While drone warfare continues to rapidly develop and evolve, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed in an FoI response to Drone Wars UK that the UK has received just nine of the 16 Protector drones ordered from US company General Atomics a decade ago. Originally announced by David Cameron in 2015, the UK ordered … Read more Long delays, cost overruns and as yet unable to carry munitions, the Protector drone shows the UK is as bad at military procurement as ever.read more

Drone Wars UK is today publishing the first of a series of short briefings on the new military companies who are pushing the use of AI in warfare in the UK. Alongside this, we are publishing a list of 26 key MoD programmes developing the use of AI for warfighting. The Datafication of War: Palantir, … Read more Killing By Code: New Briefing and Dataset on UK Military AI Programmes read more

Raytheon is moving its AMRAAM Extended Range missile into full-rate production under a new $234.8 million contract from the Department of War. The award gives Raytheon Co. of Tucson, Arizona, a not-to-exceed $234,757,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee undefinitized contract action to complete the work needed for the production transition. The contract runs through April 13, 2030, with all […]read more

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, announced on April 15, 2026, a new line of Armed Black Hawk helicopter kits designed to transform the service’s most familiar utility helicopter into a multirole combat platform — capable of switching between assault, close support, precision strike, medical evacuation, ISR, and tactical lift missions using a single airframe. The […]read more

Despite repeated U.S. and Israeli claims that Iran’s air force had been destroyed or rendered combat-ineffective, confirmed OSINT data and post-ceasefire sightings now show that Tehran deliberately sheltered the overwhelming majority of its flyable combat aircraft in hardened underground bases — preserving an estimated two-thirds of its operational fleet while absorbing a campaign of unprecedented […]read more

The United Kingdom’s National Armaments Director Group has awarded a £879 million (approximately $1.1 billion) three-year contract to Boeing Defence UK to maintain and support the British Army’s AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and the Royal Air Force’s Chinook HC heavy-lift helicopters. The contract covers maintenance, technical services, logistical support, and — critically for the Apache […]read more

Britain’s Ministry of Defence announced on April 15, 2026, that it will deliver at least 120,000 drones to Ukraine this year in the largest drone package the United Kingdom has ever provided to Kyiv. Deliveries have already begun this month, the ministry confirmed, with the package spanning long-range strike drones, intelligence and reconnaissance platforms, logistics […]read more

The U.S. Air Force’s B-21 Raider stealth bomber has successfully conducted aerial refueling with a KC-135 Stratotanker as part of its ongoing flight test campaign, the Department of the Air Force announced on April 14, 2026. The milestone, achieved during the program’s rigorous test and evaluation program at Edwards Air Force Base, California, was presented […]read more

A Japanese defense technology startup has begun offering a domestically produced fixed-wing drone, with a unit cost of approximately 70,000 yen — roughly $450 at current exchange rates. JISDA, formally known as Japan Integrated Security Design Agency and headquartered in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, announced the availability of the ACM-01 “Shiraha” on April 14, 2026, positioning […]read more

Ukrainian long-range strike drones hit the JSC Sintez-Kauchuk plant in Sterlitamak early Wednesday, April 15, in one of the deepest reported strikes against Russia’s industrial infrastructure this week, according to the provided source material. The facility, located in Bashkortostan, lies roughly 1,200 kilometers from Ukraine’s eastern border, underscoring the reach of Kyiv’s long-range unmanned strike […]read more

