Aircraft Updates

11/04/24

Starting this week's update with our loyal friends in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. A RIAT tradition, we will have the excellent Royal Jordanian Falcons performing in the flying display with their Extra 330LX aircraft. In addition, we'll be welcoming one of their Hercules for static display. Of note for enthusiasts, their current intent is to bring one of their newly acquired ex-USAF airframes. Finally, we're extremely excited that the Royal Jordanian Air Force will be sending a pair of their F-16 Fighting Falcons to RIAT for the first time, to join the type's 50th anniversary celebrations! The current plan is that they will send one single-seat and one twin-seat jet to join the Viper Line on static display, visible on Saturday & Sunday.

Another fast jet for the flying display next, with the Hungarian Air Force sending their JAS-39C Gripen. This is always an impressive display sequence, and previous award winner, so a display not to be missed.

With the Qatar Emiri Air Force marking their 50th Anniversary this year, we're pleased to be welcoming an interesting array of their aircraft to RIAT 2024. The centrepiece of their static display area will be their C-17 Globemaster, which will be joined by a Hawk (from RAF Leeming), Typhoon (from BAE Systems at Warton) and NH90 NFH (being transported via C-17 to the UK for RIAT). We also hope to have an additional Typhoon from 12 Squadron (the joint RAF/Qatari squadron at RAF Coningsby) to join this static display, confirmation of which is expected at a later date.

This week we've continued working with a range of other Air Forces about the aircraft they are considering sending to RIAT 2024, and well as more civilian Flight Test aircraft which are appropriate for our 'Pushing the Boundaries in Air & Space' theme.

04/04/24

We're starting this week's update with confirmation of another international formation display team coming to RIAT 2024. We're pleased to announce Patrouille Suisse will be performing in the flying display on Saturday & Sunday! Flying their colourful F-5 Tigers, we haven't seen the team at RAF Fairford since 2017, so we're very pleased to be welcoming them back to RIAT this summer.

Further flying display additions this week come from Germany, who continue their fantastic annual support to RIAT, with an assortment of interesting aircraft committed to this year's show as part of the NATO 75th Anniversary celebrations. In the flying display, we're excited to see solo displays from their Eurofighter and A400M for the first time. On the ground they'll be exhibiting their impressive CH-53G helicopter, a Tornado from Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 ""Immelmann"" (who are hosting this year's NATO Tiger Meet, so fingers crossed for a specially painted jet) and for the first time their Airbus A319 aircraft which is specially modified for Open Skies missions. Finally, as part of our 'Pushing the Boundaries' theme we're very pleased that the Germany's special flight test centre, WTD 61, will also be providing a Tornado for static display.

As we celebrate NATO's 75th Anniversary, we're very pleased to welcome one of their AWACS aircraft to RIAT 2024. The aircraft will be performing a special flypast on Friday (more details in the coming months), and then be on static display for Saturday & Sunday.

We are aware of other aircraft sharing their intent to be at RIAT 2024 online, some of which we are in communication with, others which we have not heard from. A reminder that we must await the formal approval paperwork before we list them on our website as confirmed participants. More news to follow in the coming weeks.

28/03/24

With the Royal Canadian Air Force's 100th anniversary to be marked next week (1st April), this week we announce the first of our static display items coming to RIAT as part of their centenary celebrations, both of which being historic De Havilland aircraft. Firstly we have a Chipmunk coming from Old Warden in its yellow RCAF colour scheme. Secondly, the Norwegian Vampire will be returning to RAF Fairford, this year to be adorned in Canadian markings especially for RIAT 2024! These aircraft will be parked alongside the modern day RCAF assets coming to RIAT 2024 on static display. We've had a number of great planning meetings with our Canadian friends already, and we hope to be able to announce their static aircraft participation next month, in addition to the previously announced CF-188 in the flying display.

A welcome addition to the flying display will come from Slovenia, in the shape of their Pilatus PC-9M. This display is a previous award winner at RIAT, showcasing the agility of this turboprop trainer, so the display is one not to miss! The PC-9M, which is known as the Hudournik (meaning Swift) in Slovenian service, will also be participating on the static display. This year they'll be supported by Slovenia's new C-27J Spartan which will remain at RAF Fairford for static display over the weekend too.

This week we've heard from a number of American units, from the Air Force, Army & Navy, who may be able to participate with their aircraft at RIAT 2024. Their approval process to participate at RIAT well underway, however it's likely we won't be able to publicly confirm their participation until much closer to the show. However at this stage we're confident we'll have an interesting mix of American aircraft for you to view on static display come July.

