The Perch

On Wednesday 7 May 2025 at 10.45 a.m., a Hornet pilot from the Lapland Air Command began a flight that took place in the immediate vicinity of Rovaniemi Air Base. The mission was a display flight exercise in which the pilot practices aerobatic maneuvers included in the Hornet display flight. The fuselage number of the F/A-18 Hornet fighter was HN-409. The flight was interrupted at 10:50 a.m. when the plane crashed in the airport area. The pilot rescued himself on the ejection seat before the plane hit the ground. The plane crashed to the ground on the edge of the runway area, from where it drifted to the corner of the F-35 construction site, which is part of the Lapland Air Command base, where there were no buildings or people. Quickly after the crash, the rescue units of both the Lapland Air Command and Finavia were at the scene of the accident. The fuselage of the plane was on fire when rescue units arrived. Rescue units immediately began extinguishing the fire. The pilot parachuted into the airfield area and walked into the vehicle of the Lapland Air Command’s rescue unit. The Air Force’s medical staff quickly began checking the pilot’s condition, and the ambulance transported him to the Lapland Central Hospital for further examinations. The burning wreck of the plane was effectively extinguished. The accident area was cordoned off by military police and police. Rovaniemi Airport was not closed. To ensure rescue traffic, Lentokentäntie was closed for a while. The pilot of the plane was slightly injured and has been discharged from the hospital. There were no injuries in the country. According to Finavia, the accident has no impact on the airport’s operations or passenger traffic. No significant damage was caused in the Air Command’s site area, and the accident will not affect the continuation of construction work.

Wreckage of the Finnish F/A-18C that crashed in Lapland 1-2 days ago.

its even funnier the second time around!

Shenyang J-XDS turning, with its moving (split) wingtips in action. Note that this is the first ever footage of this plane with its landing gear up.

another angle

apparently the AESA radar found in the PL-15

CORRECTION: Contrary to what we reported earlier, this is in fact not a DEFA cannon. It is a K-36M/DM Ejection seat used in the Su-27, Su-30, and MiG-29. This means that from this fact alone, there is an additional confirmed kill of a MiG-29 (given that only 1 was found in the crash site, so 30MKI is ruled out) We apologise for this mistake.

Evidence found of downing of Indian Rafale fighter jet Pakistan has claimed to have shot down three Indian Rafale fighter jets, the wreckage of one of which, a Rafale EH model, was found in Bathinda district of the Indian state of Punjab. The wreckage has been found to have the serial number "BS-001", which matches India's first Rafale EH fighter jet. Pakistan's Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said that Pakistan's defense forces shot down five Indian fighter jets and a drone in the early hours of May 7. He said the first two planes took off at 2:45 a.m., The third (a Rafale) was shot down an hour later, and the fourth and fifth aircraft were shot down after 5 am. A Pakistani military spokesman told Reuters that Indian jets were fired upon after they attacked Pakistan. There has been no official confirmation of this claim from India. The Indian government has called such reports "fake news." However, the New York Times reported that an Indian official confirmed that three planes had been shot down.

Parts of the Chinese PL-15 BVR missile which was fired at Su-30 but failed to hit it was recovered. Among the recovered parts is the highly secretive seeker system of PL-15 (housing an AESA radar), which is to be transferred to DRDO for analysis. Friendly nations like US will likely be given access to the data. Judging by the English writings, it is the PL-15(E), with downgraded electronics and seeker head (AESA radar), and not the PL-15 which Pakistan and China both operates

Loss count: 2 Rafales confirmed + 1 claimed 1 Mirage confirmed + 1 claimed 1 Su-30MKI 1 MiG-29 confirmed + 1 claimed Tally: Confirmed: 5 Possible: 8

Wreckage of India’s first Rafale, BS001 which was part of no. 17 squadron ‘ Golden Arrows’, stationed in Ambala, near the Pakistani border.

India tomorrow:

new wreckage, seems like a cannon from the DEFA 20mm cannon family, used on Mirage 2000s.

😭

Wreckage of a French jet in the Kashmir Valley, potentially the Mirage 2000 shot down over Wuyan

Interview with a local in the Akhnoor area, where a Su-30MKI reportedly went down. Note how the local mentions both, and the distinctive twin booms in the wreckage, likely pointing to a Su-30MKI