The Royal International Air Tattoo returned to RAF Fairford from the 15th-17th July. After three long years the skies above Gloucestershire once again echoed to the sound of military aircraft from all corners of the earth. Record crowds of over 180,000 people over the three blistering July days witnessed aircraft from many European nations as well as from the United States, Japan, Brazil and of course the headline act from South Korea, as they brought the noise back to Fairford. There were four main themes for this year’s Air Tattoo, the 75th Anniversary of the USAF, the ‘Trainer’ theme, the ‘Next Generation’ and the ‘Platinum Jubilee’. All of the themes were represented in the air and on the ground though it must be said some more so than others.
This year’s static display was simply fantastic with so many highlights to mention. Everywhere you looked there was something to catch your eye - it really was a feast of military and civilian aviation. Personal highlights included the Boeing E-4B Nightwatch “doomsday plane” from the 595th C+C group of the United States Air Force, the Italian Air Force AMX from 51 Stormo, and the Saab 32 Lansen, 35 Draken and 37 Viggen from the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight. Other notable participants included the Lockheed C-130J from the Bahrain Air Transport Wing, this being the 57th different nation to attend RIAT, as well as this, the Embraer KC-390 Millennium from the Brazilian Air Force was a rare attendee, as was the Japanese Air Self Defence Force Kawasaki C-2 from the 2nd Tactical Airlift Group. The Fairford based U-2S from the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron was on show as one of the USAF contingents, whilst “heavies” came in the form of the Antonov An-30 Clank from Escadrila 902 of the Romanian Air Force and an Omani Air Force Casa 295M Persuader from 2sq. Of course, the star for many was the return of the A4 Skyhawk from Top Aces based at Wittmund, Germany. Praise has to go to the organisers who placed many of the more interesting types on the western loop with a much less cluttered background and therefore more pleasing photographic opportunities, it’s also well worth mentioning the nod to our Ukrainian friends with the space left for one of their SU-27P Flankers and the plaque commemorating former award winner Colonel Oleksandr Oksanchenko who sadly lost his life during the ongoing Russian invasion.
One of the most hotly anticipated themes at this year’s show was the 75th Anniversary of the USAF. There was a good turn out from UK based aircraft with a Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II from the newly formed 495th Fighter Squadron, otherwise known as the “Valkyries”, as well as a special schemed McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle celebrating the 75th anniversary itself – both jets flying in from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. The aircraft were placed along with the historic American airframes of the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt from Anglia Aircraft Restorations and the Supermarine Spitfire MK.XVI RW382 “The Suffolk Spitfire”, and North American P-51D Mustang “Frances Dell” from Flying Legends in Germany making its UK debut. RAF Mildenhall also provided some examples of their inventory, a Lockheed MC-130 Commando Hercules as well as a Boeing CV-22 Osprey and KC-135R for static, keeping with the tanker theme there was also the UK airshow debut of the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tanker, based on the Boeing 767 civilian airliner, joining these were a pair of 555th Sqn Lockheed Martin F-16c Fighting Falcons from Aviano AB, Italy. But, undoubtedly the star item of the event was the first airshow appearance outside of America of the Boeing E-4B Nightwatch (a heavily modified Boeing 747) also known as the “Doomsday plane”, it was parked right at the end of the static at the western end just in case a quick getaway was needed. It was certainly the highlight for many and for those in attendance on Friday it performed a low approach and go around, just simply wow!
That’s the positive part, it would be remiss of me not to mention the lacklustre flying side of the 75th anniversary. Air Tattoo HQ always states that nothing is confirmed until it appears on the website, which is fair enough, but when official USAF websites start listing they’re coming to RIAT, I think it falls into the fair game category of speculation and expectation as, after all, no one questions the Red Arrows or Typhoon listings or numerous other teams / operators websites, and thus it will always be the same for overseas participants, especially the American heavy metal. So quite how we went from the F-35A and A-10 solo demos, and the Heritage Flight listed as attending to only getting the Mildenhall based Osprey in the flying display, following the unfortunate cancellation of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress appearance left more than a sour taste in many people’s mouths – rumours swirled that RIAT was never selected as an official USAF anniversary event, and thus was never prioritised for allocation.
