Jet

For a Boeing 777 cargo jet pilot we spoke with, the viral video of a 777 making a freakishly low pass and sharp bank over a Texas airfield was a “shocking” sight to see.

“Shocking, yes,” exclaimed Steve Jones, a former Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon pilot who now flies 777s for Atlas Air. “‘Jesus Christ!’ or ‘holy shit!’ come to mind, but shocking will do.”

Jones was reacting to a 37-second video clip of the jet – painted in Qatar Airways Cargo livery – flying over the runway at the Horseshoe Bay Private Jet Center in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. At about the 12-second mark, the jet makes a sharp bank to the right, placing the right wing tip just above the ground before gaining altitude and flying off.

Jones estimated the jet was flying about 50 feet off the ground during the ‘flat’ part of its flyby and traveling at between 210 and 220 knots.

“It looks like the flaps and slats are up,” Jones noted.

The exact altitude and speed are unknown.

“Two things came to mind,” Jones said after watching the video. “The pilot is probably very good, or lucky, because he was extremely low, and you can see that the right wing tip got pretty close to the ground. You can’t even see the wings from inside the cockpit. You’re looking at somewhere like a 212-foot wingspan.”

Inside the cockpit, “there’s a lot of warnings the crew has to either disable or ignore,” the 777 pilot said. “For example, there’s a ground proximity warning. There’s a configuration warning – not only the ‘whoop whoop’ sounds, but also there will be audible signals saying that, ‘you’re close to the ground, pull up, pull up.’ The sink rate alarms would be going off. All those things are going on. There are some things that you can disable that will prevent those things, but not all of them all at once.”

Boeing 777 Cbt #63 Crew Alerting System Ground Proximity Warning System Gpws

“That’s a pretty great video,” Jones proffered, “but not a smart thing to do.”

The reason, he said, was that “the plane is not designed” to fly like that. “A wind gust in the wrong direction, or a judgment on his actual altitude and height could have been off. It’s a lot of airplane that close to the ground going at those speeds.”

Asked how difficult it could have been for the pilot to pull off such a maneuver, Jones told us that the aircraft is very forgiving.

“The Triple Seven is a very easy airplane to fly… It’s very gentle on the controls. It’s a well-designed airplane to be able to fly at altitudes and take off and landings, but not to fly extended periods low-level over the ground. You’ve got engine pods hanging down, long wingspans.” 

“I’ve never flown that aircraft in that particular configuration that low, but I imagine that it is not necessarily difficult to fly. It comes down to ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.’”

Boeing 777 Freighter

Jones, who has about 850 hours in a 777, said that he would not want to be on a flight like the one seen on the video.

“If I was the co-pilot or first officer flying that situation, I wouldn’t have been comfortable, and I would have said ‘I’m not comfortable with this,’ and try to put a stop to it, but again, I don’t know the circumstances around it, so I can’t speculate, but with two brains, sometimes three or four brains in the cockpit, usually the voice of reason will come up between other folks.”

Things would not go well for him if he were captured on video flying like this, Jones acknowledged.

“I would lose my job,” Jones said with a laugh. “I don’t even know if they would ask why I would do it. I would just probably lose my job.”

There are other factors to consider when it comes to official reactions to this flight, Jones said. 

“What I don’t know is if that particular pilot had authorization to do so,” he stated. “So it could have been authorization from the tower, authorization from the company, or whatever, in order to create something like that. But knowing how the industry is, if there were no prior permissions or authorization, that pilot and that crew will probably lose their jobs.”

FAA records show the jet, N-705DN, is registered to Jetran LLC, an aircraft leasing and service company with an address at Horseshoe Bay. We have reached out to them for more details about the status of the aircraft and why it was flying so low. However, the company reportedly released a statement saying that the low pass flight “does not reflect operational standards” and the aircraft was going through “a pre-delivery test flight” before being turned over to Qatar Airways.

Jetran was also quick to point out that “the pilots on board were not Qatar Airways pilots.”

While the statement about the Boeing 777 low flyby has been issued by Jetran, I can’t help but feel that Qatar Airways had a big say in its content. Ouch! pic.twitter.com/FlHrnNJbnV

— Matt Maszczynski (@yourownkanoo) June 25, 2026

Qatar Airways Cargo “has an agreement with Jetran for five aircraft. DHL and Ethiopian Airlines are also due to take delivery of the aircraft in the future,” according to Aerospace Global News.  

“As the launch customer for the 777-200LRMF, this milestone marks an important moment for both Mammoth Freighters and Jetran,” Jordan Jaffe, CEO, Jetran, told the publication in April. “From the outset, we have had strong confidence in the Mammoth engineering team and their vision for the program.” 

The aircraft is a former Delta Air Lines 777-200LR that was converted to freighter configuration by Mammoth Freighters, according to FlightRadar24.

“Mammoth Freighters has been made aware of a video circulating on social media showing a low-pass flight of a Mammoth-converted 777 freighter aircraft in Qatar Airways livery,” the company said in a statement on its website. “Mammoth is not the owner of the aircraft and Mammoth was not in control of the aircraft at the time of the maneuver. The current owner (which is not Qatar Airways) was in control of the aircraft at the time of the maneuver. The aircraft is in its final stages of preparation prior to delivery to Qatar Airways.”

“While the aircraft is painted in Qatar Airways livery, it was not owned or operated by Qatar Airways, did not carry a Qatar Airways registration, and the pilots on board were not Qatar Airways pilots.”

The FAA told us “it is aware of reports about this event and is looking into it.” We have also reached out to Qatar Airways and Horseshoe Bay Private Jet Center.

Fly Direct to Horseshoe Bay Resort

As to why anyone would authorize a flight like that, Jones shrugged.

“This is a cargo aircraft. It has a job to move cargo from Point A to Point B, not to create videos for Instagram,” Jones scoffed. “From a company standpoint, I don’t know their policies, but I can imagine a company with a $300 million aircraft and the insurance that goes along with those aircraft would not allow such a flight to happen unless they authorized it.”

What reason that would be is unclear.

“Sometimes you see manufacturers like Boeing or Airbus do a demonstration at the Paris Air Show, where you’ll see a steep takeoff or a climb or a low pass,” Jones said. “I’ve never seen one that low before, even at an air show.”

Speaking to us at a layover in Luxembourg, Jones said that so far, he hasn’t heard much buzz from the 777 pilot community about this video, but expects that to change.

“Give it a few hours or a couple of days and I probably will,” he said.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

The new Air Force VC-25B Bridge jet “has officially arrived at the Presidential Airlift Group and will commence its initial commissioning flights, marking the successful delivery of a secure, modified executive platform,” the Air Force announced Friday afternoon. As we have reported in the past, this modified, Qatari-gifted 747-8i, is set to serve as an interim Air Force One aircraft ahead of the much-delayed arrival of two fully outfitted VC-25Bs from Boeing. The jet wears President Trump’s preferred paint scheme, a major change for dedicated Air Force One aircraft, which have worn the Kennedy-era scheme for over 60 years.

Commissioning flights are the “final exam” for the aircraft modification, the Air Force explained in a media release. “They provide both an opportunity for the White House enterprise to validate mission-capability, while also finalizing protocols required to safely and securely transport the President of the United States and enable his execution of his three constitutional roles; Chief Executive, Commander in Chief, and Head of State.”

Once these flights are successfully completed, the aircraft is officially “commissioned” into the active executive airlift fleet and becomes available for presidential missions along with the VC-25A and C-32 fleets, the service added in a release that included the new jet in its Trump-preferred red, white and blue livery.

You can read all about the program and the controversy surrounding it, especially having to do with the level of security and connectivity this aircraft provides, in our previous story here.

The VC-25B appears to be in the presidential hangar facility at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. You can read more about that in our story here.

UPDATE: 4:14 PM EDT –

Trump held a press conference at the presidential hangar facility to talk about the VC-25B. Here are some highlights.

“Our pilots, designers, and engineers prepared an aircraft that is the largest Air Force One ever built. It flies further and faster than any Air Force One. Those are incredible engines. You may never have to stop for fuel. They call it unlimited — well, it’s pretty close to unlimited. And it is among the most beautiful aircraft the Air Force will ever see or operate. You’ll never have this opportunity again.”

“With the extraordinary devotion of many of you here today, this plane was transformed into a flying White House — at a level of luxury nobody’s ever seen before — in only 10 months, a timeframe no one thought possible. They put a lot of things on here that normally you wouldn’t. Great protective mechanisms, the latest and greatest in every aspect.”

“We have communications equipment up there that nobody’s ever seen before — the highest level, including Starlink. My friend Elon is going to be very happy. We have four or five different sets of double and triple communications systems like people haven’t seen. It represents what can happen with hard work, innovation, and aggressive timelines.”

“So we had it all painted up in the new colors — red, white, and blue. We liked the baby blue, but it was time for a change. This is the sleekest look. When they asked what color I wanted, I said, “I like the colors of the American flag.” That makes sense. All of the planes in the fleet are being changed to this look — a much better look, and a more appropriate one.”

“The workmanship of this plane — when you see it, you won’t believe it. The quality of the woods, the quality of the materials, the quality of the engines. These engines are the finest and best in the world. Nothing like it. So it’s really an honor, and I want to thank the Emir of Qatar. He’s a fantastic guy. He went through a lot over the last few months.”

• On the VC-25A he used to fly to the G7 summit:

“My return from the G7 summit was the last planned trip aboard the VC-25A — the 747. We’ll probably do the museum thing. We’ll get them fixed up a little, and put them in museums. They’re great planes and great history. It’s a plane that was authorized by President Ronald Reagan so many years ago. It was flown by every president since George H.W. Bush, and it was a great plane. We had very little trouble with it. Boeing has done a fantastic job — they charge too much, but we’re going to get the prices down. Over its lifetime, that aircraft traveled to 96 countries on 223 international trips and flew over 6 million miles. It became the most famous airplane in the entire world. And as you know, it’s actually two planes — Air Force One is two planes, totally identical. The only way I can tell them apart is a slight difference in the wood grain on the desk. They became the most famous airplanes in the world.”

