The Egyptian air force has brought a rare visitor to the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), with the service showing one of its Antonov An-74T tactical transports in the static display.

The service is making its debut appearance at the UK show, making the North African nation the 59th to have participated in the event over its history.

Egyptian air force An-74

Source: Craig Hoyle/FlightGlobal

Egyptian air force An-74 is a distinctive visitor at Royal International Air Tattoo

Flown by the air force’s 533rd Air Wing and sporting a striking desert camouflage paint scheme, the twinjet – SU-BPN – is one of three examples operated by the service; as detailed in our World Air Forces directory.

Aviation analytics company Cirium records Egypt’s An-74Ts as being an average of almost 17 years old.

Cirium records only 14 An-74s as being in military service around the globe, with other users being the Democratic Republic of Congo (1), Iran (8) and Turkmenistan (2).

The annual RIAT event is taking place at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire from 18-20 July.

European Defence Editor Craig Hoyle has reported on the UK, European and international military aviation sector for almost 30 years, and has also been the Editor of Flight International since 2015. He joined FlightGlobal in 2003, and also compiles our annual World Air Forces directory.View full Profile

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