Polish Air Force 100th Anniversary

PHOTO FEATURE | 60 IMAGES


The Polish Air Force celebrated its 100th Anniversary in August 2018 with a special centenary edition of the Radom Airshow. The Polish Air Force was represented by the incredible F-16 Tiger Demo Team, Team Orlik flying the PZL-130s and Team Iskry flying the TS-11s. Unfortunately, no MiG-29s or Su-22s were present due to the crash of a Polish MiG-29 in early July resulting in the grounding of the entire Su-22 and MiG-29 force. In addition to these, LOT Polish Airlines did a fly past with a special livery Boeing 737 Max in formation with the TS-11s of of Team Iskry. Showing off their latest trainer aircraft, the Polish Air Force flew the M346 Bielik in a four ship formation fly past.

Apart from Polish equipment, this significant event was graced by many foreign air forces and civilian entities in static and flying displays. Some of the static displays include the German Air Force Typhoon in NATO Tiger Meet 2018 Ghost Tiger livery and a Belgium C-130H Hercules with special Chieftain paintjob on the fuselage.

The Ukrainian Air Force brought it’s Su-25 Frogfoot ground attack aircraft for static display and a Su-27 Flanker entertained the crowd in the flying display. A E-3A Sentry from NATO did a fly past on both days. On top of that, we had Eurofighter Typhoons from the German Luftwaffe and British Royal Air Force performing their amazing manoeuvres in the air.

More fast jet action came from the F-16s of the Belgian Air Force Dark Falcon, Hellenic Air Force Zeus and Turkish Air Force Solo Turk display teams. Following these, The Czech Air Force brought their special centenary liveried Jas-39C Gripen and a rare appearance of the Pakistani Air Force JF-17 wowed the crowd.

Dancing above the skies of Radom included a number of famous aerobatic teams. They are the Patrouille Suisse, Frecce Tricolori, Patrulla Águila, Baltic Bees Jet Team, Croatian Wings of Storm, Royal Jordanian Falcons and Finnish Midnight Hawks. This is a massive line up of flying aircraft.

Such an incredible line up of aviation greatness was let down by a weekend of wet weather. Low cloud cover and heavy rain on Sunday lead to the cancellation of some displays. Despite getting wet and muddy ground conditions, we thoroughly enjoyed our time at Radom!

 

01. Polish Serviceman with the 100th Anniversary Patch celebrating the the occasion01. Polish Serviceman with the 100th Anniversary Patch celebrating the the occasion

 

02. Flypast of LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737 Max in special Proud of Poland's Independence livery escorted by 6 TS-11s of Team Iskry02. Flypast of LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737 Max in special Proud of Poland’s Independence livery escorted by 6 TS-11s of Team Iskry

 

LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737 Max with Proud of Poland's Independence livery03. LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737 Max with Proud of Poland’s Independence livery

 

04. Static display area and fanzone of the Polish Air Force F-16 Tiger Demo Team04. Static display area and fanzone of the Polish Air Force F-16 Tiger Demo Team

 

05. Crew of the Polish Air Force F-16 Tiger Demo Team engages the public at the static display05. Crew of the Polish Air Force F-16 Tiger Demo Team engages the public at the static display

 

06. Tiger in the air intake of the Polish Air Force F-16 06. Tiger in the air intake of the Polish Air Force F-16

 

07. Signing the posters for fans of the Polish Air Force F-16 Tiger Demo Team07. Signing the posters for fans of the Polish Air Force F-16 Tiger Demo Team

 

08. Ukranian Air Force Su-25 Frogfoot at static display08. Ukranian Air Force Su-25 Frogfoot at static display

 

09. Side profile of the Ukranian Air Force Su-25 Frogfoot09. Side profile of the Ukranian Air Force Su-25 Frogfoot

 

10. Lithuanian Air Force Alenia C-27J Spartan10. Lithuanian Air Force Alenia C-27J Spartan

 

11. Long line of the queue for a closer look inside the Belgium Air Force C-130H Hercules with special livery11. Long line of the queue for a closer look inside the Belgium Air Force C-130H Hercules with special livery

 

12. Luftwaffe Eurofighter EF2000 31+00 "Ghost Tiger"12. Luftwaffe Eurofighter EF2000 31+00 “Ghost Tiger”

 

13. Crowds at the Ghost Tiger static display area checking out the aircraft and collectables in the tent13. Crowds at the Ghost Tiger static display area checking out the aircraft and collectables in the tent

 

14. Tailflash of the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 celebrating 65 years of 313 Squadron14. Tailflash of the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 celebrating 65 years of 313 Squadron

 

15. Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16B MLU Fighting Falcon J-88215. Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16B MLU Fighting Falcon J-882

 

16. Antonov An-2 flies over a row of food kiosks at the Radom Airshow16. Antonov An-2 flies over a row of food kiosks at the Radom Airshow

 

17. Fundacja Bialo Czerwone Skrzydla Antonov An-2 and AT-3s in formation17. Fundacja Bialo Czerwone Skrzydla Antonov An-2 and AT-3s in formation

 

18. T6 Harwards and Team Orlik PZL-130s18. T6 Harwards and Team Orlik PZL-130s

 

19. Formation of 4 Polish Air Force M-346 "Bielik" did a flypast over the airfield19. Formation of 4 Polish Air Force M-346 “Bielik” did a flypast over the airfield

 

20. Austrian Air Force SAAB-105ÖE20. Austrian Air Force SAAB-105ÖE

 

21. Czech Air Force Mil Mi-17121. Czech Air Force Mil Mi-171

 

22. Czech Air Force Mil Mi-35 Hind22. Czech Air Force Mil Mi-35 Hind

 