• On the July 4 capital flyover:

“So we’re going to have a big July 4th at the Capitol — flying over the Capitol. The generals promise to do a lot — not just one pass. They’ll do a little back and forth.”

UPDATE: 5:02 PM EDT –

Author’s note: Trump’s statement that his “return from the G7 summit was the last planned trip aboard the VC-25A” contradicts what the Air Force told us yesterday:

“The VC-25B Bridge aircraft will soon join the active executive airlift fleet alongside the VC-25A and C-32,” an Air Force spokesperson told TWZ this morning, but did not offer a firm timeline. When asked if this also meant that both of the VC-25As would remain in the service’s active executive airlift fleet, the same spokesperson said “yes.”

UPDATE 5:25 PM EDT –

Trump left his mark on the aircraft with his signature.

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — President Trump on Friday showed off the new Air Force One, a formerly Qatari-owned — and much debated — jumbo jet that has been converted into the official U.S. presidential aircraft.

The new plane — gifted from the Qatari government, raising a host of legal, ethical and security questions — will take on a new look, eschewing the Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue exterior in favor of white on the top half, its underbelly navy blue with a red stripe above it.

“This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said from inside the massive Joint Base Andrews hangar, as a couple of hundred assembled Air Force personnel looked on. He spoke after stepping off the new plane in a dramatic flourish, as his signature tune “God Bless the USA” played.

He confirmed that he would be taking the new jet to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month and indicated that he would be returning to China “at some point,” presumably a reference to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that China is hosting in November. His return from the Group of 7 summit in France this week was the last planned trip aboard the old Air Force One, he said.

“Now, when we land at airports in London and in Germany and different places, nobody tops this one, and that’s the way we have to have it for our country,” Trump said, noting that the colors and the design were to “my taste, I will say.”

He added that the new Air Force One will do a flyover during the July 4 celebrations next month.

The gift from Qatar is serving as a so-called bridge aircraft to carry the president until new planes ordered directly from Boeing arrive. That is currently slated for 2028.

The administration formally accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar last year to be used as the presidential airplane, despite questions about security and the ethics and legality of accepting such an expensive gift from a foreign government. Trump has claimed in the past that he would not fly around in the Qatari jet once he leaves office and said it would instead be donated to a future presidential library.

Trump on Friday said the U.S. was in a “little bit of a logjam” as it awaited the delivery of the new jets directly from Boeing, which had originally been scheduled for 2024 but have been delayed. He recalled asking the emir of Qatar for the use of one of their planes.

“See, a normal president wouldn’t do this. A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft,” Trump said Friday. “But our country has to be represented properly.”

Members of Congress and others have questioned the cost and effort that would be needed to make security modifications to an aircraft from a foreign government.

The Air Force said in a news release Friday that any plane deemed Air Force One “must meet rigorous security requirements” and that the Qatari plane “was modified under a disciplined engineering approach that prioritized these exact core capabilities above all else.” The Air Force also said “much of the previous head of state interior layout” of the plane was kept intact.

The Air Force has said in the past that security modifications to the jet would cost less than $400 million.

Trump’s efforts to reimagine the presidential airplane date back to his first administration, when he directed that an incoming fleet of new jets would adopt a color scheme that was nearly identical to that of his personal airplane. Then-President Biden reversed the decision in March 2023 as an Air Force review suggested that the darker colors could increase costs and delay delivery of the new jets, but once Trump returned to office, he returned to his desired colors for the plane.

Other government jets that carry other top administration officials will use a similar red, white and navy color scheme, the Air Force said earlier this year.

An Air Force spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, told the Associated Press that the two current planes, known as VC-25As, will not be retiring. Instead, they will remain in the fleet until the new Boeing planes, referred to as VC-25Bs, come into service, the spokesperson said.

It is unclear how the older jets will be used but the spokesperson said that both the Qatari jet as well as the VC-25As will be available for use and “the Presidential Airlift Group will select the appropriate aircraft for each mission based on operational requirements.”

Kim and Ceneta write for the Associated Press. Kim reported from Washington. AP writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report from Washington.

The U.S. Air Force has confirmed to TWZ that both of its existing VC-25A Air Force One jets will continue to serve in the immediate future. Several White House officials had suggested that the career of one of the jets had effectively come to an end in social media posts overnight, which are now going viral. There are growing signs that President Donald Trump’s next trip on an Air Force One jet will be aboard the so-called VC-25B “Bridge” aircraft converted from an ex-Qatari VVIP Boeing 747-8i, not a VC-25A.

“The VC-25B Bridge aircraft will soon join the active executive airlift fleet alongside the VC-25A and C-32,” an Air Force spokesperson told TWZ this morning, but did not offer a firm timeline. When asked if this also meant that both of the VC-25As would remain in the service’s active executive airlift fleet, the same spokesperson said “yes.”

TWZ had reached out after seeing the aforementioned social media posts regarding the VC-25A that took President Donald Trump and others to and from the annual G7 summit in France this week. That particular aircraft has the Air Force serial number 92-9000 and is also often referred to simply by the tail number 29000. Several outlets had subsequently reported that one or both VC-25As were being removed from service.

“‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ The Last Ride,” Steven Cheung, Assistant to the President & White House Director of Communications, wrote in a post on his official account on X, which also included a picture of 92-9000.

“I have been fortunate to fly around the world on this iconic plane for 5 1/2 years — of the 35 years it has been serving U.S. Presidents… THANK YOU… AIR FORCE ONE 2900,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino also wrote in a post on X that included a video of the aircraft.

I have been fortunate to fly around the world on this iconic plane for 5 1/2 years — of the 35 years it has been serving U.S. Presidents…

THANK YOU…

AIR FORCE ONE 2900🫡🇺🇸🦅 pic.twitter.com/tnh8xYtZDU

— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) June 18, 2026

The Air Force’s clarification to TWZ today is in line with a story from NBC News just last week. “Once the Qatari plane, which the Air Force refers to as VC-25B Bridge, enters the rotation this summer, the VC-25As will continue to serve in the executive fleet and could still be used by the president as Air Force One,” that outlet reported, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

The VC-25B Bridge “program epitomizes what is possible when clear accountability is placed on one individual, and the entire enterprise of stakeholders aligns behind a single mission outcome … deliver a bridge capability as soon as possible to relieve pressure on the aging VC-25A fleet,” Air Force Gen. Dale White, Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Critical Major Weapon Systems, had also said in a statement accompanying a press release last month.

The Air Force is also in the process of acquiring two fully-equipped VC-25Bs from Boeing, and currently expects to take delivery of the first one in mid-2028. The service also said that “on-going [VC-25A] modifications are to extend the service life until the VC-25B aircraft are fielded” in its proposed budget for the 2027 Fiscal Year, which was rolled out earlier this year.

When the Bridge aircraft enters service, it could well become President Trump’s preferred Air Force One option. Since his first term, he has been very eager to accelerate delivery of a new Air Force One jet. The VC-25B program has been mired in delays and cost growth for years. Under the current schedule, the Air Force is set to get the first of those aircraft just months before Trump leaves office again.

Under the original Air Force One replacement plan, the VC-25As would have been retired already. These jets, as well as four E-4B Nightwatch ‘doomsday plane’ flying command posts that remain in Air Force service today, are based on the 747-200. This is a model that first entered production in the 1970s, and they are becoming very difficult and expensive to operate and sustain. 200-series 747s in any configuration have all but evaporated from service worldwide, creating additional supply chain hurdles. Boeing shuttered the 747 line entirely back in 2023.

As Gen. White said in his statement in May, the Bridge aircraft will help ease the strain on the VC-25As until the fully-equipped replacement VC-25Bs arrive. At the same time, serious questions remain about the Bridge aircraft’s ability to truly support the full spectrum of Air Force One missions, as TWZ has highlighted repeatedly in the past. Operational security concerns about using a former foreign-operated VVIP jet for this mission have also been raised, though U.S officials have downplayed any such risks.

The VC-25As notably have shielding against electromagnetic pulses (EMP) and other features that harden them to be able to operate even in the midst of a nuclear exchange. The Air Force One mission also requires alternate options to be available at all times. Both VC-25As often accompany the president on international trips, with the second acting as one of the backup options.

The arrival of the Bridge aircraft could still allow the Air Force to move at least one VC-25A into more of a reserve status, at least when it comes to taskings for lower-risk trips. The full replacement plan might eventually reach a point where the Air Force could deem it possible to cannibalize 29000 for much-needed spare parts. At the same time, if the Air Force were to be left with just one truly full-spectrum Air Force One aircraft, this would only magnify the aforementioned controversy and concerns surrounding the ex-Qatari jet.

The Air Force did also confirm last year that it was buying two additional 747-8is from German flag carrier Lufthansa to support the Air Force One fleet. The service has now taken delivery of at least the first one of these aircraft, which is being used as a trainer for aircrew and maintainers on the ground. The other will be a source of spare parts.

Regardless, the Bridge aircraft is getting close now to formally entering service, and its public debut could come within a matter of weeks. An Air Force spokesperson had already confirmed to TWZ last week that the jet had received its new livery – as seen in the picture below – and was undergoing “final modifications” ahead of its formal entry into service.

The new paint scheme has itself been a controversial aspect of future Air Force One plans for years now. During his first term, President Trump announced that the future VC-25Bs would wear a new red, white, and blue scheme rather than the iconic paint job that currently adorns the VC-25As, which dates back to the Kennedy administration. President Joe Biden subsequently reversed that decision, but Trump reinstated his original plan after taking office again last year. U.S. Air Force C-32s, as well as new executive jets serving the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security, have also emerged in the past year with their own versions of this livery.

The Bridge aircraft’s current location is unclear. Last week, still unconfirmed reports emerged that the jet had flown discreetly from Texas, where it had received initial modifications and the new livery, to Andrews Air Force Base just outside Washington, D.C. Andrews is where the VC-25As, as well as various other Air Force executive aircraft, are based.

