RAF Red Arrows, Typhoons in London Flypast
As recently previewed by Armed Forces International, Tuesday April 1st saw a Royal Air Force flypast take place over London, on the day that the service celebrates its 90th anniversary.
The flypast was made up of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, as well as four RAF Eurofighter Typhoons. While flying over London, the formation passed Canary Wharf, the Tate Modern and the London Eye, while, on the ground, Prime Minister Gordon Brown interrupted his own press conference in order to pay tribute to the service.
RAF’s 90th, TA’s 100th Anniversary
While the Royal Air Force is now 90 years old, another strand of the armed forces is also celebrating its anniversary today. The Territorial Army (TA) was formed on April 1st 1908 and, as such, is now 100 years old.
During his speech, Brown recognised both events, saying: "We congratulate both the RAF and the TA on their huge achievements for the country.”
RAF Typhoons, Spitfire in RAF Museum Flypast
The RAF’s run of anniversary events was launched on March 18th at the Royal Air Museum, Hendon, which, today, will host a banquet for the chiefs of the Air Force. Here, another flypast is expected to take place, which will involve no less than nine Typhoons and a single Spitfire.
According to a spokeswoman for the Royal Air Force, other “low-key” celebrations were also happening today, among them – events in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Red Arrows’ Base
In related News, the subject of the Red Arrows entered the public domain on the 31st March for reasons other than the London flypast.
We previously wrote on the possibility of the ‘Reds’ leaving their current base at RAF Scampton in favour of a new location. At the time, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy spoke of how the issue of “the most appropriate base for the Red Arrows” was being looked at.
“There are a number of options... and [Lincolnshire’s RAF] Waddington is one of them”, he said.
"They may move but we haven't decided the best location for them at the moment but they will be staying in Lincolnshire, I would hope."
Yesterday, Sir Glenn spoke again on this subject, telling the BBC that, contrary to the fears of some, the Red Arrows would not be leaving the country. However, it had still not been decided for definite whether they would remain at Scampton.
"Scampton has been a very good home for them but what we're trying to do across the whole air force is to try and consolidate our bases on to a fewer number of better bases”, Sir Glenn explained.
"The review isn't quite complete yet but I can say that they'll certainly be staying in Lincolnshire."
Source – Armed Forces International’s Aviation Expert
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