Military Jets Photography: 2010 07 18 RIAT Fairford

This year saw 155,000 people attend the Royal International Air Tattoo over the two days at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. The weather was much better on Saturday but although very cloudy the rain held off for Sunday. In total, 246 aircraft took part in the Air Tattoo, from 30 air arms representing 17 nations. The themes this year included the 'Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary', 'Training', and 'Cadet150'.
A selection of warbirds performed flypasts to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain which included four Hurricanes, seven Spitfires, Buchon (Me-109), Messerschmitt Bf109G-4, and Nord 1002 Pingouin (Messerschmitt 108). There was also a Multi-national flypast from air forces involved in the Battle of Britain including Hawk T1/T2 & Tornado F3 (UK), F-15C Eagle (USA), F-16A (Belgium), Mirage 2000 (France), and Boeing 757-200 (New Zealand) although this took place on Saturday only.
Display Teams included the Red Arrows (9x BAe Hawk T1/T1A), Patrouille Suisse (6x Northdrop F-5E Tiger II), Patrouille de France (8x Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet E), and the Royal Jordanian Falcons (4x Extra EA300L). The Italian WeFly! Team also displayed in three Texan 550 aircraft. Based at Caposile, near Venice, the WeFly! Team is the official representative of Baroni Rotti, the foundation of Italian disabled pilots.
One of the highlights of the display was the Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor from the 1st Fighter Wing, US Air Force Air Combat Command based at Langley Air Force Base. The F-22 Stealth Fighter was a welcome addition to the display after the disappointment of RIAT 2008, when they last came to RAF Fairford, the event was cancelled due to heavy rain and flooding. No such problems this year, and the Raptor put on an awesome display of its power and manoeuvrability. The Raptor is the world's first and only operational 5th generation fighter, combining stealth, super-cruise (supersonic cruise without afterburners), thrust vectoring giving it super manoeuvrability, and advanced intergrated avionics.
Other Jet fighters in the display included the US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet, RAF Typhoon F2, Swedish Saab Jas39C Gripen, Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16AM, the superbly flown Belgium F-16A MLU (loved the fast flypast on Sunday), and the Multi-national flypast which included the French Mirage 2000, RAF Tornado F3, and USAF F-15C which displayed on Saturday.
The RAF displayed their Tutor T1, Tucano T1, Hawk T1 & new T2, Typhoon F2, Chinook HC2, King Air B200, the Harrier GR9 making a welcome return, and a Tornado GR4 Role Demo which involved some very loud pyrotechnics and which kept the fire crews busy putting out the resulting fires.
Another highlight of the display was the Avro Vulcan B2 which took off with its distinctive whine after the USAF B-52H Stratofortress had passed overhead. This year is the 50th anniversary of the first flight of Avro Vulcan B2 XH558 which is the last flying example of its type remaining in the world. In recognition of this achievement the words 'The Spirit of Great Britain' have been added to her nose.
Making its UK public debut was the new Airbus A400M four engine turboprop military transport aircraft. This aircraft is intended to replace the Lockheed Hercules, and the Transall being used by many European nations. The A400M will operate as a cargo transport, troop transport, medical evacuation, aerial refuelling, and electronic surveillance. It is intended for use on short, soft landing strips, and for long-range cargo transport flights. The propellers on each wing turn in opposite directions while the four Europrop TP400-D6 engines turn in the same direction.
Also displaying were the USAF C-17A Globemaster III, Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker, Dutch AH-64D Apache which flew alongside the Dutch F-16AM, and the Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100. The Superjet is a modern fly-by-wire regional jet with 75 to 95 seat capacity and is designed to compete against the Embraer E-Jets and the Bombardier CRJ programs. The Superjet 100 has been described as the most important and successful civil aircraft program of the Russian aerospace industry.
The flying display was concluded with the Spitfire and Typhoon synchro-pair which gave an amazing display. The manoeuvrability of the Typhoon F2 and the gracefulness of the legendary Spitfire made for a stunning display. Both these aircraft are from RAF Coningsby, and the Spitfire LFIXc is part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.