (HAD, Support and Attack Helicopter) configuration. The helicopter arrived to ECE after having take part in the Spanish Armed Forces Day held at Malaga on May 28 and 29.

Having given up hope of a third runway at Heathrow, British Airways is looking for space to expand at foreign airports. Iberia's main hub at Madrid has an obvious appeal following BA's merger with the Spanish carrier.

The first Airbus A320 for Germany carrier Hamburg Airways has been painted in its new colours. Former Iberworld Airlines A320-214 EC-JQP (msn 2745) arrived at Southend Airport, Essex, on June 8, 2011 and was reregistered as EI-ERR before entering the paint hangar on June 23. It was rolled out four days later as D-AHHC and is seen here departing for an air test on July 7. Hamburg Airlines already operates two Airbus A319s.

SELEX Galileo unveiled its new Falco Evo at Le Bourget on June 20, 2011. Based on the Falco, the Evo has a lengthened wingspan, a maximum take-off weight of 650kg (1,433lb), a longer endurance of 18 hours and can carry a heavier payload of up to 100kg (220lb). Typical payloads include an electro-optical/infrared camera, PicoSAR synthetic aperture radar and SELEX Galileo's electronic support measures and intelligence-gathering system. The Falco Evo is due to fly in 2012, but has already attracted interest from the Italian military.

Seen arriving at Luqa International Airport on Malta on June 19, 2011 is Embraer EMB-120ER Brasilia I-SKYB (c/n 120087) in United Nations Humanitarian Air Service colours. The aircraft belongs to Skybridge AirOps and has been chartered for use by the UN World Food Programme in May 2011 in connection with the Libyan crisis.

Staging through Southend Airport, Essex, on a ferry flight to America from Bacau in Romania on July 8, 2011 was British Aerospace BAe 146-200 N18FF (c/n E2138, ex G-JEAY of Jersey European). It is due to be modified by Tronosjet Maintenance, which will install a 3,000 US gallon capacity fire-fighting system in the aircraft. It left Southend for Reykjavik in Iceland, then went on to Goose Bay and Summerside, Prince Edward Island in Canada. Following conversion it will join the prototype BAe 146 air tanker (N608AW) for continued flight testing at Prince Edward Island.

BAE Systems RJ85 JU-9909 (c/n E2257) has recently been delivered to the Mongolian airline Eznis Airways. It arrived at Norwich Airport, Norfolk, from storage at Kemble, Gloucestershire, as G-CGTP for repainting in the airline's colours on June 6, 2011, being rolled out in its new scheme eight days later. It returned to Kemble on June 15 and departed on its ferry flight to Mongolia on June 23, using St Petersberg as its first refuelling stop-off. The airliner is seen at Norwich on June 14.

Honeywell's G450 Gulfstream N922H (s/n 4036) flew to Le Bourget from Morristown New Jersey with its starboard Rolls-Royce Tay Mk 611-8C engines powered by a 50/50 blend of camelina fuel and Jet A1.

Cessna 560 Citation V TC-LAB (c/n 560-0216) was noted at Glasgow Airport on June 15, 2011. The business jet is one of two that were operated by the Devlet Hava Meydanlan Ifletmesi (General Directorate of State Airports Authority). Following re-fitting and re-painting - believed to have been carried out by Goderich Aircraft Inc at Centralia Airport, Ontario in Canada - they have been transferred to the Turkish Government. It is not known which government department will receive the aircraft, although it flew from Canada to Turkey using a 'THY' (Turk Hava Kuwetleri, Turkish Air Force) callsign. TC-LAB carried its new registration (TC-BOR) which was taped over with the old registration, while the second aircraft (TC-LAA) will become TC-ARI.

Delivery of the first Viking Air Twin Otter Srs 400 to the Fuerza Aerea del Peru (Peruvian Air Force) will take place shortly. FAP 301 (msn 847), seen wearing full air force colours and the test registration C-GNVA, was initially scheduled to go to Petro Air as 5A-PAC before being transferred to the Peruvian order. Peru ordered 12 in 2010 with the first due to be handed over in July and the last in 2014.

Viking Twin Otter Srs 400 8Q-TMX (msn 848, ex C-GUVA) entered service in June with Trans Maldivian Airways. The carrier ordered three, with the second (8Q-TMY, msn 849, ex C-GLCU) arriving at Aqaba on June 11, 2011. The third (msn 849, ex C-GWA) was due to be delivered by the end of June.
Viking Air already offers a straight float configuration for Series 400 Twin Otters, as per the aircraft seen here in the Maldives.