Full blown operation to get this thing out without us seeing. Fueled, loaded crew, and preflighted in the hangar. Flipped CRANE01 to face me at the south end and beam me with landing lights. Entire airport blacked out, crew and grounds crew all wearing NOD’s.

You can barely see… https://t.co/kaNB5FCdJ5 pic.twitter.com/JprSF5ykXW

— jadams (@jadamzs) June 7, 2026

When the Bridge aircraft will make its first official appearance remains to be seen. In its report last week, NBC News said that Trump could use the jet for a planned trip to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota on July 3, citing an unnamed White House official and another source familiar with the deliberations. Reuters also reported in May that the ex-Qatari 747 might make its debut during a July 4 flyover.

TWZ has reached out to the White House for more information.

It should be noted here that the evolving Air Force One plans also reflect a larger revamping of executive aircraft fleets across the U.S. military and other ends of the federal government under the current administration.

The VC-25B Bridge’s official entry in service does now looks to be increasingly imminent, but the Air Force’s VC-25As are also set to keep flying, at least for the time being.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Boeing has decided not to pursue a bid for the U.S. Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) competition. The company had previously planned to submit a version of the T-7A Red Hawk being built now for the U.S. Air Force. The winning UJTS design will replace the Navy’s T-45 Goshawk jet trainers. The new trainers will become part of a future naval aviation training curriculum for prospective tactical jet pilots that no longer requires carrier qualifications or even simulated touch-and-go carrier landings at bases on land.

The Navy issued a formal request for proposals for UJTS in March. The service currently plans to acquire 216 new jet trainers to replace the just under 200 T-45s that are in its inventory today. With Boeing now out of the running, the Sierra Nevada Corporation (which has now partnered with Northrop Grumman and General Atomics) and a team led by Leonardo and Textron are the only known remaining competitors. Lockheed Martin, which had teamed with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), also dropped out back in April. Aviation Week and Breaking Defense were among the first to report on Boeing’s decision regarding UJTS.

“Boeing is focused on meeting our commitments, and we bid for programs where we believe we can provide the right solution tailored to our customers’ needs and requirements,” a Boeing spokesperson told TWZ. “After careful evaluation, we have determined the T-7A does not meet the U.S. Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System requirements.”

“We have therefore informed the Navy that we will not bid on the current RFP. We remain committed to delivering the T-7A as a modern, growth-oriented training solution for 4th, 5th and 6th generation pilots as requirements evolve,” they added. “We look forward to providing and sustaining both current and future capabilities for the Navy.”

Boeing says its decision on UJTS is tied to the General Electric F404 turbofan. The company has stressed that the F404 is a proven design with millions of flight hours on multiple platforms, including the T-7A, and is a clear example of a ready-to-field design. Still, Boeing’s view is that the UJTS engine qualification requirements would require additional long-cycle development work, and potentially limit its ability to meet the Navy’s initial operational capability target for the new jet trainers.

All this being said, it is still not entirely clear what the specific issues might be, given that the F404 is such a well-established design that has been and continues to be used on a variety of military aircraft. This includes several other land-based jet trainer designs beyond the T-7, like the Scaled Composites Model 400, which competed against the Red Hawk in the Air Force’s T-X competition, and the Turkish Aerospace Industries Hürjet.

Most notably, the F404 also powers the TF-50N that Lockheed Martin and KAI had put forward for UJTS. At the time of writing, neither Lockheed Martin nor KAI looks to have offered a detailed explanation for the decision to withdraw from the Navy jet trainer competition.

The T-7A has also suffered from various technical and other issues over the course of its development, which has led to significant delays in its entry into Air Force service. The service is now hoping to reach initial operational capability with the Red Hawk next year. Any potential for direct synergies in terms of support and sustainment between the Air Force and Navy jet trainer fleets is now off the table.

It is worth pointing out that the TF-50N and the T-7 are also both single-engine designs. The Beechcraft M-346N that Leonardo and Textron have put forward is powered by a pair of Honeywell F124 turbofans. Two Williams FJ44-4M turbofans power SNC’s Freedom Jet, which is also the only clean-sheet design in the running for UJTS. This may point to a general view of the UJTS requirements that make single-engine designs less attractive.

The Freedom Jet design is also tailored to meet now-axed requirements for UJTS to be able to perform carrier qualifications and simulated carrier touch-and-goes at base on land. The requirements for so-called Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) training at facilities ashore have historically been structured specifically in a way that “simulates, as near as practicable, the conditions encountered during carrier landing operations,” according to the Navy.

F-18 Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP). Touch-and-Go Landing.

SNC says its choice to build an aircraft that can still perform these tasks is deliberate, and offers the Navy what could still be important capability and flexibility in the future, as you can read more about here.

The Navy’s decision to remove carrier qualifications and otherwise alter key aspects of the tactical jet aviator training pipeline has been and continues to be controversial. The service has argued that substantial investments in virtualized training and assisted carrier landing capabilities, such as Magic Carpet and its successors, have fundamentally changed the landscape when it comes to training future pilots for carrier-based operations.

Flight Ready: Magic Carpet

Flight Ready: Live, Virtual, Constructive

Earlier this month, the Navy also confirmed that it had raised the total cost ceiling for the prospective UJTS contract from approximately $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion.

“The Government updated the price cap to reflect a change in the program cost estimate due to new information received,” Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) subsequently explained, according to Breaking Defense.

The substantial increase in the projected cost has raised its own questions about the outlook for the competition and the development program that is expected to follow. The Navy’s decisions to scale back its training requirements had previously been seen as opening the door to existing land-based jet trainer designs, or derivatives thereof, like the T-7 and the TF-50N. That, in turn, was viewed as a potential way for the service to help keep costs and risk low.

The Navy’s T-45 replacement plans have already been delayed multiple times, with the service originally planning to pick a winning design this year and to have the first example enter operational service in 2028. The goal now is to award a contract in the middle of next year.

The aging T-45 fleet has faced its own struggles, including a spate of reported hypoxia-like physiological episodes among pilots that led to the development of a new oxygen system. There have been several Goshawk crashes in recent years due to a variety of factors, with the most recent coming just last month. The pilots in that case thankfully survived.

For Boeing, the decision to drop out of the running for UJTS could also allow it to refocus resources to other priorities. The company is also notably one of two remaining competitors vying to build the sixth-generation F/A-XX carrier-based fighter for the Navy. Boeing is already heavily engaged now on work for the F-47 sixth-generation fighter for the Air Force.

When it comes to the UJTS competition, with Boeing having bowed out, the SNC-led and Leonardo/Textron teams are now facing off head-to-head.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

France and Germany have announced this week that they are ditching a landmark project to jointly develop a sixth-generation fighter jet.

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on Monday that the project is being terminated, in what is being seen as a major blow to efforts to boost defence cooperation between European Union states, a key issue amid uncertainty cast by United States President Donald Trump over the readiness of the US to help defend its NATO allies.

Trump’s disdain for Europe’s reliance on the US has been building for years.

Since 2019, the US president has been flirting with the idea of obtaining Greenland.

His remarks about his desire for the island, a self-governing territory which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, built to a crescendo at the start of this year, with European leaders signalling their displeasure with the idea and Trump even threatening additional trade tariffs on those countries standing in his way.

Both Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly stated that the island is not for sale.

At one point, before Trump backed down after agreeing to a “framework of a future deal” on Greenland during a January meeting with NATO’s Mark Rutte in Davos, it seemed as if the US might even try to take the island by force – a notion that would have been inconceivable before the era of Donald Trump.

The threat of military action set off alarm bells in European capitals.

In addition to all this, Trump has withdrawn much of the US’s support for Ukraine and has consistently berated his European NATO partners for not spending enough on their own defence for years, outright urging them to reduce their reliance on the US for military protection.

More recently, Europe’s refusal to join the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began with strikes on Tehran on February 28, has further irked the US president and deepened concerns that a widening transatlantic rift could weaken the continent’s security and embolden Russia.

Until this week, a counterweight to these burgeoning concerns was in hand – the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, a landmark pact to jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet involving France, Germany and Spain.

But disagreements over whether France’s Dassault Aviation, or Airbus, which also represents Germany and Spain, should take the lead on the project have ultimately led to its collapse.

Analysts, however, say all hope is not lost: despite the dissolution of the bellwether venture, Europeans can indeed become strategically autonomous, they say – but the road there runs through shared military integration, rather than shared political aspiration.

The FCAS hoopla does “highlight the limitation of Europe’s defence industrial landscape, where national needs sometimes clash with the broader goal of defence integration”, Giuseppe Spatafora, a policy analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies, told Al Jazeera.

“But we also shouldn’t overestimate its impact.”

Setback, not collapse

According to Jamie Shea, a retired NATO official and associate fellow with the International Security Programme at Chatham House, FCAS’s dissolution is certainly a setback – but does not spell the collapse of European defence integration in its entirety.

“It was the type of high-tech, innovative and future-oriented programme that Europeans need to be able to achieve successfully if they are to become strategically autonomous and break their dependence on the US for major weapons systems,” Shea told Al Jazeera.

It had been hoped that FCAS would move the needle forward, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), space, data fusion, and the manned and autonomous systems interface space, he said.

Others would have additionally joined the project as it gained momentum, as Spain did, he added, potentially creating a domino effect in next-generation defence technologies across the continent.

But, crucially, Spatafora said, the project dates back to 2017 – a different era, before Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine and before Trump’s return to the White House.

“Nowadays, the project might be designed differently to reflect the scenario,” he said.

“But it doesn’t affect the broader trend in Europe towards reducing dependencies on US military systems and strengthening its own defence capabilities.”

France and Germany will continue with some components of FCAS, such as its “combat cloud” feature, which will increase Europe’s cyber command-and-control capabilities, said Spatafora.

Airbus and a number of other German companies are also seeking to continue the programme in other areas, particularly software architecture and drone technology, Shea said.

“So there may be benefits for European defence and its defence technology base even if a manned fighter aircraft is not built,” said Shea.

Furthermore, there are “scores” of other joint defence projects being launched in Europe at the moment, even if they are not quite as ambitious as FCAS, he added.