21/03/24

Starting this week with the return of a popular flying display, from NATO's newest member! The Swedish Air Force will return to RIAT with their SAAB JAS-39C Gripen to perform in the flying display, and in addition they'll bring a JAS-39D Gripen for the static display.

Another returning aircraft will be the NH90 TTH of the German Army, appearing in both the flying and static displays, as part of our NATO 75th Anniversary theme. Their NH90 has been a popular display item for the last two years with it's attractive camofluage livery, so we're pleased to be welcoming them back to RAF Fairford this summer.

A rare addition to the static displays comes in the form of a Bréguet Alizé. Now operated in civilian hands, the type flew with the French Navy for many years in the anti-submarine warfare role. This will be the first time we've seen an Alizé at RIAT in over 20 years, and the plan is that the aircraft will arrive on Friday afternoon, then be on static display over the weekend as part of our NATO 75th Anniversary theme.

This week, a team from RIAT has been attending the pre-season Flying Display Symposium, hosted by the MAA & CAA. A number of topics were discussed, focused on Flight Safety, and we got the chance to catch-up with a number of squadrons/displays teams from the British Military who will be coming to RIAT in July.

Finally this week, sadly Bristow Helicopters have informed us that they'll no longer be able to send their AW189 to RIAT this year, but still plan to participate with their two other helicopters.

14/03/24

This week we're pleased to confirm the attendance of our first F-16s for RIAT 2024, coming from the Royal Danish Air Force. They will be sending their F-16AM Fightning Falcon, with the solo display again flown by demo pilot 'TEO'. In addition to the flying jet, they will also bring at least one F-16 to join our static displays. As part of our theme celebrating 50 years of the F-16, supported by Lockheed Martin, our plan for all the static F-16s coming to RIAT 2024 is for them to be parked in a long line together, located at the western end of the showground in the Green Zone. This means the 'Viper line' static display will not be viewable on Friday, however location has been chosen as some operators have indicated their jets will not be able to arrive until Friday. It also means our Aircraft Engineering Team have sufficent time to ensure the long line of jets can be precisely parked in the most photogenic manner possible for visitors on Saturday & Sunday.

In addition to the F-16s, the Royal Danish Air Force will also be sending one of their CL-604 Challenger aircraft for static display, a type we haven't seen at RIAT for a number of years, so we're looking forward to welcoming this jet, which fulfills a number of roles including Maratime Patrol.

This week we've also heard from our friends in Germany, who are planning to return to RIAT with their aircraft, so we hope to recieve the formal confirmation in the coming weeks so we're able to share with you all.

Finally, we're looking forward to welcoming members of FRIAT to Douglas Bader House tomorrow, as we host the annual FRIAT Forum.

07/03/24

This week we're thrilled to announce contributions from the Royal Air Force for the RIAT 2024 flying display programme:

Headlining the Royal Air Force contingent at RIAT 2024 will be the Red Arrows, back at full strength of nine jets and celebrating their diamond anniversary this year. As part of this, their Hawk jets have been adorned with a small special 'Diamond Season' logo and the team have redesigned their display sequence, bringing in a number of formation shapes and manoeuvres not seen for a number of years. The Red Arrows will be performing their full flying display on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. We hope to include the team in a number of special formation flypasts at RIAT 2024, but details of these will not be confirmed until much closer to the show.

The Eurofighter Typhoon, this year flown by Flight Lieutenant David 'Turbo' Turnbull, will be performing in the flying display on Saturday & Sunday. Visitors on Friday should be able to see the aircraft perform a flypast on arrival at RAF Fairford, but not a display. Likewise, for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, visitors on Friday will be treated to a series of flypasts from the Lancaster, Spitfire & Hurricane. On Saturday & Sunday, we are very lucky at RIAT to be seeing a special display from the BBMF, with the Lancaster accompanied by four of their fighter aircraft (planned to be two Spitfires and two Hurricanes).

Finally, and perhaps most exciting, for 2024 the F-35B will be performing a 'Role Demonstration' lasting around 10 minutes, rather than just the flypasts we've been used to seeing in recent years. This Role Demonstration will be performed on Saturday & Sunday and should include high speed and low speed passes, minimum radius turns, opening of the internal weapon bays and hovering.

Details of additional Royal Air Force contributions to RIAT, including static displays, will follow closer to the event.

