"..Ukrainian Crop-Duster Turned Drone Hunter. A Ukrainian tractor driver has captured rare footage of a Zlin Z-137T AgroTurbo agricultural aircraft — normally used for crop spraying — now modified to intercept and destroy Russian UAVs. The plane has been fitted with R-73 short-range air-to-air missiles, turning a civilian workhorse into an improvised air defense asset.This innovative adaptation reflects Ukraine’s ongoing ingenuity on the battlefield, where every available resource is re-purposed to counter Russia’s relentless drone attacks.."
From the Eduard Info page;
".. one option [ for combatting increased numbers of Russian drones..] is to give light aircraft the ability to strike Russian Shahed drones from a greater distance. This is how the agricultural aircraft of Czech (or Czechoslovak) origin, the Z-137T, has appeared in Ukrainian skies. It is a successor to the famous family that began with the Z-37 Čmeliak (Bumblebee). The aircraft was captured on a short video. It sports green-grey camouflage and two white stripes on the rear fuselage, which are the Army Aviation markings. Under the centre section, there are two additional fuel tanks, and two R-73 missiles under the wings. At the location of the missile pylons, two dark bands are visible encircling the wing, apparently reinforcements of the skin. The R-73 missiles use infrared guidance with a range of 30 to 40 kilometers depending on the version. On the Z-137T they are mounted on AKU-73 pylons. The aircraft itself has no radar or other equipment for targeting drones. The pilot must therefore be guided into the proper area by a ground control station. From there the missile takes over, being fully autonomous and able to find the target on its own. For this, however, it requires electrical power. It is therefore likely that the Z-137T has been fitted with an additional generator for this purpose.
Voices were raised questioning the authenticity of the video on the grounds that the Z-137T lacks standard camouflage and the blue-yellow identification markings used at the front. It can only be said that none of the known photos of Yak-52 aircraft show a standard camouflage pattern either. They usually retain their original civilian paint, and some have even sported attempts at the wild camouflage schemes. The blue-yellow identification elements required in the combat zone are carried sparingly on Yaks as well, usually on the rudder only. These light aircraft do not operate near the frontline, but rather fight Russian drones in the interior..."
The Russian Air Force has just received the fourth batch of Su-35S fighters this year. PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of Rostec State Corporation) announced on August 21, 2025 that it has handed over the next batch of new Su-35S multi-role fighters to the Russian Air Force. The 4++ generation aircraft passed a full cycle of factory tests, were accepted by the technical staff and tested in various operating modes by pilots of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
One of a batch of new Su-35S fighters built by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Gagarin Aviation Plant (KnAAZ) of the United Aircraft Corporation, which were handed over to the Russian Air Force in August 2025. The onboard number is obscured (c) United Aircraft Corporation PJSC
UAC announced the transfer of the first batch of Su-35S fighters to the Russian Air Force in 2025 on March 29, 2025, the second batch on May 12, and the third batch on June 25. As usual, UAC reports from 2022 onward do not disclose the number of aircraft delivered, and the fighter aircraft's flight numbers are retouched on the official photos and videos distributed.The third batch handed over on June 25 reportedly consisted of three aircraft. According to "bmpd" on LiveJournal, during 2024, KnAAZ transferred four batches of Su-35S fighters to the Russian Ministry of Defense with a total estimated number of 15 aircraft. Presumably, the now transferred Su-35S fighters are manufactured under the additional (fifth) contract signed by UAC for the supply of Su-35S aircraft to the Russian Ministry of Defense. In total, taking into account previous contracts, the Russian Air Force has received an estimated 135 serial Su-35S fighters between 2012 and the end of 2024.
