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All The Highlights Of Royal International Air Tattoo 2024

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F 15 Demo RIAT
F-15QA during its display at RIAT 2024 (Image credit: Stewart Jack)

F-15QA, CF-188, and many F-16s among the notable attendees of RIAT 2024.

Taking place on Jul. 19-21, 2024, this year’s Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) celebrated some historic milestones for participant nations and their aircraft. Primary themes for this year included the 75th Anniversary of NATO, the 50th Anniversary of the British Hawk, and the 50th Anniversary of the US F-16, with special flypasts and static displays set up to celebrate each.

Moreover, this year celebrated the very special centenary of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) marking one hundred years since its formation in 1924. Six different types of RCAF aircraft attended including a specially decorated CF-188 Hornet (which was awarded The Paul Bowen Trophyin memory of RIAT’s co-founder, for the Best Solo Jet Demonstration), which took part in a special flypast with an Imperial War Museum Spitfire Mk Vb to commemorate the historic milestone.

Canadian Hornet and IWM Spitfire (Image credit: Stewart Jack)

In total 150,000 people descended on RAF Fairford over the three day period, braving the inconsistent weather, to explore aviation in all of its glory. Featuring display teams from six different nations and individual aircraft from countless more, RIAT 2024 highlighted the best that aviation has to offer.





F-15 Demo Team

On May 24, 2024, Boeing officially announced that their demo team would return to the airshow circuit this year with two jets, generating a lot of excitement within the aviation community.

The F-15QA Advanced Eagle Demo team made its first public appearance in the U.S. at the Spirit of St. Louis Airshow and its European debut at RIAT 2024. Boeing brought to the UK four F-15QAs for RIAT and Farnborough International Airshow.

On Wednesday Jul. 10, 2024, two Qatari  F15QA jets (17-040 and 17-042 respectively) arrived into RAF Lakenheath as RETRO 61/62, supported by KC-135 #59-1475 flying as BLUE 13. The two aircraft landed at RAF Lakenheath at 20:20 local, marked up with US markings on them.

These jets went to Farnborough first as they needed to carry out a Validation display. They then departed Farnborough on Thursday Jul. 18 and went to Fairford.

The F-15QA arriving at RAF Lakenheath. Note the marked up markings: the aircraft received the Qatari roundels at RAF Lakenheath (Image credit: Stewart Jack)

A second pair (#17-039 and #17-041) arrived on Saturday night into RAF Mildenhall at 20:12 local, flying again under radio callsign RETRO61/62. The tanker support was BLUE 14, KC-135R 58-001  which departed Pease AFB at 13:42 local and recovered back to KPSM at 17:40 local. The remainder of the leg was covered by BLUE 15 KC-135R 57-1514 which landed at RAF Mildenhall at 20:30 local.

They then moved to RAF Lakenheath where they remained until Jul. 18. On that day, at approximately 17:45LT, one of them departed and went to Farnborough. The other one stayed at RAF Lakenheath.

F-15QA during the demo at RIAT (Image credit: Stewart Jack)

As done in the U.S., the two F-15QAs did the display both in clear (QA536) and missiled up (QA538) configurations at RIAT.





NATO 75th Anniversary

One of the primary themes of RIAT 24 was the 75th birthday of NATO, the organisation committed to maintaining European defence. Whilst NATO leaders discussed their relationship the week prior, RIAT saw several of NATO’s air arms join together to demonstrate their mission statement to the public.

To celebrate the occasion, on Friday Jul. 19, aircraft from twelve NATO nations joined the NATO E-3 Sentry for an anniversary flypast, highlighting NATO’s combat air and intelligence gathering capability to the public at large. For the weekend these aircraft, minus the RC-135 Rivet Joint from the RAF, would be seen on the static display allowing the public to view these aircraft up close. This enabled them to chat directly with the aircrews, learning about their aircraft and the role they play in maintaining European security.

Czech Gripen during their solo display (Image credit: Stewart Jack )

Gripens from Sweden and Czechia, Eurofighters from Germany and Italy, Harriers from Spain and an F-35B Lightning II from the UK thundered into the skies above RIAT demonstrating NATO air power at its very best.

The C-27J was awarded the Sir Douglas Bader Trophy (Best Individual Flying Display) for “an aerobatic demonstration by an aircraft which you wouldn’t expect to see performing such manoeuvres, which was consistently flown over multiple sequences” (Image credit: Stewart Jack)

Pushing the Boundaries

Another key theme for this year the Air Tattoo team aimed to highlight the importance of aircraft testing, evaluation and sustainability to the public at large. This theme led to attendance from defence partners, including QinetiQ and the Empire Test Pilots School (ETPS), Tempest and the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) and BAE Systems, all showcasing how they push the boundaries of aerospace.

