The Pakistan Air Force Il-78MP “Midas”. I’ll never tire of seeing Soviet gear!

A shot of the J-35 Draken of the Swedish Air Force Historical Flight touching down, showing its fourth landing gear housed in the tail.

A Royal Danish Air Force C-130. I can still hear the little popping noises the flares make as they’re ejected. Quite a spectacular sight!

Wednesday’s arrivals this year at RIAT was possibly my favourite for some time, packed full of highlights. Personally for me was this Qatari Air Force AH-64E. Just one of those types you never expect to see, and yet there it was.

It was so good to get shots of Aeronavale AS565 Panthers this year after wanting to see them for quite some time!

Another of the four Montana Air National Guard C-130Hs that passed through Cardiff recently in some harsh morning light. Always great to see legacy C-130 models. It was my first time seeing the eight-bladed NP2000 propellers in the air.

A Rafale M from back in June. Always great to see these gorgeous jets, especially the naval variant.

The Italian Air Force Tornado IDS always used to put on a great display. We were lucky to see this twice in the U.K. in 2017, terrific colour scheme to boot!

A Republic of China Air Force Mirage 2000DEi launching from Hsinchu

Another of the Aeronavale’s brand new H160B. A type leased from Airbus Helicopters whilst the full military-spec H160M version finishes development. Whilst the design itself is a bit marmite, I think it looks great in French Navy marks!

The lovely Czech Air Force W-3 “Sokoł”, in distinctive red and white colours, performing a SAR demo.

A tiger tail Tifón from the Spanish Air Force.

The lovely Royal Danish Air Force F-16 demo rocking it RIAT for the final time!

One of the Akeno-based UH-60JAs of the JGSDF.

One of four Montana Air National Guard C-130Hs that passed through Cardiff recently, taken in some harsh morning light. Always great to see legacy C-130 models. It was my first time seeing the eight-bladed NP2000 propellers in the air.

The blue SAR UH-60Js of the JASDF.

The massive C-5M Galaxy, one of RIAT’s static stars this year.

Probably the last of a distinct era of helicopter types operated by the U.K. military, along with the Sea King, Lynx, Gazelle etc. The RAF Puma fleet was retired in March this year after a whopping 50+ years’ service.

As a big fan of airshows, it’s naturally really cool to see different countries’ display teams. The Japanese “Blue Impluse” is one I’ve always wanted to see. Their Kawasaki T-4s are quite nimble for what they are, though the display is different to the traditional European display teams.

RIAT 2023. What a machine. It’s shame that there is not long left for the Polish Su-22 “Fitter” fleet.

Another Aeronavale AS565 Panther from Hyères earlier this year. In my view, one of the most aesthetic helicopter designs around.

The delightful Fouga CM175 Zephyr, a naval version of the iconic Fouga Magister. Lovingly kept airworthy by the Cocardes Marine organisation.

The Hellenic Air Force Daedalus demo team T-6 at BIAS last year.

Just a few weeks of service life left for the venerable Sukhoi Su-22 in Europe! Poland shall retire theirs in mid-September. This shot is from AirPower 2022.

A French Air Force EC725/H225M “Caracal” at a recent RAF Northolt night shoot earlier in the year.

Another type I was very excited to see at Hyères; the ex-Aeronavale Alouette II.

The awesome ATL2, displaying at RIAT. Great to have seen this charismatic machine in the air!

The awesome Il-78 “Midas” tanker from the Pakistan Air Force

A Republic of China Air Force Mirage 2000Ei launching for a CAP sortie. Taiwan has 53 of these capable machines in its inventory.

The other lovely Czech Air Force W-3 “Sokoł”in the U.K. recently, performing a SAR demo.

I’m always a sucker for camouflage C-130s! This one a ROCAF example.

The lovely Czech Air Force W-3 “Sokoł”, in distinctive red and white colours, performing a SAR demo.

Danish Air Force T-17 Supporters. Used in the elementary training role, T-415 is marked in a heritage livery.

A JASDF Mitsubishi F-2A carrying a rare loadout of four large ASM-2 anti-ship missiles.

A Taiwanese F-16 rocketing out of Taitung with live AIM-120s and AIM-9s equipped. Taiwan’s F-16s were delivered as A and B models, but have been locally upgraded to F-16V standard.

A trade off of dull grey clouds and limited light can be an increase in jets squeezing moisture out of the air, which the Polish F-16 demo did with particular aplomb at RIAT.

A Czech Air Force Mi-24V/35 “Hind” from a few years ago. The type has now been retired from Czech service.

One of the really cool additions to the show, and somewhat slept on, was this ultra rare Czech Air Force Let-410FG, a modified version with a glass nose for aerial survey work. Very cool to see, and looks great with its camo/day glo combination.

The lovely RDAF F-16 solo display rocking it @airtattoo.bsky.social for the final time!

Another Blackhawk type to my collection! This one from the Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) with the local designation of Hkp.16. Great to see such a rare display in the U.K from such a famous helicopter type.

The ridiculous and charismatic EC-1. This was the only one ever made, so is very unique. It was retired in March 2025, with no word on whether it is intended to be preserved. There are plans afoot for a “platypus” style C-2 variant

Great to see the Polish F-16 demo team once again, in particular in an aircraft with operational livery.

The awesome-looking Portuguese Air Force AW101, making its RIAT (and U.K.!) debut this year. The aircraft was a bit of a cloud magnet for much of the show, but managed to catch a few glimpses of sunlight throughout the weekend.

Viper Zero! 🇯🇵 A Mitsubishi F-2 of the 3rd Tactical Fighter Squadron landing at Hyakuri. This squadron is currently the JASDF’s oldest fighter squadron still flying.

Taiwan’s rather smart T-5 (or T-BE-5) “Brave Eagle”. An indigenous advance jet trainer of the ROC Air Force based at Taitung. Over the next few days, they’ll take over as the “Thunder Tigers” display team, on account of the imminent retirement of the older AT-3s.

Another of the Pakistan Air Force JF-17s that arrived for static display at RIAT, this one in an operational livery.

A JASDF F-15J based at Komatsu, belonging to 306 Hikotai “Golden Eagles” making an aggressive climb out of their base for a late afternoon sortie. I wonder if the rumours of an upcoming deployment to the U.K. and Germany will come true or not!

Impossible not to reflect on RIAT 2025 and not mention the outstanding participation from the Pakistan Air Force, including a pair of their JF-17s for static display. A RIAT debut, only the second time the type has visited the U.K., and their first visit in fifteen years.

Another RIAT star item for me, that feels a bit under-appreciated. A flying Fiat G-91 would have been unthinkable several years ago until it emerged in 2023, and yet, here it is, gracing the crowd with a lovely topside. A shame the conditions weren’t a bit brighter!

Another RIAT static star item is this wonderful French Air Force E-3F Sentry.