TGG

TOPCAT#40

[TWZ @thewarzonewire]

Army To Use Robinson R66 For Its New Helicopter Pilot Training Concept

The R66 will be part of a fundamentally different, contractor-run approach to producing Army helicopter pilots.
https://t.co/m8dqnhhlfw

[0046 @ma6400]

SEA3617
C87F32
NZ3617
New Zealand🇳🇿
Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite
2026.08.15 Atsugi Air Base

[Australia, Explained @AusExplained]

Dear ABC,

If you're looking for opinions on the Census Data, here's mine.

I'm a former data analyst (crime), but I also designed a data matching algorithm still used today by Victoria Police because of its effectiveness, so I have some professional skin in the game.

I am unable to defend the 2026 prioritisation of Census questions.

How does "We urgently need nationally exhaustive information about whether someone identifies as straight, gay, bisexual or another sexual orientation"...

While we didn't obtain nationally exhaustive information about whether households can access a GP,

whether they have unmet childcare needs,

whether working people commute three days rather than five,

whether households are involuntarily overcrowded because they cannot find housing.

Or these types of questions, which would surely be hard to argue against from a prioritisation perspective of best value for data capture, and best opportunity for Australians to provide a holistic picture of their lives;

Citizenship / visa or residency status (because Country of birth doesn't tell government whether someone is a citizen, permanent resident, international student, temporary worker, etc. Those populations can impose quite different infrastructure/service demands).

Year a non-Australian-born person obtained permanent residency/citizenship (because there is much better longitudinal information about settlement and integration than birthplace alone)

Primary mode of transport normally used (Census asks about journey-to-work circumstances, but hybrid/WFH has made a single Census-day travel snapshot much less informative than it once was).

Housing capacity/occupancy pressure (Bedrooms alone is crude. Ask whether people are sharing bedrooms, using converted garages/studies, or accommodating people who would otherwise live elsewhere. That's enormously relevant during a housing shortage).

Reason adults remain in/shared household (Understanding drivers of Financial necessity, caring, cultural preference, disability, housing unavailability etc...would distinguish genuine housing stress from chosen multigenerational living & inform other pressure points th Government can focus on).

Internet quality/access (As infrastructure in its own right, particularly with WFH, telehealth and online government services).

Household energy characteristics (Solar, battery, EV charging, gas/electric heating etc... would be extraordinarily useful for electricity-grid infrastructure planning)

Many of these variables have extremely obvious relationships with hospitals, roads, rail, schools, housing, childcare, workforce participation and infrastructure investment.

The ABS also removed “number of children ever born” from the 2026 Census (it will return in 2031).... while introducing gender and sexual orientation.

From a strategic-planning perspective, fertility and family formation are among the most consequential long-term variables imaginable. They affect future school enrolments, workforce size, dependency ratios, healthcare demand and population ageing.

This missed opportunity to capture all those above mentioned data sets to inform in policy/planning areas isn't just a shame, it's borderline failure of professional judgement.

We removed access to data that could inform those things, and replaced it with gender questions.

Who managed to convince a ABS strategic review board
“We don't have enough justification to collect fertility information every Census, but sexual orientation warrants universal national collection every five years”??

I'd love to see the cost-benefit/consequences methodology behind that decision !

The reality is the Census can only ask so many questions, and we should prioritise the ones that provide the greatest benefit for planning Australia's future, not pander to the "feelings" of a tiny majority of people that got warm and fuzzy because a national census survey "affirmed" their gender.

Thank you, if you read this.

[Dave Jones @eevblog]

So, umm, yeah, someone cut two of Australia's 16 undersea cables.

https://t.co/U7NLHHUiFf

[Navy Lookout @NavyLookout]

Two subsea data cables off 🇦🇺Western Australia cut after suspicious activity by nearby vessel.

Indigo West (linking Australia and Singapore) and and Indigo Central (linking Perth to Sydney) cut. Just 18 subsea cables carry 99% of Australia's internet traffic. #AUKUS

https://t.co/4KxGLk0hYK

[BAE Systems, Inc. @BAESystemsInc]

#News: We will unveil the future of fighter pilot helmet technology at Farnborough International Airshow this month. Visitors will be able to experience our Project Intuity™ helmet-mounted system demonstrator at our stand in Hall 5, from July 20-24.

