Beriev Be-12PL Chayka (‘Seagull', NATO reporting name Mail,) ‘02’ yellow (c/n 0602004) of the Viys’kovo-Mors’ki Syly Ukrayiny (Ukrainian Naval Aviation) over the Black Sea during Exercise Sea Breeze 2014 on September 9, 2014. Organised by the United States and Ukraine, Sea Breeze also included participation by Canada, Georgia, Romania, Spain and Turkey. The three-day exercise, which had started on September 8 tested maritime interdiction operations, communications, search and rescue, force protection and navigation.

Polish Air Force Mikoyan MiG-29A Fulcrum 67 (c/n 2960526367/3814) taxiing at RAF Brize Norton during deployment to the Oxfordshire base for NATO Summit flypast.

AgustaWestland AW101 Mk 641 ZR343 (c/n 50248, ex ZW-4306 ntu) was used to transport British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and other members of the UK delegation during the NATO Summit at Celtic Manor, Newport, Wales, on September 4 and 5, 2014. A NATO patch was applied to the forward fuselage marking the aircraft’s participation in the event. It was built for the Indian Air Force but not delivered after the programme was cancelled.

Merlin HM2 ZH831 at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, on September 3, 2014. It has large fairings applied on both sides of the cabin containing Elta radar.

Some of the fast jet participants in Pitch Black 2014: two Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornets, a Royal Thai Air Force JAS39D Gripen, USAF F-16C, a UAE Air Force Mirage 2000 and a Royal Singapore Air Force F-15SG.

Pitch Black is a valuable training opportunity for South-East Asian nations such as Singapore, which this year sent F-15SGs and F-16C/Ds.

Lockheed Martin F-16B Fighting Falcon 92619 was one of the last four Pakistan Air Force aircraft updated by TAI. It was used as the backdrop to the handover ceremony at Ankara on September 2, 2014.

RAAF KC-30As have recently supported the Pitch Black, Stone Age and Arnhem Thunder exercises.

This KC-135R supported the Republic of Singapore Air Force fighter contingent.

The first Sikorsky S-92 for Bristow Helicopter’s SAR-H contract. It has a rescue hoist, searchlight, sensor turret under the nose and other role equipment.

Sikorsky MH-60S Seahawk BuNo.166344/‘SA-00’ was painted with unique artwork during August 2014 at NAS North Island, California. The Seahawk is the CAG (carrier air group)-bird of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Three (HCS-3) Merlins. The work was designed by artist Shayne Meder, who also applied it to the helicopter, with help from her husband Scott Donnell. Shayne’s work has adorned more than 50 US Navy, Marine and Air Force aircraft.

Panavia Tornado GR4A ZG773, Eurofighter Typhoon T3 ZK303/‘AX' and BAE Systems Hawk T2 ZK013/V prepare to take off from Warton, Lancashire, on September 9, 2014. The three aircraft conducted a missing man flypast as ‘Hoppy Flight' over the funeral of test pilot Paul ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins at Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. After serving in the RAF, Paul joined the then British Aerospace in 1985, becoming Chief Test Pilot at Warton from 1998. He retired from flight duty in 2005 and left BAE Systems in 2012. He passed away on August 31, 2014.

RAAF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A41-210 (b/n F239, ex 11-0210) on the taxiway at Tirana Airport in Albania on September 4, 2014 awaits a load of military stores for Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State militants. A US Air Force C-17A sits behind it.

Two more C-17 As could join the Royal Australian Air Force's current fleet of six.

Two of the six Royal Thai Air Force 701 Squadron JAS 39C/Ds.

Smoke from a starter cartridge billows around Boeing B-52H Stratofortress 60-0032/‘LA’ during the recent MITO exercise at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.

Bell UH-1H 68-15493 at Campo de Mayo. The helicopter was acquired from the Overseas Aircraft Support compound at Lakeland, Arizona; it last served with the New York National Guard.

Tupolev Tu-154M Careless OM-BYO (c/n 89A803) departing Stansted on September 5, 2014 for Cardiff in Wales. The Slovakian Government Flying Service (GFS) aircraft was in the UK transporting delegates to the recent NATO Summit. It is the last of its kind in service with the GFS, as OM-BYR (c/n 98A1012) has become a source of spares at Bratislava Airport, where the unit is based.

HMX-1 Bell-Boeing MV-22B Ospreys BuNo.168335/‘11’ and BuNo.168327/‘09’ taxi out at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, to start the flight back to the United States on September 7, 2014.

