Credit: Müller Anderson Marin/Pindamonhangaba, Brazil
Sixteen countries brought more than 3,000 personnel and about 100 aircraft together in Brazil for Latin America’s largest multinational exercise, Cruzex 2024. Aircraft from several countries converged in the skies above Natal to make this image possible.
Credit: Richard Spolar/Orlando, Florida
Lockheed Martin F-35 Demonstration Team Commander Maj. Melanie “Mach” Kluesner flies into the Sun-filled sky at Sun ’n Fun 2025 in Lakeland, Florida. The team is based with the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah.
Credit: Jose Ramos/Lakeland, Florida
Fighter Sqdn. Composite 12 commanding officer Cdr. Elliott “Fabb” Shoup in Ambush 00 and executive officer Cdr. Matt “Lloyd” Simmons in Ambush 03 fly in a stack as Cdr. James “Tootsie” Cox keeps the photo aircraft tight in the formation. Fighter Sqdn. Composite 12 is a U.S. Navy Reserve squadron assigned to the Tactical Support Wing to provide adversary support to fleet squadrons, helping them hone their air combat skills.
Credit: Johnson Barros/Prado, Brazil
Silhouetted against the evening light, a Brazilian Air Force Northrop F-5M Tiger pilot climbs into his cockpit for a night mission during Latin America’s largest multinational exercise, Cruzex 2024. The image, captured in Natal, conveys the discipline and quiet determination that define a fighter pilot’s life.
Credit: Kevin Thiessen/Parker, Colorado
An F-35 makes a sunset flight at Sun ’n Fun 2025.
Credit: Greg Meland/Yorktown, Virginia
A U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor performs a flyby, showing its internal weapon bays in front of a cloud left by pyrotechnics at the Airpower Over Hampton Roads 2025 at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Virginia.
Credit: Mark Withee/Biloxi, Mississippi
A Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk from NAS North Island fills a “Bambi bucket” as part of practice water drops for fighting the Los Angeles fires in January. Multiple Seahawks flew a constant rotation, conducting practice drops just off the beach in Coronado, California, while avoiding a variety of maritime traffic.
Credit: Tsukasa Katsumata/Nagoya, Japan
A Sukhoi Su-30MKM takes off in the rain at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2025 in Malaysia.
Credit: Phil Hosking/Modbury North, Australia
At the Avalon International Airshow 2025, a Royal Australian Air Force Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet provides spectators with a formidable performance including magnesium pyro, also known as flares.
Credit: Mary Anne Worrell/Florence, South Carolina
The U.S. Air Force F-16 Thunderbirds perform at the Air Dot Show in Atlanta.
Credit: Dominik Kanz/Tuebingen, Germany
Photographed air-to-air over the Aegean Sea, this Greek McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom is illuminated from behind by the setting Sun. The light and sea combine to frame one of the most recognizable jet fighters of the Cold War era in a dramatic silhouette.
Credit: Erik Kuna/Oldsmar, Florida
Golden Hour light falls on the F-16 Viper Demonstration Team in the dramatic Florida skies above Sun ’n Fun 2025.
A multinational flight above Brazil, a Malaysian Su-30MKM taking off and an Australian F/A-18F are among the Editors’ Picks in the 2025 Aviation Week Photo Contest.
