Aircraft and personnel from the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team have arrived home following a successful tour of the United States.
The Red Arrows returned to RAF Waddington this morning after completing a multi-stop transit across the Atlantic.
With the jets now back in the United Kingdom, the team’s next public performance is scheduled for Wednesday at Cromer Carnival.
Called Operation Eagle Hawk, the Red Arrows’ visit to the US marked the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Millions of people saw the team display at five airshows and in several high-profile flypasts, including above New York on July 4.
Each performance celebrated the enduring relationship between the UK and US, particularly among the two nations’ militaries.
Wing Commander Sasha Nash, Officer Commanding, Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, said: “Operation Eagle Hawk was a huge success and demonstrated one of the key roles of the Red Arrows – to represent the RAF and the UK, with a combination of precision displays and teamwork, at the biggest of occasions.
“Across the events in the United States, the Red Arrows received a great, warm welcome and aimed to inspire the hundreds of thousands of people at these shows.
“The team’s ability to paint the sky with our trademark red, white and blue trails caught the attention of those watching and was the perfect way to showcase the UK and celebrate the close relationship with our strongest security partner.”
Operation Eagle Hawk got underway in June and saw the Red Arrows perform at airshows and events in New York, Wisconsin, Maine, Maryland and Michigan as well as flypasts in Washington DC, Charleston, Boston and Chicago.
For July 4 itself, the Red Arrows had the honour of being the finale in a massive international aerial pageant above the Hudson, with Manhattan’s famous skyscrapers providing an iconic backdrop for more than 150 participating aircraft.
The airshows included performing at EAA Air Venture, in Oshkosh, for the first time in the team’s 62-season history, with a record event attendance of 734,000 people at what is the world’s largest aviation gathering.
Almost 11,500 nautical miles were flown during the tour, which also featured a busy ground engagement programme.
To get the Red Arrows’ single-engine Hawk jets – which cannot refuel in the air – to and from North America, the team completed a multi-leg journey spanning stops in Scotland, Iceland, Greenland and Canada.
This aspect of the deployment required support from aircraft and crews based at RAF Brize Norton, RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Northolt.
Two A400M Atlas transported people and equipment, a P-8 Poseidon provided search and rescue cover and an Envoy was used for command and control.
On the return from the US, the Red Arrows had to delay the planned Atlantic crossing on safety grounds due to a prolonged period of poor weather in north-east Canada.
Given the challenge of flying the Hawks, with their limited range, the conditions were not fit to continue the journey having reached the Canadian Forces’ Base of Goose Bay, in Newfoundland and Labrador.
But the team carried out the remaining legs of the return at the weekend, landing back at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, this morning.
Wg Cdr Nash said: “It is great to be home and to now be in a position to perform at the rest of the summer events planned this season – the Red Arrows can’t wait to display for aviation fans and families.
“We’re very grateful for the goodwill messages and well-wishes from those following our journey back to the UK and for people’s patience as we focussed on completing this challenging task safely.
“I’d like to pay tribute to all those who made an enormous collective effort to ensure the outcomes of Operation Eagle Hawk, and the Atlantic crossings, were carried out so successfully.
“This includes the entire Red Arrows team, the Operation Eagle Hawk personnel and the wider RAF – the support aircraft and their brilliant crews demonstrated outstanding flexibility and expertise.
“Lastly – a big thank you to the families of those RAF personnel back in the UK, who were without their loved ones for an extended period of time as we brought everyone home.”