BAC 111-401AK N162W (c/n 087) owned by Northrop Grumman has been used to demonstrate sensors of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II during Exercise Northern Edge. The aircraft has an AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar mounted on its nose running Block 3 and developmental software, and carries other sensors and systems destined for the combat aircraft, including the AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System with Block 2 delivery software. It is seen at King County International Airport/Boeing Field, Washington, on June 11, 2011.

Airbus A330-243 A6-EYE (msn 688) named Blue Moon Rising of Etihad Airways is seen at Manchester International on July 7, 2011, having completed its first flight into the airport from Abu Dhabi after being painted in a special scheme to promote Manchester City Football Club. Etihad sponsors the club.

Removing the need to fly passengers through Britain? bmi, now owned by Lufthansa, is examining prospects for growth offered by airports like Frankfurt and Brussels.

Eurocopter EC725 1001/F-ZWBU destined for the Fuerza Aerea Mexicana (Mexican Air Force) is seen near Marignane in the south of France on June 16, 2011 on a test-flight out of the manufacturer's nearby factory. The helicopter is one of 12 aircraft for the service from two batches of six ordered in March 2009 and September 2010. Others that have been noted flying are 1002/F-ZWBG and 1003/F-ZWBE. Deliveries are due to start at the end of 2011.

The six Dassault Mirage 50EVs that the Venezuelan government donated to the Fuerza Aerea Ecuatorian (Ecuadorian Air Force) in 2009 are grounded due to a lack of spares. The Ecuadorian Defense Minister, Javier Ponce, has requested that Venezuela deliver spares for the combat aircraft as the six have not flown since the end of 2010.

An image of the Xianglong recently released on a Chinese website. Of note is the unusual 'double wing' configuration.

The Angolan National Police Force has received the last of ten Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuil helicopters ordered in 2009. The aircraft were delivered between 2009 and May 2011 and are used to patrol the areas around the capital city, Luanda, as well as smaller towns and communities. Eurocopter said Angola had chosen the AS350B3 because of its ability to operate in hot, high and dusty conditions. The Angolan Police Helicopter Unit was created in 1992 and is made up of an all-Eurocopter fleet, including six AS365N2 Dauphins (which can be used for aero-medical missions) and 15 AS350B2/B3s, used mainly for surveillance.

T-6C Texan II CN-ATN/14 (c/n PM-14) was the 700th example of the type delivered. It will join the other 12 already in service with the Ecole de Pilotage of the RMAF at Marrakech-Menara.

Koninklijke Luchtmacht (Royal Netherlands Air Force, RNLAF) No.301 Squadron Boeing AH-64DN Apache Longbow Q-17 pops out flares as it is put through its paces by Maj Roland Blankenspoor and Capt Paul Webbink as part of the 2011 RNLAF Apache solo display programme. The Apache's new display scheme was revealed on May 25, 2011. If the helicopter is needed for operational reasons, it can quickly be returned to its standard camouflage as the markings are stickers.

Army Air Corps Apache AH1s on the deck of HMS Ocean.

LH Aviation LH10 Grand Due F-WWNX, on display at Le Bourget in June 2011, wears the colours of the Benin Air Force.

BAE Systems and Dassault publicly debuted a mock-up of the Telemos UAV at Le Bourget in June 2011. Telemos is based on the Mantis developed by the British company.

The Eurocopter EC175 made its debut at the Paris airshow.

T-53A 10-0101 is one of the first two of the type that was delivered to the US Air Force Academy.

Assembly of the first Boeing P-8I for India commenced in June 2011. Spirit AeroSystems delivered the fuselage to Boeing's Renton facility on May 29 for systems to be installed, while the wings are due to be mated to it later in the summer. India signed for eight P-8Is on January 1, 2009.

Boeing's Phantom Eye high-altitude, long-endurance UAV completed 12 days of vibration and structural interaction tests in early June 2011. The trials were undertaken at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center located on Edwards AFB, California. Phantom Eye will be powered by two 150hp (112kW) hydrogen-fuelled four-cylinder engines, which will allow it to fly up to 65,000ft (19,812m) for four days undertaking surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance missions, or acting as a communications relay station.