Guntram Wolff, a senior fellow at the European think tank Bruegel, similarly urged against alarmism.

“I would not interpret this decision overly negatively,” Wolff told Al Jazeera.

“FCAS was a very complicated project and its military relevance may well be overstated at a moment of increasing importance of cheap autonomous systems. In part, the decision also reflects a reassessment of whether the high cost was really warranted.”

Europe, meanwhile, has other strengths it can build on, the analysts said.

The continent is strong in shipbuilding, submarines, short-range missiles and air defence – with systems like the German IRIS-T and the French-Italian SAMP/T – and has demonstrated it can build capable fighter jets, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, Tornado and Gripen programmes have shown, Shea said.

Lessons and challenges

Europe’s main problem is underinvestment and the difficulty it has in scaling up to the level of mass production that modern warfare demands, said Shea.

This issue was brought into sharp focus this week when the UK’s secretary of state for defence dramatically resigned from government over defence funding.

He simply cannot keep the country safe on what he has been given to spend, he said. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, he wrote: “You have been unable and the Treasury has been unwilling to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,” he wrote.

Ultimately, European nations are going to have to come together if they have any hope of matching US military might in the future, analysts say.

“It is the challenge of integrating all systems and all domains into a single battlefield management space where the US is in advance of the Europeans,” Shea said.

“Drones, which Russia and Ukraine are producing in the millions, are a case in point. Even the US suffers from weapons shortages as we have seen in the Iran war,” the former NATO official added.

Spatafora echoed the idea that the Russia-Ukraine war has lessons to offer the rest of Europe.

“The lesson of the war in Ukraine is that, in order to deter and defend itself properly, Europe needs cheap, mass-produced capabilities,” he said.

FCAS was about a very expensive capability, “so it was not really the key need for Europe’s deterrence today”, the analyst said.

The more pressing question that FCAS raises is how European nations will coordinate large projects which single countries cannot produce on their own and which could clash with the interests of numerous national industries. This is the conundrum which will likely shape the design of future EU instruments to support cooperative defence projects, said Spatafora.

Another challenge facing the continent is that major platforms like aircraft, ships or land warfare vehicles can take decades to develop, and contracts signed today will yield equipment that will not be on the battlefield before 2040, Shea said.

Europe will need to upgrade its current capabilities – recent upgrades to the Eurofighter jet and the Leopard tank are examples he cited – and look for gap-fillers elsewhere.

Spatafora argues that the FCAS collapse should not push European countries back towards reliance on American systems – or at least not more than they already have.

“The Trump administration’s approach and the depletion of stock after the Iran war have significantly reduced the reliability of US supplies,” he said.

The reliability of US guarantees, he added, depends on other assets – long-range missiles, forward-deployed troops, command-and-control infrastructure – “rather than on a next-generation fighter jet”, the analyst added.

‘Military requirements’ over ‘political ambition’

The FCAS failure is certainly good news for Russia, Shea said, “and also for the US, which will hope to sell Europe even more F-35s and maintain Europe’s traditional dependency on US military equipment”.

A rebound from the collapsed project, therefore, he argued, is necessary. But that is already in the works, analysts say, as Europe is already turning away from US dependability.

They point to the high likelihood of renewed interest in the UK-Italy-Japan Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) for a sixth-generation stealth fighter jet, in European Space Agency military space capabilities, and in EU defence financing mechanisms like the Security Action for Europe (SAFE).

Joint ventures with Ukraine, which, under fire from Russia for four years, has mastered mass production of drone technology and AI, should also help keep Europe up to speed in key areas, Shea added.

“The US has proven to be unreliable, or simply unable to remain committed to Europe, and the defence budgets are growing,” Spatfora said.

Washington will continue to remain relevant for certain capabilities – nuclear deterrence above all – but over time, European countries will seek to develop more and more on their own.

The ultimate lesson of FCAS, however, Shea argued, is that defence integration “has to be driven by military requirements rather than political ambition”.

Cooperation between France and Germany has always been difficult, he said – they have large defence companies “that do not want to play second fiddle to the other”, he said.

A more promising model, he said, is the joint UK-Norway agreement to produce a new destroyer-class warship, with BAE Systems as the main contractor and smaller Norwegian companies participating.

“Both countries operate in the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea and share exactly the same concept of what the ship should be,” explained Shea.

“So it is this model of bottom-up, natural cooperation rather than top-down political cooperation that Europe needs to pursue.”

A novel kind of drone-based air defense system has been shown for the first time by German weapon manufacturer Diehl Defence. The Cobra 600, which has not previously been seen in public, combines a jet-powered drone platform with a missile rail armed with one of the company’s IRIS-T missiles, a weapon already used in short-range air defense systems and air-to-air applications. The new system immediately recalls recent Russian developments, which add short-range air defense missiles to its versions of the Shahed-136 long-range one-way attack drone, known locally as the Geran.

Cobra 600 is being presented at the ILA Berlin airshow, taking place this week in the German capital. The Cobra 600 is also known as the Airborne Launching and Attack System (AirLAS), and the program was launched last year.

The concept behind the Cobra 600 is that of a ‘missile taxi,’ in which the drone platform carries the IRIS-T missile over a considerable distance. All the while, the drone is meshed with a ground-based air defense system. Typically, this would be one of Diehl’s IRIS-T SLM or IRIS-T SLS systems. Of these, the IRIS-T SLS employs the same missile as the air-to-air variant — and therefore the same missile as the Cobra 600. The physical interface between the drone and the missile is a standard pylon as used on the Eurofighter jet.

As for the drone platform, this is provided by another German firm, the Polaris Raumflugzeuge aerospace start-up. It has a similar kind of efficient delta planform as the Shahed-136, with a modified flying-wing-like design. On the wingtips are mounted endplate vertical stabilizers. As displayed, the drone is powered by a pair of JetCat-P1000-PRO micro turbojet engines, each of which provides a maximum thrust of 20 pounds. However, the drone has intake ports for another two engines. It’s not clear if these are only intended to be fitted if heavier payloads are being carried, but it’s certainly a possibility. Concept artwork released by Polaris, as seen at the top of this story, shows a four-engine configuration, with the turbojets buried in the airframe and fed by much longer intakes, helping to shield them from detection.

Polaris Raumflugzeuge has already built a variety of drones in the same configuration, and the company eventually aims to scale this up to produce a spaceplane.

Drawing on its design heritage, the Cobra 600 drone has retractable wheeled tricycle landing gear, meaning that it can be reused in some scenarios. The drone therefore takes off and lands from runways, although it is also able to operate from suitable shorter airstrips, such as stretches of highway. It’s also intended to be cheap enough that commanders will also be willing to risk losing it in combat, or after it runs out of fuel.

The concept of operations has the Cobra 600 serving as an adjunct to a ground-based air defense system, extending its range considerably.

With the missile fitted, the Cobra 600 has a range of around 250 miles. This compares to around 25 miles for the ground-launched missile used in the IRIS-T SLM, or approximately eight miles for the missile used in the IRIS-T SLS.

As such, the Cobra 600 has the potential to turn the ground-based IRIS-T into something a little closer to a long-range surface-to-air missile, in terms of the distance it can cover. Of course, this is only true in terms of absolute range, with the speed and maneuverability of the drone being far inferior to a long-range missile. Unless the target is nearby, or the Cobra 600 has been pre-positioned based on known target vectors, the reaction time it offers is strictly limited. The missile itself is also able to tackle a more limited range of potential targets than a dedicated long-range surface-to-air missile, some of which offer an anti-ballistic missile capability, for example.

On the other hand, the Cobra 600 offers the distinct advantage of being able to loiter in a given area, waiting for threats to emerge, or to perform combat air patrols to screen certain sectors. It is best viewed as a forward-positioned additional launcher for the ground-based IRIS-T, and is also entirely reliant upon that system (or a similar one) for its effectiveness. At the same time, leveraging existing ground-based air defense systems as a force multiplier is a clear advantage. Another possible operational scenario would involve setting the Cobra 600s up as interceptors on a runway, sitting ready for launch on a runway to defend against lower-end threats.

In its current form, the Cobra 600 has no onboard sensors to detect targets other than the imaging infrared seeker head that’s integral to the standard IRIS-T missile.

In an operational scenario, a target for the Cobra 600 would be detected and identified by the ground-based air defense system to which it is ‘tethered.’ Connected via datalink, the ground-based system would vector the drone to the appropriate location. Using its own seeker, the IRIS-T would lock onto the target and be commanded to launch by the operator of the ground-based system. Of course, this presupposes that the datalink is not compromised by hostile interference or due to line-of-sight limitations, although SATCOM capability, like Starlink, would help keep redundant control over the drone beyond line-of-sight.

At this point, the mode of engagement is not dissimilar to the ground-based IRIS-T SLS, which features a lock-on-after-launch (LOAL) capability. This means it can fire missiles without first establishing the weapon’s lock on the target. After receiving target information in the form of three-dimensional coordinates, the missile uses inertial guidance during the initial stage of flight. Upon reaching the designated engagement altitude, its imaging infrared seeker activates and begins searching the predicted target area.

Diehl Experts | Ulrike Bartel | IRIS-T system | Diehl Defence

Another conceivable option would be to add some kind of sensor, such as an infrared camera, to the Cobra 600 drone platform, meaning that a ‘person in the loop’ could establish that the missile had locked onto the correct target.

A further option could be to ‘uncage’ the missile seeker and let it search across its field of view only when the Cobra 600 is in a designated ‘kill box,’ within which it would have authority to engage any target it acquires, reactively, and autonomously. Issues such as this clearly need to be addressed, based on combat requirements and ethical concerns.

As well as operating the Cobra 600 in conjunction with the IRIS-T SLM/SLS, it could also be integrated with other ground-based air defenses. According to Polaris, it could also be embedded with aircraft or in a maritime environment.

The Cobra 600 has already completed its first flight tests, with a dummy IRIS-T missile fitted. Currently, the development effort is mainly funded by the company, but there has also been investment from at least one interested nation.