Aircraft such as QinetiQ’s Airborne Technology Demonstrator showed how new technology is developed and tested before being put into action on the RAF’s front line. This airframe features a radome taken from a Eurofighter Typhoon which allows for better testing of a radar with various new computer systems on board. This developmental aircraft allows the RAF to stay ahead of the curb when it comes to aircraft testing and the integration of new technologies.

QinetiQ’s Airborne Technology Demonstrator based on RJ100 aircraft (Image credit: Jamie Gray)

Sustainability is another big aspect of RIAT’s mission statement, with the RAF Typhoon display operating on a mixture of biofuel and aviation fuel in a world first. RAF Air Vice-Marshal Shaun Harris stated that the UK remains “at the forefront of this important work with industry partners,” where access to Sustainable Aviation Fuel “ensures that the Royal Air Force can continue to operate anywhere we are needed globally” without reliance on global fuel sources.

F-16 at Fifty

RIAT also heavily featured the F-16 this year due to 2024 being the 50th anniversary of the YF-16’s first flight. To mark the occasion RIAT organised a static line up of F-16s from air arms across the globe, featuring aircraft from a variety of NATO and non-NATO nations, showcasing the many blocks of F-16 that have been produced over the years.

The air show was also graced by F-16 displays, such as the Solo Turk demonstration from the Turkish Air Force, as well as a display from the Danish Air Force (RDAF). Demonstrating that despite the age of the F-16 it remains competitive even with the widespread adoption of its successor the F-35 Lightning II. The F-16 remains one of the world’s most prolific combat aircraft, still being bought and used in large quantities even after its retirement by a few of Europe’s leading air arms.

SoloTurk display aircraft (Image credit: Stewart Jack)

Marking their final RIAT appearance was the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-16 AM/BM, with four examples seen on the static display. These aircraft are in the process of retiring in favour of the F-35 Lightning II, with the majority of the remaining F-16 airframes destined for the Ukrainian Air Force.

Display Teams

The main stars of every RIAT are the international display teams that aim to wow the crowds every year. RIAT 2024 saw the return of several favourites, including the Saudi Hawks and the Royal Jordanian Falcons who put on several displays over the weekend.

They were joined by the Norwegian Yellow Sparrow display team, who marked their debut UK performance. This team flies the SAAB MFI-15 Safari light trainer, which has the primary role of offering basic aircraft training at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Flight Training School at Bardufoss Air Station. These light aircraft flew in tight formation as they displayed for RIAT, showcasing their excellent slow speed handling and agility.

Midnight Hawks Display Team over RAF Fairford (Image credit: Jamie Gray)

The Midnight Hawks from Finland and the Patrouille Suisse from Switzerland also returned for yet another set of displays at RIAT highlighting the abilities of their aircraft. As the rains began to fall on Saturday, the Patrouille Suisse closed out the day with an impressive flat display, showing the crowds that their F-5E Tiger IIs are capable performance aircraft fifty-two years on from their first flight. Their displays this weekend won the team the The King Hussein Memorial Sword for the “Most Polished and Precise Flying Display.”

Sadly the future of the Patrouille Suisse is uncertain as the Swiss government has yet to announce a replacement for the aircraft, with funding only running for the display team until 2025. Hopefully this is not the end for one of the worlds best display teams.

The Red Arrows conducting the Corkscrew manoeuvre (Image credit: Jamie Gray)

The Red Arrows naturally made an impressive return to Fairford skies, this time marking their 60th display season. Flying the last Hawk T1s in RAF service, and led by Squadron Leader Jon Bond, the team flew multiple flypasts and displays over the weekend to celebrate their milestone.

Low cloud cover on Saturday meant they were forced to do a flat display over the runway, but they remained as impressive as ever, returning to RIAT in their distinctive “Diamond Nine” formation. Their display featured formation tributes to older British aircraft, including the Concorde as well as a Spitfire to mark eighty years since the D-day landings of Operation Overlord.

The Air Tattoo remains one of the best places to be when it comes to military aviation. No where else in the world does such a gathering of fast jets appear to wow the public in all its glory. RIAT 2025 cannot come soon enough.

About James Gray
James Gray is a contributor to The Aviationist, coming from the UK he is a graduate of War Studies at King’s College London, where he is currently studying for a Masters in Intelligence and International Security. He specialises in British aviation history and technology with a focus on the immediate post-Cold War period.
About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

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