Dassault Mirage 2000N-K2 316/'116-AU' of the Armee de I'Air (French Air Force) has been painted in a special scheme to mark the 95th anniversary of Escadron de Chasse 02/004 (EC2/4) 'La Fayette', resident at Base Aerienne 116 Luxeuil-St Saveur. The Lafayette Escadrille initially manned by American volunteers was deployed on April 16, 1916. Its traditions were adopted by Groupe de Chasse 11/5 in World War Two and passed on to EC2/4 when it formed post war. It successively flew Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, de Havilland Vampires, Dassault Ouragans and Republic F-84F Thunderstreaks from 1957, acquiring Mirage IIIEs in 1966 and Mirage 2000Ns in 1988.

QinetiQ Tornado F3 ZE794 is seen carrying a Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile on a fuselage station and a modified pod under the wing to record the launch of the weapon.

F/A-18D Hornet BuNo 164040/‘SD423‘ of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) 'Salty Dogs' touches down on the deck of USS Dwight D Eisenhower during a test of the software intended for the Northrop Grumman X-47B.

Northrop Grumman E-11A BACN 11-9001 (c/n 9001, ex N901GX) arrived at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, on July 13, 2011 on its way to southwest Asia. The aircraft is seen departing the following day.

Multi-National Base Tarin Kot in Afghanistan is a regular destination for the RAAF's four Globemasters in support of Operation Slipper.

Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules KC-3804 (c/n 5653, seen here) and KC-3805 (c/n 5644) departed Marietta, Georgia, on their delivery flight to India on June 15, 2011. The transports routed via St Johns in Canada, Prestwick in Scotland and Pratica de Mare in Italy, before arriving in India on June 19. The aircraft are the third and fourth of six due to enter service with No. 77 Squadron of the Indian Air Force, based at Air Force Station Hindan.

Hercules C4s ZH863, ZH873 and ZH874, with C3A XV214 at the rear, break formation over RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire on July 1, 2011 prior to landing.

Boeing E767 84-3504 (c/n 28017, ex N767JD) of the Hiko Keikai Kanseita of Keikai Kokutai, Japan Air Self Defence Force based at Hamamatsu, Shizuka prefecture, is seen over Eielson AFB, Alaska, on July 6, 2011. The aircraft was one of the participants of Red Flag Alaska 11-2 held between July 11 and 22.

The Wing Loong was displayed at Le Bourget in model form on the AVIC stand.

Tibet Airlines' first Airbus A319-115 (D-AVYH, msn 4726, to become B-6436) was seen at Hamburg-Finkenwerder Airport, Germany, on June 23, 2011 making its first flight after outfitting. Three of the airliners were ordered by the Lhasa-based carrier in May 2010.

Seen at Budapest Ferihegy Airport in Hungary on June 15, 2011 on its delivery flight to the Kyrgyzstan Government was Boeing 737-484 N761AS (c/n 25361). The second-hand airliner previously flew with Olympic Airways as SX-BKC and was stored at Roswell Industrial Airport, New Mexico, from January 16, 2011, by AerSale Inc. It became EX-73401 on June 23 upon hand-over to Air Minas, which will operate it on behalf of the Kyrgyzstan Government.

Former Thomson Airways Boeing 737-36N G-THON (c/n 28596) has been repainted by Air Livery at Norwich Airport, Norfolk, for Precision Air of Tanzania as 5H-PMS. The airliner is seen departing Norwich for Luton Airport, Bedfordshire, on June 24, 2011, before leaving for service with its new operator.

Boeing 747-8 Freighter N50217 seen arriving at Le Bourget from Seattle, Washington, with all four General Electric GEnx-2B engines running a blend of 15% camelina-derived fuel and 85% Jet A1.

Boeing Business Jet 2 (737-8EX) A6-AUH (c/n 33473) of the Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight is seen about to touch down on Runway 26 at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, Sweden, on June 28, 2011. The aircraft was delivered in August 2003.gren

Boeing's 737NG gained only 89 firm orders at the Paris airshow, but has the Seattle-based airframer already got a new generation narrow body on the design screen?

Flying off the shelf, Airbus received commitments for 635 A320neos at this year's Paris airshow.

The ATE Pulsatrix F-WWXZ (c/n 001) was displayed statically at Le Bourget during the Paris airshow in June 2011, armed with seven-shot 70mm (2.75in) rocket pods under each wing. ATE also plans to install an electro-optical/infrared sensor under the fuselage. The aircraft is based on the Dyn'Aero MCR01 and has been created to prove the concept of using the airframe for light attack and armed reconnaissance roles. ATE reports that it has already received international interest in the concept. The example on display at Paris appeared to lack an engine.