Aviation Daily Digest — July 16, 2026

# Aviation Daily Digest — July 16, 2026

Your daily 60-second briefing for pilots, drone operators and aviation pros — auto-aggregated from the industry's top sources.

Top stories

• How A Jet Carrying 12 Missiles Became The US Air Force's Answer To This Country's Stealth Numbers Problem — Simple Flying. The Air Force is increasing its F-15EX purchase in part to aid the F-35, even as it awards contracts for CCA off-board platforms for the F-35.
• Airbus Closes In On 2 A330neo Deals Ahead Of Farnborough Airshow — Simple Flying. Anticipation is already becoming orders before the show even starts.
• I Flew Through Tibet's Famous High-Altitude Lhasa Airport: What It's Like Landing At 11,710 Feet — Simple Flying. What it is like flying through Lhasa airport, one of the busiest, ultra-high altitude airports perched on a high plateau.
• Alaska Airlines' 1st Transatlantic Boeing 787-9 Is Missing The 1 Product Its CEO Admits Matters Most — Simple Flying. There's no mid-market cabin class on Alaska Airlines' Dreamliners.
• Outnumbered: How Many More Flights Will The Airbus A380 Operate Vs. The Boeing 747-8 In 2026? — Simple Flying. As per the latest data, the two aircraft types have over 94,000 flights scheduled across 2026.
• United Airlines' Huge New Denver Training Center Could Bring 6,000 Jobs By 2030 — Simple Flying. The carrier is preparing for decades of growth to expand pilot capacity and reshape its footprint in the Mile High City.
• A Look At The Salaries Of Royal Canadian Air Force Fighter Jet Pilots In 2026 — Simple Flying. The organization has continued to raise salaries over time.
• Alaska Airlines' New Boeing 787s Will Debut “Next Level” Business Class & Premium Economy — Simple Flying. The cabin is inspired from previous Hawaiian products.
• Russia launches American and two cosmonauts to ISS as NASA chief visits — AeroTime. Russia launched NASA astronaut Anil Menon and cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina to the International Space Station… The post Russia launches American and two cosmonauts to ISS as NASA chief visits appeared first o…
• The Forgotten Boeing 747 Variant That Invented The Silhouette Every Jumbo Copied After It — Simple Flying. The 747-300 proved that later variants could shine.

Pilot community highlights

_The community is quiet today._

What pilots are talking about (X / Twitter)

_No fresh aviation Twitter activity captured._

Jobs of the day

_No new postings today — see all open roles on our jobs board._

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