With the IRIS-T SLM/SLS combat-proven in Ukraine, experiences from this conflict have almost certainly helped inform the development of the Cobra 600.

The war in Ukraine also provides an interesting parallel to the Cobra 600, in Russia’s missile-armed adaptations of its Shahed/Geran drones.

Russian developments have seen the fielding of these drones carrying either a single R-60 air-to-air missile, a much older and less capable equivalent to the IRIS-T, or man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS).

According to Ukrainian accounts, as well as the rail-mounted missile on the top, these drones are equipped with a camera and a radio-frequency modem.

Russian forces are mounting Igla MANPADS on Shahed drones to target Ukrainian helicopters that intercept them. The drones carry a camera and radio modem, and the missile is launched remotely by an operator in Russian territory. pic.twitter.com/T5TKPHyhVu

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) January 4, 2026

However, the concept of operations for the missile-armed Russian drones is very different. While it gives the drones a means to engage Ukrainian fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, it works more as a deterrent than as a genuinely useful tactical application. As we have noted in the past, the difficulty in obtaining a high degree of situational awareness and the limited agility of the drone raises questions about the effectiveness of these solutions. On the other hand, Russia has been working on a man-in-the-loop (MITL) control capability for the Shahed/Geran, which could potentially be used to operate the missile.

Considerably larger than the Shahed-136 design, the Cobra 600 will provide a higher performance delta overall. It is also jet-powered, and, with up to four engines, this would give more impressive response times and maneuverability than the Russian system.

It should be noted that there are other previous precedents for arming drones with air-to-air missiles. In at least one instance from 2002, a U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator drone fired a Stinger heat-seeking anti-air missile at an Iraqi MiG-25 Foxbat fighter that was trying to shoot it down, which can be seen in the video below.

Dogfight between MQ-1 Predator drone and Mig-25 Foxbat.mp4

The fast pace of development of the Cobra 600 reflects a growing need for ground-based air defenses more generally, after decades of neglect. There is also a need for less-expensive, less-exquisite solutions in this area, something that the Cobra 600 also addresses, with a price point that is significantly lower than a long-range surface-to-air missile (although with the various disadvantages outlined above). At the same time, the Cobra 600 may well end up being used against even lower-cost drones, for which the IRIS-T is still a very expensive solution.

The Cobra 600 reflects a broader shift in air defense thinking driven by the lessons of recent conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and the Middle East, where persistent drone threats, as well as cruise missiles, have exposed the limitations of traditional ground-based air defense architectures.

By combining the endurance and flexibility of a drone with the proven, off-the-shelf IRIS-T interceptor, the Cobra 600 offers a potentially cost-effective way to extend defensive coverage over greater distances and to put ‘shooters’ into contested areas that crewed systems would not be able to venture. While some questions remain about how the Cobra 600 would be integrated with existing operational doctrine, the concept highlights the growing demand for innovative, layered, and resilient air defenses as militaries seek to counter increasingly varied and numerous aerial threats.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

TOMMY Fury raced to be by Molly-Mae’s side for the birth of their second child as he chartered a private jet from boxing training camp to make it in time.

Fans were concerned history would repeat itself and Tommy wouldn’t be around during the beginning stages of their baby’s life, due to his scheduled fight against World’s Strongest Man, Eddie Hall, on June 13.

But, the Netflix star has certainly put those rumours to bed as he stopped at nothing to put Molly at ease.

The 27-year-old flew on a private jet from his training camp in Manchester down to London earlier this week.

The loved-up couple announced the birth of their baby on Instagram today with a sweet snap at the hospital.

A source said: “The whole family is over the moon. Tommy flew down on private jet to be at the birth.

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“Mollie went into labour yesterday, she had been in London for the past week while Tommy continued his training camp in Manchester ahead of his Eddie Hall fight.”

“Tommy flew straight down last night to be by her side as soon as she told him labour had started. They went to hospital this afternoon and the baby was born a few hours later,” the source continued.

“The baby is absolutely perfect. Molly is exhausted but doing well. She’s so glad Tommy made it down for the birth as she was so worried he might not get there in time.”

But despite it all being a race against the clock, Molly’s boxer beau still managed to get there in time bearing gifts.

The source added: “Tommy rushed down with flowers, her favourite chocolates Ferrero Rocher and the blanket she wanted to wrap the baby in for the first pictures, as she’d forgotten it at home.”

In the first snap of their new babe, Tommy, Molly and Bambi all gathered around the hospital bed as they lay sleeping.

The picture appeared to be taken soon after the birth as stunning Molly was still in her hospital gown.

She looked utterly overjoyed as she beamed down at their new arrival.

The smitten couple captioned the announcement post: “…and then there were 4.”

There celebrity pals and fans went wild over the news and flooded their comments with congratulations.

Before the birth, Maebe creator Molly told fans over on her YouTube that she would be giving birth to her second bundle of joy at London’s Portland Hospital.

She explained how she would be having the same midwife that was present when she gave birth to her daughter Bambi, three.

Molly and Tommy are yet to reveal the baby’s gender or name.

In her latest video, Molly confessed she could announce the name by putting it on Tommy’s fight shorts as she normally take the lead on designing them.

Perhaps all could be revealed next week.

Flights were delayed at two major UK airport because of jet fuel supply issues on Sunday evening. Passengers on ten flights flying out of Glasgow and Edinburgh airport faced delays.

The two Scottish airports have now said their operations are returning to normal after issues with the supply of jet fuel on Sunday evening.

The situation around the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been severely constrained since the outbreak of the Iran war, has led to a reduction in the global supply of jet fuel. However the issues at the two Scottish airports are understood to be linked to a shortage in drivers for fuel lorries rather than the global market.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport said 10 flights were delayed on Sunday, but deliveries had resumed on Monday.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Airport said: “A short‑term staffing issue has affected one of the fuel suppliers used by airlines at the airport, with work underway to return stock levels to normal. There have been no related flight cancellations, and the airport remains fully operational.”

The spokesperson said fuel stocks are now returning to normal and there was no widespread disruption despite delays to some flights. Jet fuel is purchased by airlines, while the airports provide storage and infrastructure.

They simulated flight conditions at Mach 5, which is roughly five times the speed of sound and far faster than the iconic Concorde ever reached during its time in the air

A Japanese organisation is working on a hypersonic jet that could travel two and a half times as fast as Concorde.

In a test carried out by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), researchers installed an experimental aircraft inside a ramjet engine testing facility at JAXA’s Kakuda Space Center in Miyagi Prefecture, Interesting Engineering reports.

They simulated flight conditions at Mach 5, which is roughly five times the speed of sound.

The trial was a big success, validating the aircraft’s thermal protection system, control surfaces, and ramjet combustion performance under extreme hypersonic conditions.

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Such tests are crucial for the legitimacy of such an aircraft, as temperatures surrounding the aircraft can soar close to 1,000 °C at that speed.

The next phase of the program might involve mounting the experimental aircraft onto a sounding rocket or similar launch vehicle for a real-world Mach 5 flight demonstration, it has been reported.

Japan’s hypersonic research efforts are part of a bigger global race to develop ultra-high-speed transportation systems. If the JAXA plane makes it into the air, it could cut the flight time from Tokyo to the US down to two hours. Currently, it takes around half a day to make the journey on a typical commercial aircraft.

The aircraft would do this, in part, by rising to very high altitudes of around 17 miles, more than double that of a conventional aircraft.

A Mach 5 hypersonic passenger plane would fly at about 3,300 mph, roughly six times faster than a normal plane.

The supersonic Concorde passenger jet operated until 2003, but its speed topped out at about Mach 2. It’s maximum recorded speed was 1,400mph.

As exciting as the aircraft is, it’ll be a long time before it’s up in the air, and even longer before anyone is flying in it.

Hideyuki Taguchi, a professor at the Tokyo University of Science, told Mainichi: “Developing a conventional aircraft typically takes about 10 years. Since the development of hypersonic passenger aircraft requires two stages of demonstration — an experimental aircraft followed by a passenger aircraft — we hope development can be completed in about 20 years.”

Tetsuya Sato, a professor at Waseda University, added: “This result is still only a first step. Our dream is to connect it to a flight demonstration.”

JAXA is far from the only organisation attempting to launch a commercial super or hypersonic aircraft.

Recently, key milestones include NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft and Boom Supersonic’s XB-1, both of which successfully completed test flights to overcome noise and efficiency hurdles.

An investigation into the incident has been launched

A plane reportedly containing more than 130 people veered off the runway during take-off before skidding across grass and crashing through airport signs. Shocking footage shows the Croatia Airlines Airbus A220-300 swerving to the left before eventually grinding to a halt.

The drama unfolded at Split Airport in Croatia on Saturday, May 16 at 1.35pm local time. An investigation has been launched, with no injuries reported among the 130 passengers and five crew members.

Passengers and crew were evacuated from the plane, which reportedly sustained damage to the front landing gear and left-hand engine.

Darko Petrin, chief investigator at Croatia’s Air, Maritime and Railway Accident Investigation Agency, said the investigation is still in its early stages.

“It is known that the aircraft, for reasons still undetermined, drifted to the left during takeoff, left the asphalt part of the runway and ended up on the grassy surface next to the runway,” Mr Petrin said.

It is understood that the black boxes on the plane have been taken for analysis. It is thought the investigation into events could take months. The plane – which was flying to Frankfurt – was thought to be travelling at around 130knots (150mph) when pilots aborted the take-off for reasons which are still not yet clear.

The jet itself was delivered less than a year ago to Croatia Airlines. Split Airport was closed for a number of hours after the incident.

BRITS could soon be able to fly to a destination in Africa with winter highs of 30C, beautiful beaches and beers for 71p.

Air Tanzania has revealed it’s planning to launch direct flights, for the very first time, between the UK and Tanzania next year.

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The airline’s CEO Peter Ulanga announced the flights will operate from London Gatwick to Kilimanjaro International Airport and wants to start the route from July 2027.