A line-up of 150 Squadron Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Masters at Cazaux.

Vistara will initially use five A320s leased from BOC Aviation and plans to expand the fleet to 20 within five years.

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner JY-BAA (c/n 37983) is the first of its kind delivered to Royal Jordanian. It has entered service on the carrier’s Amman to London Heathrow service after handover on August 26, 2014. It was noted landing at London on September 12. Royal Jordanian has seven 787-8s on order.

Bombardier DHC-8-202Q ‘Dash-8’ N8200L (c/n 455, ex N455YV) arrived at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Hungary on August 17, 2014 from operations in the US Central Command’s (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility. The next day, the aircraft operated by Dynamic Aviation on behalf of the United States Army, departed for Glasgow-Prestwick Airport in Scotland on its way to the US. It was replaced on operations by Q300 N8300L (c/n 352, ex ZS-NLY), which passed through Budapest one week earlier.

Westwinds and a Learjet provided training for airborne early warning aircraft and fighter controllers.

The Armee de Nouvelle-Caledonie was a Pitch Black first-timer, with this CN235 transport.

Airbus Defence and Space A400M Atlas EC-405 lifts off for the first time from Seville-San Pablo Airport in Spain on August 30, 2014.

Boeing 757-2K2 G-TCSX (c/n 26330, ex C-GTSR) was repainted in a gloss black scheme by Air Livery at Manchester Airport. The airliner transferred to Birmingham Airport in the West Midlands on August 27, 2014 for maintenance with Monarch Aircraft Engineering Ltd. Work is expected to take two to three months. TAG Aviation is due to operate the aircraft for TCS Expeditions on exclusive services from late November.

Alenia C-27J Spartan 1402/TT-PAH, the second for the Chadian Air Force, conducting a test flight from Turin-Caselle on August 28, 2014.

Korean Air Lines Airbus A330-223 HL8212 (msn 1155, ex F-WWKI) carries the design of a Children’s Drawing Competition along its rear fuselage. The special markings were applied in October 2013.

Newly delivered Turkish Government Airbus A330-243 Prestige TC-TUR at Cardiff Airport in Wales on September 3, 2014 for the NATO Summit.

Eurocopter AS332M1 Super Puma (designated TH89 by the Swiss military) T-313 (c/n 2226) was the last to be upgraded as a TH06.

Airbus Helicopters EC225LP A4O-HD (c/n 2648, ex F-WWOC) of the Oman Royal Flight (ORF) made a rare appearance in the Netherlands on August 28, 2014. It made a fuel stop at Groningen Airport Eelde while en route to Stavanger-Sola airport in Norway where, it is understood, the helicopter will undergo maintenance at the Heli-One facility. The helicopter is the oldest of six EC225LPs delivered to the ORF between 2007 and 2009.

The two Beechcraft T-6C+ Texan II trainers for the Mexican Navy taxi out at the start of their delivery flight from Wichita, Kansas.

On September 9, 2014 the fifth Boeing P-8I Neptune for the Indian Navy departed Boeing Field/King County International Airport in Washington on its delivery flight. The aircraft (IN324/‘ARK', c/n 40614, ex N720DS) arrived at Indian Naval Ship Rajali, Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu, where it joins the four delivered earlier. The Neptunes are operated alongside the Tupolev Tu-142ME Bear-Fs with Indian Naval Air Squadron 312 ‘Albatross'. An order for eight P-8Is (plus options) was signed on January 1, 2009, with the first flying on September 28, 2011. It was flown to India on May 11, 2013, and inducted into service with the navy four days later. Another P-8I will be delivered before the end of this year, with the final two following in 2015.

Boeing P-8A Poseidon BuNo. 168755/‘755' was the first of its kind to visit RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk. It arrived on September 5, 2014 and departed two days later. The maritime aircraft is assigned to Patrol Squadron Thirty (VP-30) Pro’s Nest', the fleet replacement unit for the P-8A, based at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. Produced as the second of 11 ordered under the Low Rate Initial Production III contract, it was delivered to the unit on July 31. A total of 16 have been delivered with the latest handover, BuNo. 168756, announced on August 26. The US Navy has ordered 61 PSAs out of a total requirement for 117.

Six Mirage 2000-9EAD/DADs and an A330MRTT were sent by the UAE Air Force.