As you would expect, our own Royal Air Force had a sizeable presence both in the air and on the ground at the Air Tattoo. Examples of the Airbus A400M and Lockheed C-130J Hercules were at each end of the static display, with this being the last appearance of the stalwart RAF Hercules. The RAF also had examples of the long-awaited replacement for the Nimrod, the Boeing Poseidon MRA1 maritime surveillance aircraft, the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 was also on static display, as well as training types with the BAe Hawk T.2 and Beechcraft Texan II from RAF Valley and the basic trainer, the Grob Prefect dotted around the show. Joint Helicopter Command had examples of the Airbus Helicopters EC135 training helicopter from RAF Shawbury, and both frontline helicopters with the Puma HC.2 from RAF Benson and Boeing Chinook HC.6 from RAF Odiham also on static display.
In the air the Royal Air Force had the 7-ship Red Arrows displaying, the RAF Coningsby based Typhoon Display Team (with Blackjack who was serviceable for all three days, amazingly!) as well as the iconic three-ship Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and some welcome “bladeslap” from the Chinook Display Team. Another little niggle for me was that it was stated that the Typhoon and Spitfire would be flying several passes together at some of the biggest shows this year, it doesn’t get any bigger than RIAT, they were close together in the programme on two of the days, so why didn’t it happen? A missed opportunity. The Reds were certainly kept busy over the three days, as well as their usual polished display, they had three separate flypasts to perform. On Friday they were seen with the Poseidon MRA1 from 120sq at RAF Lossiemouth, Saturday saw them in formation with the Airbus A330 Voyager ‘Vespina’ and on Sunday it was the turn of the ROKAF Black Eagles to fly with the Reds. Saturday was supposed to see the Reds fly with the Airbus Beluga, so the flypast with ‘Vespina’ was a welcome surprise and the Beluga was nice to see on its own anyway later on.
It became the worst kept secret in aviation that the team were coming to the UK, when in the spring, members of the Republic of Korea Air Force openly hinted they were preparing to come over to Europe. The Black Eagles have become one of the must-see display teams in the world, flying their Korean made KAI T-50B “Golden Eagle”, and their visit was met with widespread speculation on various social media channels. The team were quite simply a cut above every other team at RIAT with multiple formation changes on the same pass and a level of dynamism not seen in any European team. Seeing them paint in smoke their national symbol; the Taegeuk, in the skies above Fairford is always special and their dramatic Tornado break to land looks spectacular to say the least. Other teams present this year included the colourful national aerobatic team from Italy; Frecce Tricolori, The Swiss Air Force PC-7 team (who flew part of their routine with the F/A-18 Hornet), The Royal Jordanian Falcons in their Extra 330s, the newly reformed Irish Swallows in their Pilatus PC-9s and the Danish Baby Blue team. Sadly, even though there were 6 of the little Saab T-17’s present, the Baby Blue team seriously lacked impact and they would certainly be more suited to a much smaller venue.
Training the next generation was another major theme for this year’s show. There were plenty of training aircraft present from many nations both in the air and on the ground. The Armee d’lair sent over their Mustang X-Ray duo flying a pair of Pilatus PC-21’s in what was their UK debut, they fly a similar routine to the Couteau Delta but sadly without the presence of a Mirage 2000! The Ilmavoimat or Finnish Air Force sent their solo BAe Hawk Mk.51 display over for the show, sadly the blue and white example didn’t make the trip, but they did send two from the Midnight Hawks team, complete with smoke generators under the wings. The display was certainly a lot better than we used to see from the RAF and the smoke certainly added an extra attractiveness to the routine. Sadly, the solo Saab SK60 display from Sweden failed to make it to Fairford as the pilot got struck down with COVID, a reminder that it is still circulating out there. Another cracking solo display came from the Slovenian Pilatus PC-9, this display is already an award winner at RIAT and it’s easy to see why with such precise low-level aerobatics and a hefty helping of negative G manoeuvres making this item certainly one to watch.