Talking to Africa Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA), Peter Ulanga said there be a ‘minimum’ of three flights a week to Tanzania.

Not only that, but he also said they want to run flights to its well-known archipelago as well.

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He added: “We will also run direct flights to Zanzibar, expanding the tourism potential of that destination from the UK, too.”

Currently there are no direct routes to Tanzania or Zanzibar – and historically there haven’t been any from the UK.

Airlines from the UK currently have to stopover at the likes of Nairobi to get there.

The new route would make travel for Brits much easier and reduce flight time that is currently between 11 and 15 hours.

The most popular part of Tanzania for Brits is Zanzibar which lies just of the coast, thanks to its white-sand beaches, winter highs of 30C and pretty resorts.

Despite its luxury feel, Zanzibar is cheap too with meals costing around £3.54 and beer can be from 99p.

Zanzibar has an incredible coastline, some of the best beaches include Nakupenda, Nungwi and Paje which have powder-like sand and are lined with palm trees.

One Sun Writer who visited enjoyed snorkelling, exploring Zanzibar’s capital, Stone Town, and taking a boat trip to Prison Island to see the giant tortoise sanctuary.

Even better news for Brits is that there’s barely any jet lag either as Zanzibar is just two hours ahead of the UK.

One of TUI’s resorts there called Riu Palace Zanzibar can be booked from £2,000pp which is a seven-night, all-inclusive stay including flights.

It has bright and airy rooms, five bars, four restaurants, three swimming pools and a gym.

Zanzibar is getting even more TUI hotels too – last year, it announced it would be expanding across destinations in Africa, including Tanzania.

JAZ Amaluna, an adults-only, five-star resort on the east coast at Uroa Beach, is set to open this year.

TUI described it as having a ‘village vibe’ with tropical gardens, authentic Africa decor and two swimming pools.

Meanwhile on the mainland, Tanzania’s capital is Dodoma and the country as a whole is known for being especially cheap.

According to Wise, Tanzania is even cheaper than Zanzibar with meals start from £1.99, coffee from £1.46, and beer as little as 71p.

Aside from its affordability, lots of the country’s appeal lies in its national parks.

Right next to the airport is Mount Kilimanjaro National Park which is where you’ll find the tallest mountain in Africa.

Tanzania is also home to the Serengeti National Park and a popular activity is to book a safari tour to see the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebras.

An important update for family holiday plans

Holidaymakers planning trips to Mediterranean hotspots are being met with an enticing development as airlines grapple with concerns over possible jet fuel shortages this summer.

Ticket prices on major routes to destinations across Spain, Italy and France have tumbled by double digits – and in some instances drastically – as carriers attempt to entice hesitant travellers into making bookings. Costs have declined by 10% or more on 15 sought-after routes, including flights from Heathrow Airport to Nice, Manchester to Palma, and Gatwick Airport to Barcelona.

In the most striking case, fares between Milan and Madrid have nosedived by as much as 44%, according to analysis by the Financial Times.

The unexpected price cuts arrive as airlines wrestle with a decline in bookings, with numerous travellers postponing holiday arrangements amid warnings that jet fuel supplies could face disruption following tensions related to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Industry insiders say consumers are holding fire, creating a high-stakes “confidence game” as airlines cut prices aggressively to fill seats before the peak summer holiday period.

One airline boss compared the present climate to the uncertainty experienced during the Covid pandemic, cautioning there remains “a lack of visibility” over how the situation will develop.

Analysis of fares between early April and early May reveals prices dropping on more than half of the busiest routes to southern Europe, particularly to seaside destinations around the Mediterranean. Significantly for families, the steepest reductions are being witnessed on traditional summer routes, with eight of the top 50 routes recording decreases of 20% or more. In contrast, only a small number of routes have experienced similarly sharp rises.

Travel industry insiders told the FT that holidaymakers were “freezing in the headlights”, resulting in them making reservations later than normal or opting for UK getaways instead.

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Research indicates one in five Britons has already switched an overseas holiday for a domestic break this year, with another fifth contemplating doing likewise.

Airlines are now being compelled to boost demand through reduced fares even as fuel expenses climb and timetables are scaled back. Approximately two million seats have already been removed globally from May timetables, reflecting both elevated costs and weaker demand.

Low-cost carriers including easyJet and Wizz Air have acknowledged that passengers are making bookings later, while also seeking to reassure travellers.

EasyJet has committed not to impose fuel surcharges on existing package reservations, while British Airways has guaranteed prices will not increase after holidays are settled.

Despite the unpredictability, industry insiders emphasise the overwhelming majority of flights are still anticipated to run. Even in a worst-case scenario, only approximately 5% to 15% of flights could be axed and passengers would probably be transferred onto alternative services.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has urged its European members to consider switching to US-made jet fuel amid rising concerns over possible shortages caused by the Iran oil crisis

European airlines should contemplate switching to US-manufactured jet fuel amid mounting worries over shortages triggered by the Iran oil crisis, a trade body has warned. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents carriers, said its European members could “ease some pressure” by altering the type of fuel they use.

Commercial aviation mainly depends on two fuel grades: Jet A-1, which is utilised across most of the world, and Jet A, which is chiefly used in North America. They are comparable, with the principal distinction being that Jet A-1 has a lower maximum freezing point, offering greater versatility on long-haul and polar routes.

Jet A is predominantly manufactured outside the Gulf, from where fuel supplies are restricted by Iran’s limitations on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. IATA’s director of flight and technical operations, Stuart Fox, stated in a blog that using Jet A “could give airlines facing a possible shortfall in fuel supply more options”.

He proposed this could “help the industry make better use of the fuel we have” and “keep schedules intact”. He continued: “Fuel supply could come under pressure if the war in the Middle East continues.

“Using Jet A, which is produced at scale outside the Gulf, could be a practical way to help ease some pressure on existing supply chains.

“This would have to be done through a controlled transition from one approved fuel grade to another. In normal times, that flexibility might not be noticeable. But in today’s circumstances it’s critical to keeping the whole system moving.”

Mr Fox noted that airlines looking to switch from Jet A-1 to Jet A would need to implement crucial safety precautions, including accounting for the higher freezing point and ensuring crew members are fully briefed on which fuel is on board.

On Friday, British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group cautioned that its profits would take a hit, anticipating spending approximately two billion euro (£1.72 billion) more than budgeted on fuel this year. Chief executive Luis Gallego stated that he does not believe the group will experience “any interruption for the summer” with regard to fuel supply.

JET fuel restrictions could hit airlines on a global scale, a major airline owner has warned.

International Airlines Group (IAG), who owns British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, initially said that most of its airlines will unaffected this summer.

However, they warned that if the crisis continues, shortages will result in restrictions across the globe.

They said: “If the current conflict continues to restrict flows of both crude oil and jet fuel from the Middle East, there is the potential for supplies of jet fuel to be restricted on a global basis.

“We are engaging with governments in each of our home markets as well as with the EU to ensure that the industry is getting the support it needs to navigate this situation.”

IAG has said they expect their profit to be lower than anticipated. It also expects spend more than £1.72billion extra on fuel costs that previously predicted.

Read more on flight crisis

FINAL CALL

All of the airlines that have been forced to close this year

FUEL FEAR

All the airlines that have cancelled flights amid jet fuel shortage holiday fears

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz since March has resulted in fears of fuel shortages, and caused airlines to start hiking prices.

Some airlines, such as Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines and Cathay Pacific, have already reduced their flights scheduled for the upcoming months in an attempt to avoid cancellations caused by shortages.

Other airlines like Air France and Virgin Atlantic have already increased the cost of flights.

Despite the warnings, UK airlines have said they are not expecting to be affected by cancellations this summer.

Tour operators including Jet2 and TUI have said they are operating a full schedule as planned.

And IAG said that 70 per cent of the company has hedged fuel for the rest of 2026.

Here are all the airlines that have cancelled flights due to the jet fuel crisis.

The UK Government has relaxed a rule for airlines which could see some summer flights dropped to save jet fuel

Travellers could find their UK flights rescheduled as the Government relaxes a particular rule that airlines rarely risk breaking. Holiday-makers should be aware that their plans may be changed to avoid journeys that would result in “wasted fuel”.

Transport Department officials say airlines may consider scrapping certain services following the introduction of a temporary rule change that allows carriers to merge flights and combine passengers. The idea is meant to cut the total number of aircraft departing, aiming to preserve jet fuel and provide holidaymakers with reassurance that trips won’t be cancelled altogether.

Rather than axing flights at short notice, the idea is to “reduce wasted fuel from flying near-empty planes”. To maximise the use of airport departures, airlines would reassess their schedules and could transfer passengers from under-booked services that haven’t sold a decent proportion of seats onto similar flights.

The Government claims these “contingency preparations” are meant to “give families greater confidence when travelling this summer”. While airlines have always been able to cancel and rebook flights, doing so typically came with a future risk to their business, reports the Express.

Addressing the update, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the government has been monitoring jet fuel supplies daily and working with airlines, airports and fuel suppliers to stay ahead of any problems. There are no immediate supply issues, but we’re preparing now to give families long-term certainty and avoid unnecessary disruption at the departure gate this summer.

“This legislation will give airlines the tools to adjust flights in good time if they need to, which helps protect passengers and businesses. We will do everything we can to insulate our country from the impact of the situation in the Middle East.”

The measures being considered by the government go further by enabling airlines to plan ahead and act on the most reliable information available on fuel supply or the wider ramifications of the Middle East conflict, rather than waiting for shortages to materialise. The government remains engaged in planning for various contingencies to boost flexibility around jet fuel supply, and domestic jet fuel production has risen. The UK sources jet fuel from multiple countries that don’t rely on the Strait, including the United States.

Explaining how flight consolidation works, TikTok user and travel specialist Kate Donnelly (@Thedonnellyedit) said: “If an airline has four flights operating to the same destination across a day, they might look at them and see two are half empty, so they might combine them and cancel one of those flights altogether. This would mean they are obviously saving on the amount of jet fuel they are using and overall cost.”