On April 6th, 2026, Lufthansa operated two special flights to commemorate its 100th anniversary, which were numbered LH1926 and LH2026. Flight LH1926 was operated by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with registration D-ABPU on the Berlin-Zurich route, while flight LH2026 was conducted on the Airbus A350 registered D-AIXL, in this case on the Berlin-Cologne service. Over the next 100 years, several changes took place in Lufthansa’s history. The airline abandoned its hub in the German capital and moved its main operations to Frankfurt, although it also developed an important international network in Munich, which became the hub chosen for its Airbus A380s. Image: Lufthansa newsroom Lufthansa in Europe Within Europe, Lufthansa operates flights from Flughafen München Franz Josef Strauß, Munich International Airport as it is known in English, to Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Almost all of these flights are operated using narrow-body aircraft, including the Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Airbus A321, CRJ-900, and Embraer 195. In addition, as you can see in our database, Lufthansa currently offers 12 weekly flights between Frankfurt and Munich on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, making it the world’s shortest regular route performed by the 787 and one of the few within Europe using wide-body aircraft. Munich – March 2026 Flights between Frankfurt and Munich with 787s Daily except Tuesday LH 106  Frankfurt FRA 12:15 · 13:10 MUC Munich LH 107  Munich MUC 14:00 · 15:00 FRA Frankfurt   Daily except Tuesday LH 114  Frankfurt FRA 16:15 · 17:10 MUC Munich LH 115  Munich MUC 18:00 · 19:00 FRA Frankfurt   Lufthansa outside Europe As for its network outside Europe, Frankfurt serves as its main hub, offering more flights to Africa, the Americas, and Asia than Munich, from where it also operates routes to these three continents. One of the main differences between the two hubs is the aircraft used for their intercontinental services, with Munich operating the Airbus A380-800 and Frankfurt the Boeing 747-8i. Boeing 747-8 The German airline has 12 Boeing 747-8i aircraft in its fleet, having added the first one in April 2012. These aircraft feature four different liveries, including the previous livery, the new livery, the retro livery, and the 100th-anniversary livery. All of its Boeing 747-8s are based at Frankfurt Airport, serving Buenos Aires, Chicago, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, San Francisco, Tokyo Haneda, and Washington. In addition to the Boeing 747-8s, Lufthansa bases its Boeing 747-400(ER) and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft in Frankfurt for its intercontinental network; it currently has eight and fifteen of these aircraft in its fleet, respectively. Airbus A380-800 On May 19th, 2010, the Airbus A380-841 with serial number 038 landed at Frankfurt Airport brand new from the factory, marking the delivery of the first A380 to Lufthansa. The aircraft received the German registration D-AIMA and a configuration for 509 passengers in four classes, with 8 seats in First, 78 in Business, 52 in Premium Economy, and 371 in Economy. Lufthansa’s subsequent 13 Airbus A380s had the same seating configuration, bearing the registration numbers D-AIMB through D-AIMN. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all the aircraft were taken out of service in March 2020, but in June 2022 it was announced that the SuperJumbos would be returning. Eight Airbus A380-800s resumed operations as of Summer 2023, with Munich Airport serving as their base. The other six A380s, registered as D-AIMD, D-AIME, D-AIMF, D-AIMG, D-AIMI, and D-AIMJ, remain in Teruel (Spain), with the exception of D-AIMI, which is parked in Lourdes (France). Intercontinental operations The intercontinental network operated by Lufthansa from Munich consists of two aircraft types, the Airbus A350-900 and the Airbus A380-800. As for its A350s, the airline has 31 aircraft in its fleet, including one featuring special centennial livery, and plans to introduce the longer variant of the Airbus A350, the Airbus A350-1000, in the near future. D-AIFA and D-AIFB will be its first two registration numbers.  All of its Airbus A380-800s are based at Munich Airport, with the following aircraft currently in service: D-AIMA, D-AIMB, D-AIMC, D-AIMH, D-AIMK, D-AIML, D-AIMM, and D-AIMN. Due to maintenance, not all of them may be flying at the same time, as is currently the case with the D-AIMC and D-AIML. Former D-AIMJ in Teruel – April 2025 Lufthansa flies from Munich to Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and the United States, in terms of markets outside Europe. Its routes to the Americas and Asia are operated by wide-body aircraft, while some routes to Africa are served by narrow-body aircraft. Lufthansa’s routes to/from Munich CountryCityFlight(s)Aircraft BrazilSão Paulo3 weeklyAirbus A350-900 CanadaMontreal7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Toronto5 