Rotary aviation was extremely well represented at this year’s Air Tattoo. It was nice to see civilian examples of the Westland Sea King ,Wessex and Gazelles in the static park as well as a healthy spread of current military examples in the air and on the ground. Lithuania sent an AS365 Dauphin making its debut on what must have been quite a trip for the crew! Another rare sighting in the static was the Sikorsky CH-53G from Hubschraubergeschwader 64, in Germany. In the air the German Army provided a stunning display from an NH90 TTH belonging to TrspHubschrRgt 10. The Hungarian Air Force provided the intimidating sight of a Mil Mi-24 Hind gunship, with their dark paint scheme the Hind certainly looked the part as it was flung around the vicinity of the airfield. The Czech Air Force also provided a Hind this time in a pairs display with a Mil Mi-171 Hip - It was a great capture by the organisers to get both Hinds in the display this year. When was the last time there was a pair of Hinds at a UK show from different countries?
The number of fast jet displays was slightly down this year for obvious reasons. However, there was still plenty of noise to be had. Of course, the aforementioned RAF Typhoon display was on show and Blackjack was put through its paces on all three days in the hands of Flt.Lt. Adam "Paddy" O’Hare, with a great display showing off its patriotic paint scheme. The Austrian Air Force also brought a pair of Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoons and a Lockheed C-130 for their unique and very rare QRA role demo - this was one of the most dramatic displays of the day and seemed to be really well received by the large crowd. Slightly unfortunate that the show opened with the Italian Air Force solo Typhoon display and the Spanish Air Force E/F-18A+ Hornet, with many people still trying to get into the show - it seems strange that two of the highlights were put on right at the start before 10am, yet we had to spend 15 minutes sitting through the Baby Blue team in the middle of the day. Maybe this could be looked at and a bit more consideration for those who may be stuck outside in the queue especially when fast jets are in less in number. However, the E/F-18A+ Hornet demo from Ala 15 looked particularly well flown with plenty of vapour on several passes, for those lining the fence line to see it.
RIAT played host to two Saab JAS-39 Gripen displays from the Swedish and Hungarian Air Forces respectively, the Swedes are regulars at Fairford, but the Hungarian example is a much rarer display; both are flown to a fantastic standard, but it was great to see the fuel dump and burn from the Hungarian demo especially. A pair of European Lockheed Martin F-16’s were displayed over the weekend, with The Greek Zeus Demo team, and the Belgian Air Force Dream Viper and X-Tiger schemed aircraft flown by Commander Steven De Vries. The Hellenic Air Force F-16 block 52+ is flown with conformal fuel tanks and looks a lot meatier than the Belgian example. Both displays are well flown but this year the demo pilot ‘Vrieske’ does put his F-16AM through quite a few negative G moves and the display looks a lot more aggressive. Finally, the RAF showed off the F-35B Lightning, sadly we only saw one flypast, hover and departure. Why they can’t do a bit more I really don’t know, I’m not asking for a display but a low approach, decent high speed run, weapons bay pass, they’ve done it before so why do we get an almost “can’t be bothered attitude”, especially when it comes to the pinnacle of the Royal Air Force, indeed this was the only RAF example to be seen at Fairford, there wasn’t even one on static display, unfortunately. Whilst not a fast jet, an honouree mention for the Italian Air Force Alenia C-27J Spartan, which was put through the always-surprising aerobatic routine of loops and rolls – something different from anything else on show.
Overall, given the situation the world currently finds itself in this year’s Royal International Air Tattoo has to be seen as a great success, the static display was simply on another level and will be hard to beat in years to come. Obviously, the flying display does have room for improvement and a bit more noise is always welcome, but it was still over 8 hours of military aviation displays from all over the world - including the ROKAF Black Eagles who stole the show, I’m not sure anywhere else could manage that, quite simply a superb event and I’m already looking forward to what 2023 might have in store!
Words and Photos by Chris Gurney.
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