Learn more: https://t.co/T6FpLS6LA2

[マキシマム ザ おでん @MAXIMUM_ODEN]

ままあること😅

[Zagazola @ZagazOlaMakama]

Crazy display of rescue by the Nigerian Army Aviation at the NADCEL 2026

[SeaWaves Magazine @seawaves_mag]

Revealed: The RAF's Top Gun 'traitors' paid hundreds of thousands to train Chinese pilots how to shoot enemy planes out of the sky https://t.co/1zIibFwRHS

[Dr Phil Weir @navalhistorian]

As noted by others, the @BritishArmy Wildcats are are shared by the @RoyalNavy & @RoyalMarines of @847NAS, thus their retirement in 2027 creates a serious question mark over the Wildcat element of the Commando Helicopter Force.

[The Aviationist @TheAviationist]

British Army Wildcat Helicopters to Retire From Next Year

The now-published Defence Investment Plan includes an unexpected and shocking announcement that the British Army’s fleet of Wildcat AH1 helicopters, which entered service in 2014, will begin to be withdrawn from 2027.

Story: https://t.co/uchalnYXHX

[عشاق عالم الطيران @AviationWG]

تفاصيل جديدة لبديل طائرات A320neo..

الطراز الجديد سيتم إطلاقه عام 2030، وسيدخل الخدمة بحلول 2035، وتطلق عليه إيرباص الاسم الرمزي eAction داخليًا.

بعد إطلاق الطراز الجديد، سيبدأ إنتاجه بالتوازي مع إنتاج عائلة A320neo، وسيستمر إنتاج الطرازين بنفس الوقت لفترة طويلة.

نوع المحرك تم تأكيده مسبقًا بأنه سيكون بتصميم المروحة المفتوحة، ومن المتوقع وجود مورد واحد فقط للمحركات، وترى إيرباص أن الأفضل وجود خيارين للمحركات.

رئيس إيرباص غيوم فيوري أكد لـAviation Week أنهم ملتزمين بإطلاق البديل الجديد، بالرغم من أن بوينج لا ترى في السوق طلبًا على جيل جديد من الطائرات ضيقة البدن.

[Eddie Redcliffe @fictillius]

Sydney airspace will be a little more complicated from 9th July 2026

[Navy Lookout @NavyLookout]

Updated with images and video:

Royal Navy warships support first UK seizure of Russian shadow fleet vessel

https://t.co/uUQBuJA9IP

[Aviation Archive - Tim Farmer @aviationarchive]

On March 17, 1952, HMS Glory set a record that still stands as one of the most intense days of carrier operations in British naval history — 106 sorties in a single day during the Korean War.

She flew Sea Fury and Firefly strike missions for UN forces in some of the most demanding conditions.
Would you have wanted to fly off her deck that day?
Rare restored & colorized footage below 👇

[Afshin Ismaeli @Afshin_Ismaeli]

CENTCOM footage showing the destruction of Iranian Air Force assets at Kerman Airport during the recent conflict, including a C-130H transport aircraft, a P-3F Orion maritime patrol aircraft, and an Il-76 Ilyushin transport aircraft.

[RT @RT_com]

Passengers flung like RAG DOLLS after helicopter tail breaks in China

[Thenewarea51 @thenewarea51]

A B-2A Stealth Bomber callsign SMOG11 just finished refueling with ADLAY40 flt (x3 KC-135) on the AR-5 off the coast of California enroute to Australia. I got them working SAN FRANCISCO RADIO on HF. 🇺🇸💪😎

*Disclaimer, this is not a wartime flight. It’s an annual migration of the B-2A going down under to participate in planned exercises. 🦘🐨🇦🇺

[RAAF VIP Aircraft Movements @raaf_vip]

Flight stats for May.

🏆Workhorse award goes to A56-003

Boeing 737 MAX 8 BBJ // A62-001 // #7CFA93
Flight time: 46hrs 33mins
Distance*: 24,217 kms
✈️
B38M // A62-002 // #7CFA94
Flight time: 52hrs 44mins
Distance: 27,217 kms
✈️
Dassault Falcon 7X // A56-001 // #7CFA71
Flight time: 41hrs 50mins
Distance: 21,660 kms
✈️
FA7X // A56-002 // #7CFA72
Flight time: 27hrs 48mins
Distance: 18,013 kms
✈️
FA7X // A56-003 // #7CFA73
Flight time: 71hrs 52mins
Distance: 52,016 kms

Longest flight was Richard Marles' trip from Aqaba, Jordan to Singapore on the 18th. FA7X 003 covered 7,900 kms* in a time of 10 hours.

Shortest flight (not including circuits) was the PM's trip from Wollongong to Nowra on the 22nd, that flew 49 kms* in 15 minutes. FA7X 003 takes this title as well.

Below is all the routes covered by the different aircraft. *Distance is great circle distance measured by https://t.co/GXaiqVMxjE

#RAAF #AusAirForce #Boeing #B38M #Dassault #Falcon7X #FA7X