Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September 2017 saw an airshow return to Lincolnshire, though at a different venue to the last one at RAF Waddington in July 2014. Royal Air Force (RAF) Station Scampton opened its doors and skies to visitors far and wide, hosting an airshow for the first time since 1991.
Imagine a couple of F/A-18 Hornets flying in close formation, with afterburners screaming through a valley, vapor forming over the wings and fuselage, dispensing flares, with snow-capped rugged mountain in the background. That is one image that was etched in my memory for a long long time – after seeing it for the first time on an online watering hole for aviation photographers called Fencecheck.com. I never imagined myself traveling internationally to air shows around the world, but I had put that on my bucket list anyways.
Anti-ship capabilities provided by Greek Dassault Mirage 2000s are a vital NATO asset in the increasingly contested waters of the Mediterranean. Few squadrons in the alliance are assigned this over-water mission, making the jets a prized component in the defence of Europe’s southern flank. The French-built Mirage 2000 has been in Hellenic Air Force (HAF) service since the late 1980s, but upgrades are doubtful because of the country’s continuing financial woes.
Malmen has a long military history dating back to the 1600’s but we fast forward to 1912 when the first military flying school was established on the base. The initial complement of aircraft was 3 and this developed over the course of that year.
Farnborough International Airshow 2018 | The Trade Show
With the previous airshow in 2016 infamous and remembered due to monsoon rainfall, the warm temperatures and clear skies were a welcome change this year. As the crowds descended upon Tag Aviation’s Farnborough airport, the advice was to keep a bottle of water handy, as the temperatures hovered around the 30 degree mark for the entirety of the event.
With Boeing reaching their one hundredth year in the aerospace industry and manufacturers showing off their latest aircraft, initiatives and advancements, Farnborough international airshow 2016 was set to be full of celebrations, bumper orders and a display of cutting edge technology.
The 2017 Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) was held at Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford over 3-days from the 14th-16th July 2017, with the main display days being the Saturday and Sunday.
The Turkish Air Force again in 2016 hosted Anatolian Eagle (AE). This exercise continues to attract foreign air arms, who clearly value this opportunity to assess their capabilities and readiness for an air war.
Frisian Flag is an annual exercise held at Leeuuwarden airbase in the Netherlands that brings together the combat elements of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and partner air forces that join together in multi nationality, and multi type combat manoeuvres in the skies above Europe.