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Vancouver7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 ChinaBeijing7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Shanghai7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Egypt5 weekly5 weeklyAirbus A320neo IndiaBengaluru5 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Delhi7 weeklyAirbus A380-800 Mumbai7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 JapanOsaka5 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Tokyo Haneda7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Tokyo Narita*Airbus A380-800 MexicoMexico City3 weeklyAirbus A350-900 SingaporeSingapore5 weeklyAirbus A350-900 South AfricaJohannesburg3 weeklyAirbus A350-900 South KoreaSeoul7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 ThailandBangkok7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 TunisiaTunis3 weeklyAirbus A320/A321 United StatesBoston7 weeklyAirbus A380-800 Charlotte7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Chicago7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Denver7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Los Angeles7 weeklyAirbus A380-800 Miami6 weeklyAirbus A350-900 New York7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 Newark7 weeklyAirbus A350-900 San Diego5 weeklyAirbus A350-900 San Francisco4 weeklyAirbus A350-900 San Francisco3 weeklyAirbus A380-800 Washington D.C.7 weeklyAirbus A380-800 Airbus A380 routes India and the United States are the current markets served by the Airbus A380-800, with the United States being the main market based on the number of weekly flights and routes. During the European winter season, as can be seen in our database, Lufthansa serves the Munich-Bangkok route with the Airbus A380, replacing the A350. At the time of publication, Lufthansa is operating its first and only flight between Munich and Tokyo Narita using an Airbus A380. This is a charter flight, as the German airline does not offer this service on a regular basis and does not operate at Narita Airport in the Japanese capital, at least not with passenger flights. Current flights with Airbus A380 Boston Daily LH 424  Munich MUC 15:15 · 17:40 BOS Boston LH 425  Boston BOS 20:05 · 09:25+1 MUC Munich   Delhi Daily LH 762  Munich MUC 12:55 · 23:55 DEL Delhi LH 763  Delhi DEL 01:45 · 06:35 MUC Munich   Los Angeles Daily LH 452  Munich MUC 12:15 · 15:15 LAX Los Angeles LH 453  Los Angeles LAX 17:30 · 13:35+1 MUC Munich   San Francisco Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday LH 458  Munich MUC 16:20 · 19:00 SFO San Francisco LH 459  San Francisco SFO 21:05 · 17:10+1 MUC Munich   Washington D.C. Daily LH 414  Munich MUC 16:20 · 19:25 IAD Washington LH 415  Washington IAD 22:20 · 12:30+1 MUC Munich   Tokyo Narita Airport – October 2013 According to our database, the Munich-Tokyo Narita-Munich charter flight, under flight number LH2572/2573, will depart from Germany on April 14th and from Japan on April 15th. Munich – Tokyo – Munich LH 2572  Munich MUC 14:55 · 11:35+1 NRT Tokyo (April 14th) LH 2573  Tokyo NRT 14:15 · 21:40 MUC Munich (April 15th)   In addition to operating a daily flight between Munich and Tokyo Haneda, the German carrier offers a daily service on the Frankfurt-Tokyo Haneda route using Boeing 747-8i aircraft.     Cover photo: © Florian Leclaire – JetPhotos (Munich, Germany) The post How Munich matters: Lufthansa’s southern hub appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.read more

Bombardier Celebrates Valued Customer Vista’s First Global 8000 Aircraft April 15, 2026 matthew.nicholls Tue, 04/14/2026 - 14:46 Business jets and services Listing text Bombardier Celebrates Valued Customer Vista’s First Global 8000 Aircraft Meta Image Page category News & Eventsread more

Satellite images published Tuesday provide the first visual confirmation that the April 11 fire at Russia’s Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant — known as KnAAZ — caused significant structural damage to the workshop responsible for manufacturing the composite airframe components of the Su-57 Felon stealth fighter. The images, released by the OSINT group Exilenova+, show multiple roof […]read more

Textron Aviation Defense LLC has been awarded a five-year U.S. government contract valued at over $150 million to continue providing sustaining engineering and program management services for the T-6A, T-6B, and T-6D aircraft fleets operated by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Army. The work will be performed in Wichita, Kansas, and the contract modification […]read more

Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force are accelerating development of the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, with the program now targeting a first flight test in 2027 and initial operational capability in the early 2030s. The Sentinel program is intended to replace the Minuteman III, the aging ground-based leg of America’s nuclear triad that […]read more