RIAT 2007

The annual Royal International Air Tattoo is generally considered to be the largest military airshow in the world. The airshow is staged at RAF Fairford, United Kingdom, and this years' event was held over the weekend of 14 and 15 July. With over 300+ aircraft participating, it was definitely the best place to be for 3Greens.

This years's event featured two major themes:

60th Anniversary of the United States Air Force :  The most prominent participants in this theme were the world famous Thunderbirds. Other USAF aircraft that took part in the flying display were the mighty B-1B bomber, the heritage flight and an F-117. The latter probably gave its last European display ever, since the type is scheduled for retirement in 2008.

Agile, Adaptable & Capable :  Emphasizing how dynamic air power has become in the 21st century, this theme was given meaning with various training aircraft in the static display and a so-called "role demo".

Other highlights during this edition were most certainly the Indian Air Force aircraft, which had been deployed at RAF Waddington in the past two weeks. Two Su-30MKI Flankers and an Il-76 tanker were on static display with a third Flanker making a quick fly by on Saturday.

All together, RIAT 2007 has proven that it's still possible to put on a big airshow in times of continuous defense cuts.