If a flight experiences a significant delay, passengers are entitled to care and assistance, including food, drink and overnight accommodation where necessary. Generally, delays that warrant this include at least two hours for short-haul, three hours for medium-haul and four hours for long-haul.

Rob Bishton, chief executive of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Passengers in the UK are well protected by some of the strongest rights in the world, offering reassurance if disruption does occur. Airlines have a duty to look after their passengers when they face disruption, and should offer a choice between a refund or alternative travel arrangements, including with another airline, if a flight is cancelled.

“Relaxing the rules around slots at airports will allow airlines more flexibility and so we expect them to give passengers as much notice as possible of cancellations during this period.”

If the airline cancels your flight, you’re legally entitled to a choice between being rerouted or receiving a refund. Find out more about your rights following a flight cancellation here.

The extended shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has created what Goldman Sachs describes as “extreme tightness” in Europe’s jet fuel supply, and the UK is seen as particularly vulnerable

Britain is at risk of rationing jet fuel due to shortages stemming from the Iran conflict, an expert has claimed.

With supplies potentially dropping to “critically low levels”, concern has grown for Europe’s jet fuel market and the consequences this will have on travel this summer. Some airlines, such as KLM and Lufthansa, have already cancelled flights due to fears about fuel.

Now, Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s largest investment banks, has said the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz has created “extreme tightness” in the market and the UK is especially exposed due to its limited stockpiles, heavy reliance on imports, and constrained refining capacity. It means the prospect of rationing is believed to being considered to help sustain the travel sector.

Jet fuel prices have doubled since the war began on February 28, prompting bleak warnings from Keir Starmer that travellers may need to rethink their holiday plans.

READ MORE: British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2 issue fuel warning amid Middle East warREAD MORE: Soaring petrol prices to have ‘huge consequences for teachers and schools’

Goldman Sachs said in a research note: “The UK is the largest net importer of jet fuel in Europe, and it holds no strategic reserves, leaving commercial inventories as the primary buffer. As a result, inventories in some countries, especially the UK, could fall to critically low levels, increasing the likelihood of rationing measures.”

The Gulf region supplies around one-fifth of globally traded fuel, and with Europe heavily dependent on those flows, airlines are now competing for alternative sources — driving prices even higher. According to The Times, Goldman Sachs noted that the UK, as Europe’s largest net importer of jet fuel, lacks strategic reserves and relies primarily on commercial inventories as a buffer. Those levels, particularly in Britain, could fall dangerously low, increasing the likelihood of rationing.

Any sustained shortage would likely force airlines to cancel or consolidate flights while pushing ticket prices upward. Fuel accounts for as much as a quarter of airline operating costs. IAG, the parent company of British Airways, has already indicated it will raise fares to offset higher fuel expenses, acknowledging it is “not immune” to ongoing volatility despite hedging strategies.

Air France expects its jet fuel bill to rise by $2.4billion (£1.77million) this year, while American Airlines anticipates an increase of more than $4billion (£2.96million) — costs that are expected to translate into higher fares and reduced perks for passengers.

Although UK ministers have suggested supplies can be sourced from elsewhere, industry figures are less optimistic. Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary said airlines are “desperately” looking for flights to cancel and could begin doing so within weeks.

Fuel suppliers have also warned that the UK has the “most limited visibility” in Europe when it comes to jet fuel supply, largely because of its dependence on Middle Eastern imports.

The European Commission said it would issue guidance to airlines this week, with a spokesperson noting that uncertainty remains high and preparations are being made for multiple scenarios.

Analysts also pointed to the UK’s reduced refining capacity following the closure of the Grangemouth refinery — Scotland’s only oil refinery — last April. Concerns had also surrounded the future of the Prax Lindsey refinery in north Lincolnshire, though its new owner, Phillips 66, said the recent acquisition should help stabilise supply.

A report from the Tony Blair Institute argued that Europe’s climate-focused energy policies have contributed to higher prices — two to three times those of competitors — and increased dependence on imports.

Fuel suppliers said May demand should remain manageable but warned that disruptions could begin by mid-to-late June if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

Normal flows of fossil fuels from the Gulf have effectively been at a standstill since the war broke out and the Strait of Hormuz was blockaded, leading to shortages and flight cancellations

Billionaires and the ultra-rich are taking more and more private jet flights despite a jet fuel crisis in commercial aviation.

While major airlines cancel tens of thousands of flights due to jet fuel issues caused by the Iran War, chartered and private aviation is booming, according to analysis shared with the Mirror.

“Aside from the Middle East, the global private jet industry has not been affected by rising fuel costs,” Nick Koscinski, analyst at WINGX Advance aviation data firm, told the Mirror. “In fact, global private jet flights are up 4.7% year-to-date through 19 April.”

In US cities that have been hit by Transportation Security Administration staff shortages amid a pay freeze, there have been much higher usage rises, with a 17% yearly increase in Washington, DC, and Houston.

Normal flows of fossil fuels from the Gulf have effectively been at a standstill since the war broke out and the Strait of Hormuz was blockaded. A fifth of the world’s oil and gas typically flows through the Strait.

Last week, global jet fuel shipments fell to the lowest recorded level. Just under 2.3m tonnes of jet fuel and kerosene were transported on ships in the seven days to 26 April, according to data company Kpler. The figure represents less than half the average weekly volume shipped before the war. Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency warned that Europe could run out of jet fuel in weeks.

WINGX Advance analysis notes that Jet A1 prices have approximately doubled since January, and they represent about 30% of variable operating costs for private jet operators.

“So this cost is significant. Our impression is that the cost increase has largely been passed through to end-users. As flight activity for private jets is up this year vs last year, clearly demand seems to be inelastic at least for now,” analyst Richard Koe added.

Flying in a private jet is one of the most fuel-intensive, emissions-spewing activities a human can engage in.

Overall, private aviation emissions increased by 46% between 2019 and 2023, with industry expectations of continued strong growth, according to a Nature journal Communications Earth & Environment study.

It also found that most of these small planes spew more heat-trapping carbon dioxide in about two hours of flying than the average person does in about a year.

In 2023, roughly a quarter million of the super wealthy, who were worth a total of $31 trillion, emitted 17.2 million tons (15.6 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide flying in private jets. That’s about the same amount as the overall yearly emissions of the 67 million people who live in Tanzania.

Stefan Gössling, a transportation researcher at the business school of Sweden’s Linnaeus University, said the issue wasn’t so much the emissions, which remain a small part of those produced globally, but the lack of fairness.

“The damage is done by those with a lot of money and the cost is borne by those with very little money,” Gössling said. A separate report by Oxfam claimed that billionaires emit more carbon pollution in 90 minutes than the average person does in a lifetime.

The airline has confirmed that the route will be axed at the end of May despite running since 2018, as the price of jet fuel leads to cancellations of a number of flight routes across Europe

A major European airline has cancelled a route from the UK that has been running since 2018, and confirmed that it’ll no longer be available to book as of the end of the month.

The move comes as the German airline, one of the largest in Europe, also announced plans to cut 20,000 short-haul flights over the summer as conflict in the Middle East drives up jet fuel prices and has led to fears of shortages.

Lufthansa, the flag carrier airline for Germany, has announced it’ll no longer run its service between Glasgow and Frankfurt, and the last flight between the two cities available to book is on May 31.

A Lufthansa Group spokesman told the Scottish Sun: “Following the decision to discontinue Lufthansa CityLine flights effective immediately and to reduce unprofitable flights in the future due to high kerosene prices, the Lufthansa Group’s summer schedule will be reduced by just under one percent of available seat-kilometers.

“To compensate for this, Lufthansa has taken immediate action and will consolidate the flight schedules of all Lufthansa Group airlines, cancelling 20,000 flights by the end of October. As a result of these decisions, flights to Glasgow will no longer be operated by Lufthansa via Frankfurt, but for the time being, by Edelweiss via Zurich offering access to the Swiss International Air Lines network.”

Lufthansa isn’t the only European airline to cancel flights. Scandinavian airline SAS confirmed it’s cancelling over 1,000 flights after the cost of jet fuel doubled. In the USA, United Airlines announced it would be cancelling 5% of flights in the short term, aiming to restore its full schedule by autumn.

Other airlines are raising prices to try to cover the soaring costs. Virgin Atlantic has said the aviation sector “cannot absorb” jet‑fuel costs at their current levels, forcing them to increase ticket prices.

READ MORE: EasyJet launches new UK flight to car-free city with £2 pintsREAD MORE: I am saving £3,000 on each family holiday by taking the kids away during term-time

Corneel Koster, Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive, told the Telegraph: “I was looking at improving our financial results by a really significant chunk. And then this happens. We have never seen jet fuel at these levels, with prices more than doubling. The industry cannot absorb increases like this.”

The airline has added a surcharge of £50 to its economy class tickets, while those in premium economy will need to pay another £180, and business class passengers will be faced with an additional £360 cost. However, the airline says these surcharges still don’t cover the rising costs.

After labour costs, fuel is the second-highest expense for airlines, and accounts for around 27% of its operating expenses. Prices for jet fuel have doubled since the conflict began, rising from $85 to $90 per barrel to $150 to $200 per barrel in recent weeks.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

Videos and other imagery bearing witness to the awesome destructive power of nuclear detonations remain some of the most enduring legacies of the Cold War. But of the more than 2,000 nuclear weapons tests that have been carried out since 1945, only very, very few have involved a live weapon dropped from a fighter-bomber.

A nuclear strike performed by the Su-7

At least one such test took place in the Soviet Union, however. On his X account, Sam Wise, an aviation analyst at Janes, brought our attention to footage that purportedly shows that test, or at least portions of it.

The test in question was especially notable in that it involved a free-fall tactical nuclear bomb that was delivered by a crewed fighter-bomber, specifically a Su-7 Fitter attack jet, in an end-to-end test.

Of those 2,000-plus nuclear tests, only a small fraction involved bombs dropped from aircraft of any kind — roughly 200 to 250 according to records compiled by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. Those tests almost always involved bombers, aircraft with multiple engines, several crew members, and, often, dedicated to delivering nuclear weapons.

