Aerobatic Display Team of the Royal Air Force, the RAF Red Arrows is preparing for a two-month long tour to North America after more 1993, when the Reds made tour in the American continent the last time.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said the Red Arrows would display across the Americas, reaching millions of people and showcasing the very best of British aviation.
He said: “Our Red Arrows fly the flag for Britain across the globe, both in the skies and on the ground, and this tour will not only showcase their teamwork and aviation excellence, but also promote our great nation to billions of people across the world.
“After an incredible year celebrating RAF100, it seems only fitting that the Red Arrows prepare to illuminate the skies of our closest allies in 2019, celebrating and strengthening our incredible relationship with the US.”
The Red Arrows’ return to the US will mark the first significant deployment to North America in a generation, with the team last touring in the country in 1993.
Air Vice-Marshal Warren James, the senior RAF officer responsible for the Red Arrows, said: “The deployment of the Red Arrows will demonstrate the global reach and capability of the RAF and our continuing support of the United Kingdom’s defence and commerce industries. Together with the GREAT Britain campaign, Western Hawk 19 will showcase our excellence, professionalism and proud heritage in education, engineering, technology and finance to our allies.
“We are very much looking forward to our visit in August and September of 2019.”
The US programme comes after the Red Arrows’ successful 2016 Asia-Pacific and the Middle East tour.
As the fuel capacity of the Hawk sets a limit to nonstop flight distance, and the Hawk is incapable of air-to-air refuelling, very long flights between display sites may need landings on the way to refuel. For example during an American tour in the past, a flight from RAF Scampton to Quebec for an international air display team competition had to be done in seven hops: RAF Scampton, RAF Kinloss (Scotland), Keflavík (Iceland), Kangerlussuaq (west Greenland), Narsarsuaq (south tip of Greenland), Goose Bay (Newfoundland), Bagotville, Quebec.
Source: Royal Air Force
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