23. Pilatus PC-9Ms of the Croatian Air Force Krila Oluje takes off for their performance23. Pilatus PC-9Ms of the Croatian Air Force Krila Oluje takes off for their performance

 

24. Polish Air Force Team Orlik PZL-130s24. Polish Air Force Team Orlik PZL-130s

 

25. Pilot of a Polish Air Force Team Orlik PZL-130 waves as he taxis past the crowd25. Pilot of a Polish Air Force Team Orlik PZL-130 waves as he taxis past the crowd

 

26. TS-11 Iskara of the Polish Air Force Team Iskry26. TS-11 Iskara of the Polish Air Force Team Iskry

 

27. Polish Air Force Casa C295M takes off in front of the packed crowd27. Polish Air Force Casa C295M takes off in front of the packed crowd

 

28. Many people attended the airshow over the weekend despite the bad weather28. Many people attended the airshow over the weekend despite the bad weather

 

29. NATO E-3A Sentry AWACS did a flypast over the runway29. NATO E-3A Sentry AWACS did a flypast over the runway

 

30. Czech Air Force Jas-39C Gripen taxis to the runway for its display segment30. Czech Air Force Jas-39C Gripen taxis to the runway for its display segment

 

31. Czech Air Force Jas-39C Gripen thunders down the wet runway in front of the crowd31. Czech Air Force Jas-39C Gripen thunders down the wet runway in front of the crowd

 

32_DSC_414732. Czech Air Force Jas-39C Gripen dispenses flares as part of its aerial display

 

33. F-5E Tiger IIs of the Swiss Air Force Patrouille Suisse Team33. F-5E Tiger IIs of the Swiss Air Force Patrouille Suisse Team

 

34. Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 with 100 Years of RAF tailflash34. Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 with 100 Years of RAF tailflash

 

35. Pilot of the Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon35. Pilot of the Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon

 

36. Crowd on the opposite side of the runway catches the Spanish Air Force Patrulla Águila performance36. Crowd on the opposite side of the runway catches the Spanish Air Force Patrulla Águila performance

 

37. Casa C-101 Aviojets of the Spanish Air Force Patrulla Águila Team37. Casa C-101 Aviojets of the Spanish Air Force Patrulla Águila Team

 

38. Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon rotates in full afterburners38. Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon rotates in full afterburners

 

39. Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon performs a vertical climb in afterburners39. Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon performs a vertical climb in afterburners

 

40. Finnish Air Force Midnight Hawks Team40. Finnish Air Force Midnight Hawks Team

 

41. BAe Hawk MK-51 of the Finnish Air Force Midnight Hawks41. BAe Hawk MK-51 of the Finnish Air Force Midnight Hawks

 

42. F-16C Block 40 Fighting Falcon of the Turkish Air Force Solo Turk display team42. F-16C Block 40 Fighting Falcon of the Turkish Air Force Solo Turk display team

 

43. Turkish Air Force Solo Turk F-16C performing a high speed pass43. Turkish Air Force Solo Turk F-16C performing a high speed pass

 

44. Photographers tries to capture the Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flaker as it performed a low pass44. Photographers tries to capture the Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flaker as it performed a low pass

 

45. Beautifully painted Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker45. Beautifully painted Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker

 

46. Aero L-39Cs of the Baltic Bees Jet Team46. Aero L-39Cs of the Baltic Bees Jet Team

 

47_DSC_536047. Making a rare appearance is the Pakistani Air Force JF-17 Thunder

 

48. Pakistani Air Force JF-17 Thunder dispenses flares as part of its display48. Pakistani Air Force JF-17 Thunder dispenses flares as part of its display

 

49. Pilot of the Royal Jordanian Falcons as he taxis past the crowdline49. Pilot of the Royal Jordanian Falcons as he taxis past the crowdline

 

50. Dark Falcon of the Belgium Air Force F-16 Solo Display Team piloted by Vador50. Dark Falcon of the Belgium Air Force F-16 Solo Display Team piloted by Vador

 

51. Dark Falcon lands after completing his aerial display51. Dark Falcon lands after completing his aerial display

 

52. Vador waves to the crowd as he taxis slowly past52. Vador waves to the crowd as he taxis slowly past

 

53. F-16C Block 52+ of the Hellenic Air Force Zeus Demo Team53. F-16C Block 52+ of the Hellenic Air Force Zeus Demo Team

 

54. Hellenic Air Force Zeus F-16 pulls some Gs as the sun sets54. Hellenic Air Force Zeus F-16 pulls some Gs as the sun sets

 

55. Italian Air Force Display Team Frecce Tricolori wows the crowd55. Italian Air Force Display Team Frecce Tricolori wows the crowd

 

56. Frecce Tricolori bomb burst56. Frecce Tricolori bomb burst

 

57. Frecce Tricolori flying in formation and painting the sky with the green white and red of the Italian Flag57. Frecce Tricolori flying in formation and painting the sky with the green white and red of the Italian Flag

 

58. Polish Air Force Tiger Demo team F-16C Block 52+ blasts down the runway58. Polish Air Force Tiger Demo team F-16C Block 52+ blasts down the runway

 

59. Polish Air Force F-16C pulls up with afterburners as it begins the aerial display59. Polish Air Force F-16C pulls up with afterburners as it begins the aerial display

 

60. Flight line of consisting of 6 F-16s from Polish, Hellenic and Belgium Air Forces with the MB-339s of the Frecce Tricolori in the background60. Flight line of consisting of 6 F-16s from Polish, Hellenic and Belgium Air Forces with the MB-339s of the Frecce Tricolori in the background

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