Also this week, we're pleased that QinetiQ are supporting our 'Pushing the Boundaries in Air & Space' theme in spectacular fashion with seven examples of their fleet used by the Empire Test Pilots School due for static display. Of particular note is the debut of their new King Air 350 (which is due to painted into their eye-catching colour scheme ahead of the show) and the return of their Grob 120TP which we haven't seen since RIAT 2018. We plan to park all the QinetiQ aircraft together, alongside other British flight test aircraft, in the Blue Zone so they'll be visible on all three days of the show.

This week has had a very nordic feel in our office, as we have been in communication with the Royal Danish Air Force, Royal Norwegian Air Force and Swedish Air Force about which aircraft types they hope to send to RIAT 2024. We should be able to announce some of their contributions to the show next week...

29/02/24

This week we announce our first formation display team for the RIAT 2024 flying display. In addition to the previously announced Hornet, the Finnish Air Force will now also be sending us their Midnight Hawks Display Team! We haven't seen the team at RIAT since 2017, so we're pleased to welcome them back to RAF Fairford, and very relevant this year as it's the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the British Aerospace Hawk aircraft.

Two further additions to our static display, starting with a RIAT debut for a Turbo Firecat. Recently retired from Sécurité Civile service in France, this water bomber is now operated in civilian hands and should be a highlight of RIAT 2024 for many aviation enthusiasts. Secondly, Gazelle Squadron will be bringing their ex-QinetiQ Gazelle for static display, as part of our Pushing the Boundaries in Air and Space theme.

Last week at the European Airshow Council Convention our team had a number of positive discussions with a number of European militaries about their intended support to RIAT 2024. It was pleasing to hear from colleagues from supporting Air Forces including the Belgian, Danish, Dutch, French, Jordanian, Slovenian and Swedish that they intend to participate. We hope to receive their formal confirmations in the coming weeks.

At the same time, we are starting to hear back from other Air Arms who are sadly unable to send their aircraft to RIAT 2024 due to their operational commitments. These can be viewed at the bottom of the invited nations list.

22/09/24

A real highlight for aviation enthusiasts to kick-off this week's update, with a pair of SF-5M Freedom Fighters from the Spanish Air Force! These jets are used during the training of new fast jet pilots in Spain, from their home base at Badajoz Air Base. We're delighted to have them return to RIAT as part of our NATO 75th Anniversary theme.

Another fast jet for the flying display this week, in the shape of the ever popular Czech Gripen. In addition, they'll also be bringing one of their L-159 ALCAs which will form part of the NATO 75th Anniversary static display.

Final confirmations for this week come from Bristow Helicopters with their Coastguard helicopters. We've seen the AW189 and S-92 at RIAT previously, accompnaied by a ground display from HM Coastguard, which is always popular with visitors. In addition, this year they'll also be bringing one of their brand new AW139 helicopters to join the line-up too.

This week, we have a small team attending the European Airshow Council Convention in Brussels. This three day event is a vital date in our annual calendar for us to gather with airshow colleagues from across Europe, share best practice and discuss potential aircraft participation with the military representatives in attendance. We hope to have some more information to share with you, about the discussions our team have at EAC, in next week's update.

15/02/24

This week we add four civilian operated aircraft to our RIAT 2024 static aircraft displays.

Firstly, another aircraft used for scientific research and flight testing, as part of our 'Pushing the Boundaries in Air and Space' theme, in the shape of Cranfield University's SAAB 340 aircraft, which is used as the National Flying Laboratory Centre. This aircraft is returning to RAF Fairford after it's debut last year and will be on static display on all three days of this year's show. We hope to park a number of the aircraft coming to the show as part of this special theme together, near to the centre of the showground.

Another returning aircraft comes from Hawker Hunter Aviation. With the Hawker Hunter operated by many North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Air Arms during the alliance's early years, as we celebrate the NATO 75th Anniversary at RIAT 2024 we're pleased to have an example of this classic jet in attendance. Our aspiration is that following appearances of different machines from their fleet in recent years, we should see ZZ191 this year in it's eye-catching splinter camouflage colour scheme, although that is subject to change over the coming months.

In addition, we will also welcome a Leonardo AW169 from Uni Fly for the first time, exhibiting their new winch-equipped helicopter, and the Slingsby Nipper which nearly made it to the show last year, should be with us on static display to take the award for smallest aircraft at the show!

This week, work has continued with a variety of nations who hope to send their aircraft to RIAT 2024. For most Air Forces, whilst initial planning has begun, it is not until the Spring when we can expect to receive formal confirmation of their participation, and add the aircraft to our participation list. Of particular interest this week is the intent from Zambia to send an aircraft, after their last minute cancellation in 2023.