Strike Fighter Squadron 15 (VFA-15) 'Valions' F/A-18C Hornet ‘AJ-310’ approaching the deck of the USS George H W Bush (CVN 77) on August 29, 2014. Hornets and Super Hornets based on the aircraft carrier continue to hit IS targets in Iraq.

Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules 11-5752 (c/n 5752) arrived at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, on August 21, 2014, on delivery from Marietta, Georgia. It was ferried from the factory to Little Rock by Brigadier General Brian Robinson, Vice Commander of the 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) at Scott AFB, Illinois. The aircraft was destined for the 61st Airlift Squadron ‘Green Hornets' of the 19th Airlift Wing at the Arkansas air base. Two of the nine C-130J-30s destined for the unit have yet to be delivered.

An RAAF 37 Squadron C-130J Hercules departs the Delamere Range Facility in the Northern Territory.

Schiebel Camcopter S-100 UAS OE-YAC lands on the MOAS vessel Phoenix.

Romanian charter airline Ten Airways is flying McDonnell Douglas MD83 YR-OTL (c/n 49941) on behalf of Italian tour operator TrawelFly. The airliner was last flown by JeTran Air, which merged with Medallion Air to form Ten in 2012. It was stored at Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu Airport in Romania from January 2009 before rejoining the Ten fleet this July. The carrier has six MD82/83s in total.

Bombardier DHC-8-402NG Dash-8 HS-DQA (c/n 4455, ex C-GWKW) is the first Q400 NextGen for the Thai low-cost carrier Nok Air. The turboprop airliner was delivered on August 27, 2014, and was noted three days earlier on a test flight from Toronto Downsview Airport, Ontario in Canada. It is the first Q400 produced with high-density seating for 86 passengers. Nok Air's order for two firm and six optional Q400s was announced on November 19, 2013, with options for two pairs of aircraft converted on March 31 and July 16.

Boeing 737-8H4(WL) N8642E (c/n 42525) delivered to Southwest Airlines on August 6, 2014 is the first to wear the carrier’s new scheme.

Both Boeing 737-800s previously flown by Dobrolet Airlines have been transferred to Orenair. Dobrolet, a subsidiary of Aeroflot, started revenue-earning flights with the two aircraft in June 2014, but on July 30 it was placed on a blacklist as part of the European sanctions against Russia over its involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. The carrier ceased operations on August 4. Boeing 737-8FZ(WL) VQ-BTS (c/n 41991) in Orenair colours was noted landing at Palma de Mallorca on August 24 at the conclusion of a service from Moscow Domodedovo Airport.

The second TAI Hurkus during its maiden flight from Akinci on September 10, 2014.

The fuselage of the prototype Antonov An-178 cargo and military transport has been completed. The aircraft (b/n 01-01) was unveiled on July 29, 2014 at Antonov’s facility in Kiev, Ukraine. It is due to complete its maiden flight next year. A further development of the An-148/158 family, the An-178 is equipped with a rear-loading ramp and has been designed as an Antonov An-12 replacement. It will be able to carry 18 tonnes of cargo, 99 soldiers or 80 paratroopers.

The Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion was rolled out in May 2014 at Sikorsky's Florida Assembly and Flight Operations Facility at West Palm Beach, Florida.

The first ATR 72-600 registered in Honduras (HR-AYJ, msn 1172, ex F-WWEM) arrived at Toncontin International Airport, outside the national capital, on August 26, 2014. The turboprop regional airliner was on delivery to Avianca, having arrived from the manufacturer’s facility at Toulouse in southern France with just 35 flight hours. It was flown to Toncontin by a Honduran and Colombian crew, and was due to be displayed at Tegucigalpa before going to Avianca's main regional hub in Honduras, La Ceiba Goloson International Airport. It will be operated for Avianca by Islena Airlines. Avianca currently has a further eight ATR 72-600s registered in Colombia.

An airman inspects a 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron MC-12W Liberty at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. In September the squadron concluded four years of operations in the theatre.

Beechcraft King Air 350 N414RA (c/n FL-502, ex C-GBCE) was noted at Boeing Field/King County International Airport, Washington, on September 6, 2014. It had a standard four-blade propeller on the port engine, but a five-blade unit on the starboard, with taped over wiring from the cockpit to the nacelle. The modification's purpose has not been revealed. The aircraft was registered to FL 502 of Dover, Delaware, in early August, having previously been operated by Northern Thunderbird Air.