Aircraft

The UK Royal Air Force's Red Arrows display team today marked the service's 90th anniversary celebrations by performing a flypast over the service's memorial on London's Embankment, leading a formation of four Eurofighter Typhoons from RAF Coningsby-based squadrons.

Led by Wg Cdr Jas Hawker, the nine BAE Systems Hawk T1s of the "Reds" conducted their first display practice of the year in the UK on 27 March, and are expected to appear at more than 75 events around the World between May and October. The team will depart the UK on 17 April for their annual training camp at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

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After formating near the team's home at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, the so-called 'Red Arrows Combine' also performed flypasts at the service's air bases at Coningsby, Marham, Lakenheath, Honington, Wattisham, Northolt, Halton, Wittering, Cottesmore, Cranwell and Waddington as part of the 1 April sortie.

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The 90th anniversary celebrations are not the first time that the Red Arrows have flown with a four-ship of Typhoons, with aircraft from the RAF's 17 Sqn operational evaluation unit and 29 Sqn operational conversion unit having joined up with the display team near BAE Systems' Warton site in Lancashire for a photo opportunity in 2005 (pictured below).

© BAE Systems

The RAF has now received at least 49 Typhoons and flown over 17,000h with the type, including quick reaction missions performed from Coningsby using 3 Sqn aircraft.

Read more from Flight about the RAF's 90th anniversary milestone.

More images of the flypast