RIAT 2025 was not a classic! That is the general sentiment, reiterated in the report published in the current issue of Air Forces Monthly. While RIAT may still be the leading airshow in Europe in terms of aircraft participants, fast jet displays and international support, RIAT 2025 faced challenges like unexpected aircraft cancellations, including after the aircraft had actually arrived at Fairford - like the B-1. The missing Czech Gripen and Spanish Harrier were big disappointments. This also left static displays sparser than usual - full of holes in fact. Then there was the controversial £15 parking charge, which contributed to some attendees feeling the event was not its best. Despite these issues, the show also featured significant moments like the British airshow debut of the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, along with the Egyptian and Pakistani participation. There were strong flying displays from various teams and nations, including the Polish F-16. Just weeks after RIAT the Polish Air Force F-16 crashed during a rehearsal for the Radom Air Show, killing Major Maciej “Slab” Krakowian, a 36-year-old NATO veteran and award-winning airshow performer and one of the country's top fighter pilots. Back to RIAT, the U2 in flight was a first and the Atlantique display was worth watching. I liked the comments of 'capercaillie';
" ..Well compared to last year I found Friday very underwhelming, not really going to be up with the recent excellent post COVID shows I'm afraid to say. Yes there are some superb attendees (Thank you Pakistan and Egypt), but they're few and far between and after you take them away, the secondary supporting cast you can usually find are completely absent. Static fast jets to watch powering out on departure days are so low in numbers, the massive void of space that greeted you Friday from where the U-2 is parked to the west end was something I never expected to witness at Fairford and never encountered previously since 1985.
I enjoyed the Portuguese Merlin and Swedish Blackhawk, the Polish F-16 was very good (some of the hype on here was a little extreme - I've been watching Dutch and Belgian displays since the 80s) and I'm still puzzled as to why two Finnish F-18 displays were utilised as opposed to something different in the air - Atlantique, Tifon, M346 etc, but apparently that gets weirder today with two Danish F-16 displays???? I thought originally the plan was the U-2 to fly all three days..."
And 'binbrook87' on Flightline;
"...to me RIAT is about fast jets and to only have Typhoons, F-18, Gripen and F-16 in the flying programme this seemed well short on the norm. There just needed a couple more 'star' items. I know that the Harrier cancelled but it still needed more. Another Gripen wouldn't have made up the difference.
Too many helicopter displays? Which unless you're at crowd centre you cannot appreciate at all.
Maybe it's my age but the 'wow' factor just seemed to be missing this year. The flying seemed to stop earlier than previous years and it just sort of petered out rather than finishing on a high like most years..."
In the end RIAT 2025 probably just about met its aims of bringing in aircraft people would not see elsewhere, and the level of participation was perhaps -just- the best of any airshow this year compared with other 2025 airshows in Europe. I certainly found plenty of highlights in both the static displays as well as the flying. This blogger was in Paris in June and while the static was not bad with a big US participation, the flying display was a little tame mid-afternoon on the Saturday afternoon with one prop warbird after another. Although these did include Bronco, Yak, Flamand, P-40 etc etc. And Paris did have a Lakenheath F-35 in the air - this was an amazing display seen from the runway end car-park fence! And somewhat bizarrely I thought, although F-22s were at Lakenheath during the month they couldn't get airborne for RIAT...
RAF Fairford is one of the main European bases of the legendary U-2 Dragon Lady Spy Plane so it was only fitting for the United States Air Force put on a display of how this aircraft gets in and out of the air with the aid of the Dodge Charger chase car being driven by another U-2 pilot. Dafydd Phillips video of the U-2 embedded via youtube coding. A single click on the red triangle to watch here. Thanks Daf!
Above; Beechcraft Shadow R1 of 14 Squadron based at RAF Waddington from Ryan Kirkpatrick "RAF Waddington Spotting". The Shadow is part of the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) group of systems.
According to published sources RAF Shadow R.1 aircraft are still flying surveillance flights from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus over Gaza, primarily to assist in locating hostages taken during Hamas’s October 2023 attack. These flights have been ongoing since December 2023, have totaled hundreds of missions, and have continued through the summer of 2025 as recently reported on 'The Aviationist' blog.
