FlightGlobal Focus

The annual report from NATO's secretary general is out and it shows some notable trends.
More than a year of threats and berating from US President Donald Trump seems to have spurred European governments to take on a greater share of financial responsibility for collective defence. Figures for 2025 indicate Europe and Canada now account for 48% of NATO spending versus only 40% in 2024.
Meanwhile in the Middle East, the US Air Force lost a Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft while on the ground in an Iranian long-range strike. The incident calls into question the ability of the USAF to execute its agile combat employment strategy for protecting aircraft on the ground.

FlightGlobal's European defence editor joins Americas defence reporter Ryan Finnerty to discuss spending trends in Europe and the future of the crucial airborne early warning mission set.

It is a month since the Iran conflict started, and a more far-reaching impact is beginning to take root, centred around the volatility of fuel prices. With fuel being the single largest expense for any airline, any spike in pricing will ultimately impact profitability. 

FlightGlobal’s head of airlines, Lewis Harper, joins Asia-Pacific airlines editor Alfred Chua to discuss what operators are doing to tackle the issue, and what the longer-term implications are.

With the proliferation of eVTOL projects, vertical take-off and landing is no longer the exclusive privilege of helicopters.
Participants in this specialist sector of the aviation industry have been demonstrating their latest products and developments at the Verticon 2026 exhibition in Atlanta.
FlightGlobal’s European aerospace editor Dominic Perry discusses the highlights of the show and asks whether electric air mobility is just smoke-and-mirrors or a realistic prospect.
And as Airbus secures the most significant order yet for its A350F, air transport editor David Kaminski explains why the deal represents more than just a set of healthy numbers in the new freighter’s backlog.

It’s been more than two weeks since US President Donald Trump launched military action against Iran.
Dubbed Operation Epic Fury, the air and naval campaign has featured more than 200 fighter aircraft, all three of the US Air Force’s bomber types, and two aircraft carrier strike groups, plus the entire Israeli air force.
Despite facing that armada, Iran remains defiant, effectively halting ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and disrupting vital energy flows.
The inability of air power to achieve political and strategic goals appears to have caught the Trump Administration by surprise, despite numerous examples from history that have shown the limitations of air campaigns.
FlightGlobal's managing defence editor Greg Waldron joins Americas defence reporter Ryan Finnerty to discuss the latest developments in the war and what we may see next.

With the Iran conflict grounding aircraft, closing airports and stranding passengers, we assess the health of the Middle East airline industry going into this crisis – and the potential impact of a prolonged war.
FlightGlobal’s head of airlines, Lewis Harper, joins Asia airlines editor Alfred Chua to discuss the key data and developments.