The vast majority of nuclear tests were conducted underground, at sea, or on land. In the latter case, the devices were typically detonated from an elevated position, either atop a tower or suspended from a balloon. This better replicated the conditions of a typical nuclear detonation, with the weapon engineered to explode in an air burst above the ground, for maximum effect.

One reason for the relative scarcity of air-dropped nuclear bomb tests was the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, which pushed testing underground.

At the same time, dropping a live nuclear weapon from a crewed aircraft brings additional risks for relatively little benefit.

At the beginning of the nuclear age, air-dropped tests were useful to prove that bombs could be delivered, but they were inefficient in terms of scientific measurement and riskier to conduct from a safety point of view. Dropping a nuclear device from an aircraft adds variables (altitude, speed, trajectory) that complicate measurements. If something goes wrong, you risk losing a plane, or worse, an accidental detonation or contamination spread.

Based on the available information, it appears that the U.S. military never tested a live tactical nuclear bomb dropped by a tactical combat jet, despite the very many platforms, both Air Force and Navy, that were cleared to carry them operationally.

It should be noted that the U.S. Air Force did detonate one tactical nuclear weapon after launch from a fighter. However, this involved an air-to-air rocket, the nuclear-tipped Genie, which was fired on this occasion from an F-89 interceptor, in 1957’s Operation Plumbbob John.

Project Genie : Air-to-air rocket nuclear testing

France does appear to have conducted a live test of an air-dropped tactical nuclear bomb, with an AN52 dropped from a Jaguar attack jet in August 1972, to help prove that weapon for service.

Returning to the Soviet Union, on August 27, 1962, pilot Lt. Col. A. I. Shein took off in a single-seat Su-7B, with a live 244N nuclear bomb carried on the centerline station below the fuselage. He then headed for the Semipalatinsk test site on the Soviet steppe. Also known as “The Polygon,” the Semipalatinsk range was the main test site for Soviet nuclear weapons. It is in the Abai region, in what is now Kazakhstan.

Shein put the jet into a climb at an angle of around 45 degrees. This was an ‘over-the-shoulder’ toss maneuver, typical for fighter-bombers of this era. This involved the attacking aircraft pulling upward before releasing its bomb to compensate for the weapon’s gravity drop in flight. The result would put the weapon on the target, without the aircraft having to pass over it. Instead, the jet would complete a half roll and (hopefully) avoid the blast effects so it could escape. The launch maneuver sequence, as shown in the video, is apparently simulated, or at the least, heavily edited.

Shein later recalled:

“I take off, the excitement subsides, I enter the combat course, and make an approach. Everything is normal, I make an approach for a combat release, bring the aircraft into a nose-up attitude, and monitor the G-forces. After four seconds, I hear a signal, then a second, a short third, and I press the ‘release’ trigger. The green light goes out, indicating the release has been completed. The bomb’s release is felt by the shaking of the aircraft. I continue the nose-up attitude. For control, I note the release angle; it is almost constant and equal to 44–50 degrees. After passing the top point, I then descend at a 50-60 degree angle, perform a half-roll, increase engine speed and, consequently, aircraft speed, descend to the lowest possible altitude, and try to get as far and as quickly as possible from the target.”

This method required a bomb computer to calculate the release point. For the U.S. Air Force, this was the Low Altitude Bombing System, or LABS, while the Su-7 was fitted with the equivalent PBK-1 device, a separate box that was added to the left side of the instrument panel. In this context, PBK denoted Pritsel dliya Bombometaniya s Kabrirovaniya, or toss-bombing sight.

A video shows a U.S. Air Force B-47 bomber flying the LABS maneuver:

Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Low Altitude Bombing System) LABS Maneuver

After release from the Su-7, the bomb exploded at an altitude of around 800 feet, at the coordinates of 50.4°N and 77.8°E. The detonation had a yield of 11 kilotons.

As for the Su-7, this was the Soviet Union’s first-generation supersonic attack jet. It was rapidly equipping fighter-bomber regiments, and nuclear strike would become one of its most important duties.

The streamlined 244N was the first mass-produced Soviet tactical nuclear bomb specifically intended for carriage by supersonic jets.

A photo showing the earlier, non-streamlined RDS-4 tactical free-fall bomb:

RDS-4 “Tatyana” was a Soviet atomic bomb that was first tested with a yield of 27 kilotons at Semipalatinsk Test Site, on August 23, 1953. The Soviet Union’s first mass-produced tactical nuclear weapon. pic.twitter.com/c7xdODw0tZ

— NUKES (@atomicarchive) August 24, 2023

At this point, it should be noted that there is a possibility that the video shows not the 244N, but an IAB-500, a so-called ‘imitation bomb’ that replicated the shape, dimensions, weight and flight characteristics of the nuclear device. Filled with a mixture of liquid petroleum and white phosphorus, it also produced a large fireball that subsequently turned into a mushroom cloud.

With that in mind, the video could at least show portions of an IAB-500 test, although the location and the original voiceover point squarely to the 1962 Semipalatinsk test. The apparent installation of a camera pod below the Su-7’s wing, to record the detonation, also suggests a nuclear test rather than training.

Regardless, the 244N was successfully tested and was put into operational service in several variants, including with different yields up to a maximum of 30 kilotons. Most of these bombs were deployed by Soviet units stationed close to what would have been the front line in the event of a confrontation with NATO: in East Germany, Hungary, and Poland.

Starting in 1967, Western intelligence began to note training activities involving nuclear weapons at Soviet airbases in East Germany, including Su-7s taking part in LABS-type maneuvers.

In one of its reports from 1967, the U.S. Military Liaison Mission (USMLM) noted that its staff identified Su-7s from Grossenhain Air Base performing at least four LABS practice delivery runs on October 7 of that year.

“The aircraft passed over the airfield at approximately 2,000 feet, pulled up into vertical climb to 3,500 feet, pitched over, flew inverted for several seconds, then rolled over again departing to the west.”

Two days later, the USMLM reported “A very active program of local navigational, touch-and-go landings, LABS maneuvers, and possible range activity flown by Grossenhain-based Fitter and [two-seat Su-7] Moujik” aircraft.

Air-dropped tactical nuclear weapons still play a significant role in Russia’s military strategy, as evidenced by recent moves to station tactical devices in Belarus. Many Russian combat aircraft have variants capable of carrying nuclear bombs, and most Russian air-launched missiles weighing over around 1,000 pounds have the option of a nuclear warhead.

Russia really wants West to see they’re doing a tac nuke exercise. After several exercise videos they put the head of the 12 GUMO in front of a Belarusian Su-25 (possibly at Lida air base) loaded with what is said to be “training nuclear ammunition.” https://t.co/h9rHp2qvGv pic.twitter.com/sTzAqSNd9f

— Hans Kristensen (also on Bluesky) (@nukestrat) June 13, 2024

Starting in the 1960s, the 244N was superseded by a modernized development of the same weapon, the 10-kiloton RN-24, as well as the one-kiloton RN-28. These were carried, among others, by the MiG-21 and Su-7.

These bombs were followed in the 1980s followed by the RN-40 and RN-41, carried by the MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29, Su-17, Su-24, and Su-27.

To this day, the IAB-500 also remains in use to train combat jet pilots in nuclear bomb delivery. Alongside it, although much less known, and barely ever seen, are tactical nuclear bombs, the descendants of the 244N that was proven in a unique test back in 1962.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Passengers have been advised to check with their airlines before they travel

The Government has said it is “closely monitoring” UK jet fuel stocks as airlines prepare for a potential shortage. UK airlines have insisted they are “not currently seeing a shortage of jet fuel” as they buy it in advance and airports maintain stocks, the Department for Transport (DfT) said in an update published on Friday evening.

But airports will also make it easier for airlines to cancel flights without running the risk of losing their allocated “slots” – scheduled times for take-off or landing which some UK airports assign to airlines – if fuel shortages prevent them from flying.

Passengers have been advised to check with their airlines before they travel – and ensure they have appropriate travel insurance, according to the DfT.

This comes as oil prices continue to soar on the back of the US-Israel war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“There is no current need to change upcoming travel plans,” the DfT statement said.

“Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, we have been closely monitoring UK jet fuel stocks and working with airlines, airports and fuel suppliers to ensure passengers keep moving and businesses are supported.

“Government regularly meets with industry to monitor risks, understand pressures and ensure clear communication with passengers, should circumstances change.”

It added: “We recognise that families may be concerned, and that aviation and tourism businesses are operating in challenging global conditions.

“We are working hand in hand with industry to help flights keep operating.”

The DfT said airlines will also no longer be required to follow the “use it or lose it” rule at UK airports, whereby airlines must use at least 80% of their allocated slots during a season to keep them for the following year.

“Airport Coordination Limited, the independent body that manages slot allocation at UK airports, has updated its guidance so that airlines will not lose their slots if fuel shortages prevent them from flying,” the DfT update said.

“Airlines can now apply for an exemption from the ‘use it or lose it’ rule in these circumstances.” A spokesperson for Jet2 said its flight schedule remains unaffected for the foreseeable future.

“We remain in continual dialogue with our fuel suppliers, as is standard practice,” the spokesperson said. “Based on the conversations we have been having, we see no reason not to look forward to operating our scheduled programme of flights and holidays as normal.”

The airline also confirmed there will be no surcharge on any booked flights or holidays to cover cost increases, including those linked to jet fuel.

“Amidst speculation that some airlines and travel companies may introduce such surcharges, which would mean their customers facing additional costs after making a booking, Jet2 has removed the surcharge provision across all flights and holidays, even though the company has never previously applied them,” the airline announced on Friday.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2, said: “Holidaymakers should have every right to book their hard-earned break in the sun, without worrying about being hit with additional costs, and they can have that complete assurance when they book a flight or holiday with Jet2.

“As a result of today’s announcement, customers booking with Jet2 know that they are locking in their price without additional cost surprises later and we strongly believe that is the right thing to do by them.”

It is understood that Virgin Atlantic and easyJet are also expecting to operate as normal.