A written'Parliamentary answer' published on 24 March 2025 confirmed that the UK has been flying unarmed surveillance flights over the Eastern Mediterranean, including Gaza, with a mandate strictly focused on hostage recovery (UK Parliament). Various independent defence reporting (UK Defence Journal blog) noted that Shadow R.1 aircraft continue operations from RAF Akrotiri toward Gaza, with the same limited mandate to “secure the release of hostages”. According to Wiki and other analyses, there have been:
Over 250 flights from December 2023 to June 2024;
And by March 2025, more than 500 flights had taken place.
A Times report in early August 2025 revealed the UK Ministry of Defence outsourced some flights to Sierra Nevada Corporation (US contractor). The move followed maintenance or deployment issues affecting the UK’s Shadow fleet; none of the eight RAF Shadow R.1s were stationed at Akrotiri at that time.
The 'Shadow' was developed from the Beechcraft King Air by Raytheon to improve intelligence gathering and the RAF's aircraft - based at Waddington - carry a bank of sophisticated electro-optical and electronic sensors with satellite communications links for inflight data transfer.
Permission
at http://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk for reuse under the OGL (Open Government License).
Screen captures from Ryan Kirkpatrick Waddington Spotter video (April 2025) of Shadow R.1 coded ZZ 507.
Also due at Duxford next weekend was another French owned and registered 'warbird' the only flying Breguet Alizé. But as the IWM just posted on FB;
" We regret to announce that the 1050 Alizé will no longer be displaying at the Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show next weekend. While we always aim to deliver a full and exciting flying programme, aircraft participation is subject to a range of operational as well as logistical factors and subject to change. We’re continuing to work hard to bring together the best possible flying list for the show and look forward to welcoming you to IWM Duxford..."
Back in April though the Alizé Marine Association already announced the premature end of operations by its rare Breguet Br-1050 Alize ex-French Navy carrier-based anti-submarine warfare aircraft as reported on the European airshows website;
"..The Association Alizé Marine, owner/operator of the world’s last remaining airworthy Breguet Br-1050 announced that as of 30 April 2023, Alizé No.59 (F-AZYI) will be grounded. The Association is being forced out of its hangar at Nîmes Grande Provence Méditerranée airport by the municipal authority, which owns the airport and has not provided any alternative accommodation..[..] Alizé Marine will hold an extraordinary general meeting, at which it will consider the possibility of liquidation... "
Then in May Key Aero reported that the historic anti-submarine warfare aircraft had found a temporary new home. On 19 May, it was ferried to Base Aérienne 701 at Salon de Provence, where the French Air Force offered hangarage for a limited period. The Alizé appeared at the Patrouille de France aerobatic team’s 70th anniversary airshow the following weekend.
In a statement on Facebook, Alizé Marine added that, “for operational reasons”, it will probably have to move to Cuers-Pierrefeu airfield at “an undetermined date”, this being the location where numerous current French Navy aircraft types receive major maintenance. The association went on to say that it still hopes to negotiate “a permanent hangarage solution” back at Nîmes, where serial 59 — which has been flying as a civilian aeroplane since 2013 — was based during its active Aéronautique Navale career.
So there was a very good chance all along that the Alizé was not going to make it to the UK, which is a shame. For one, there are very few aircraft still flying powered by the Rolls Royce Dart. Having said that, the Breguet was at Le Bourget back in June, which is where I took this photo..
As you may have noticed, a number of UK air displays have announced the French based Canadair CL-13B (F-86E) Sabre Mk 6 operated by Mistral Warbirds will be attending their events. The aircraft is flown by well known French display pilot, Frédéric Akary. The aircraft will be using IWM Duxford as a temporary base during much of the summer.. Martin Eames photos from the Duxford Flying evening held on 16 August in the setting sunshine and, bottom, some shots from Paris Le Bourget in June where the aircraft was on static display. The aircraft will be flying at the Battle of Britain airshow Duxford on 6-7 September..
..screen grab from the Planes TV live stream of the arrivals of the Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder at Fairford, another 'first' for RIAT. This is not the elderly 'A' variant from 2007 but a new 'C' version of Chinese design.
The JF-17C, the latest variant of Pakistan's JF-17 Thunder fighter jet, is capable of launching advanced air-to-air missiles, primarily the Chinese-made PL-10 and PL-15. The PL-10 is a short-range, infra-red guided missile, while the PL-15 is a long-range missile with active radar guidance, providing the JF-17C with beyond-visual-range (BVR) capabilities. Bottom photo; arrival of the PAF Il 78 MP Midas support aircraft..
The 59th nation to have participated in the show at Fairford is the Egyptian Air Force - an Egyptian Air Force Antonov 74 flies into Fairford for the first time. The EAF operates 3 of these tactical transports, an updated version of the An 72 fitted with glass cockpit, better radar and having longer range. High-mounted engines to avoid FOD. They are based at Cairo International with the 533rd Wing. First flew in 1983.
A single Rockwell B-1 Lancer of the 34th Bomb Squadron, part of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota (tail Code 'EL') arrived at RAF Fairford for the 2025 RIAT yesterday, Tuesday 15 July.
The 34th Bomb Squadron is one of the oldest active squadrons in the United States Air Force, formed on 10 May 1917, less than a month after the United States' entry into World War I. It was the 34th that carried out the famed 'Doolittle' raid on Japan - note the tail fin B-25 anniversary artwork.
Video of the arrival run and break by 'Ted Coningsby'. A single click on the red button to watch here
The last six months or so have seen some dreadful aviation accidents/crashes and the Air India Dreamliner/787 crash on 12 June 2025 just after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India has to be one of the most notorious/awful. There has been much discussion/speculation on various online forums and among the plethora of youtube pilot 'experts'. There are the usual calls for all discussion/speculation to be clamped down on - once the self-appointed 'experts' have had their 'say' of course. In this instance the 'conclusions' are not pleasant reading for the airliner crew/pilot fraternity as once again we find ourselves facing a situation where the responsibility for the deaths of 240 or so hapless passengers may have to be placed firmly at their door. Even despite the reluctance of the official interim report to call a spade a spade. This crash is among the worst of the last ten years or so - and yet we still have to wait another 12 months or so for the 'official' verdict. Those poor families..
..The Air India B787 interim accident report focuses on the operation - apparently shortly after takeoff - of the (mechanical) fuel cut off switches. That they were operated - mechanically and not as the result of some glitch or accidental movement caused by vibration - is apparently confirmed by the CVR (voice recorder) and the time stamp details. But there must have been more said after the 'why did you operate the cut off' and the response 'I did not do so' - in fact why even say it out loud? Put them back on to 'Run' immediately rather than wait ten seconds. (no it wasn't just a 'couple of seconds' as some have said). Nor does the report state what the engines were doing prior to these switches being flipped off and on - was the non-flying pilot attempting to restart the engines after a loss ofpower?
Below; extract from the incident report showing the fuel cut off switches and the throttle control module recovered from the crashed airliner.
As former B777 captain Dan Gryder shows in his 'Probable Cause' video (below) it is the action of just 4 seconds to switch both fuel cut off switches back into the run position. Of course, still climbing out, the aircraft was too low to recover, as probably the (culpable?) pilot intended. There is no further comment published in the interim report. A former air investigator commented on the BBC;
" ..it is very disappointing to read a report which provides a few salient details but leaves more questions unanswered.."
The pilot flying the take off (both hands on yoke) is not likely to have operated the switches but would he have noticed the other pilot (aircraft captain, hand perhaps covering the throttles as is normal practise) doing this manual action twice in quick succession? Would he not have exclaimed ' what are you doing?!' He may have been too stunned/numb to immediately react. There's no clue from the abridged (?) transcript from the CVR of the tone and inflection of the crew's words. In the shock of the moment did the crew use their native tongue, and was at least some of what they said lost in translation? Likewise the response, "I didn't do so." Was this indignant? Defensive? Accusatory?
As the BBC commentator put it, " the very worst reports are those designed to be read 'between the lines'... " - intimating that this is what we have here.
While Dan Gryder speculates his theory (see video below) it has been reported by Indian media that the investigation is NOT focussing on a human action causing the fuel switches to appear in the CUTOFF position, but on a system failure. Service Bulletins by Boeing issued in year 2018 recommending to upgrade the fuel switches to locked versions to prevent inadvertent flip of the switches, as well as the FAA/GE issued Service Bulletin FAA-2021-0273-0013 Attachment 2 relating to loss of control issue (also see above) were NOT implemented by Air India. The stated MN4 computer with faulty soldering, that might weaken and lose contact due to the thermal stress after a number of cycles, interprets data and commands fuel metering valves - with the lost contact attaching the MN4 processor to the EEC intermittent electrical contact, loss of signal processing and engine control faults can occur. The SB writes under conditions for the SB: "An LOTC (Loss Of Thrust Control) event has occurred due to an EEC MN4 microprocessor solder ball failure." According to discussions in the industry it may be possible with the number of cycles VT-ANB had already completed, the solder balls were weakened sufficiently to detach the MN4 from the EEC momentarily due to loads during the takeoff rotation leading to the loss of control of thrust and shut down of the engines.
Maybe there will be more in the official accident report to be published in around 12 months time. In the mean time all we can do is 'speculate' as the authorities leave an information 'vacuum'. Incidentally 'Mentour Pilot' has recently highlighted a Chinese air crash caused by a murder/suicide pilot where the official report will not/has not been published for reasons of 'social cohesion'.
In the short 8-minute video below Dan Gryder offers his analysis. Just a single click on the red button enables you to watch this short video here.
A good friend to this blog is Leigh Smith. Leigh is a tremendous photographer and has kindly shared these images of a recent excursion to RAF Lakenheath;
" As the forecast was good, I decided to visit Lakenheath for "Quick Climb Friday". I arrived just before 09.00 and was astounded to see how busy the forest entrance area and official viewing area was! I found out that the 1st FW Langley-Eustis Raptors are still in residence! I missed the launch of five Raptors, but decided to hang around for their return! I saw four of the home-team F-35As launch as 2 pairs and all of them did quick climbs from Runway 23, which meant that I didn't get the hoped for shots!.."
The 1st Fighter Wing, stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, operates and maintains nearly half of the U.S. Air Force's F-22 Raptor fleet. The wing's primary mission is to provide air superiority through the F-22, including maintaining readiness, deploying globally, and training F-22 pilots. The 1st FW is composed of the 1st Operations Group, the 1st Maintenance Group, and other supporting units.
Turkish defence company BAYKAR were showing off their Bayraktar Akinci drone in Paris. Akinci is a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) that first flew in 2019 and entered service with the Turkish Armed Forces on 29 August 2021.
The aircraft has a 5.5+ ton maximum takeoff weight (MTOW), of which over 1,350 kg (2,980 lb) is payload. Akıncı is powered by two turboprop engines of either 450 hp (460 PS; 340 kW) or 750 hp (760 PS; 560 kW) and is equipped with electronic support and ECM systems, dual satellite communication systems, air-to-air radar, collision avoidance radar, and advanced synthetic-aperture radar. It is apparently the first UAV capable of launching a cruise missile.
On 7 July 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı set an altitude record by cruising at 38,039 feet (11,594 m) for 25 hours and 46 minutes covering a distance of 7,507 km. On 10 July 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı conducted a 13 hours and 24 minute long flight with a 1360 kg payload. During the flight Akıncı was equipped with the NEB bunker buster bomb developed by TUBITAK SAGE, making it the heaviest bomb ever carried by an UAV.
