On June 11, 2016, a traditional military parade was held in London in honor of the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, in which more than 1600 royal guards and horse guards took part. A flotilla of ships sailed along the Thames, and RAF planes flew over Buckingham Palace.
This year, on the occasion of the round date, the celebrations lasted three days as the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday. A series of anniversary events began on April 20, on the eve of the Queen's birthday. Queen Elizabeth was born on April 21, but traditionally the birthday of the English monarch is celebrated twice. The first time on the birthday itself, and the second time - in June, when the weather is warm and you can hold public events in the open air. The second celebration is the official birthday and is marked by a military parade.
June 11 - The Queen in an open phaeton drawn by a pair of horses, hosted the Trooping of Colors parade. As always, thousands of people watched this, but this year the attention to this event was unprecedented. No less expected than the parade was the traditional exit of the entire royal family to the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Official events ended with an air parade. The Queen and her relatives greeted those gathered in the square, after which they watched the ceremonial flight of the RAF planes.
The order of passage of aircraft and helicopters during the air parade
The celebration of Her Majesty's jubilee was attended by 15 different types of aircraft, five of which are currently provided by squadrons celebrating their own 100th birthday.
RAF planes and helicopters involved in the air parade
Helicopters Chinook CH2, Griffin HT 1, Puma HC1 and AW109SP
Eight groups marched in parade formation with an interval of 30 seconds, each of which had from two to nine aircraft. The parade was opened by helicopters Chinook CH2, Griffin HT 1 (British version of Bell 412), Puma HC1 and AW109SP from different helicopter squadrons.
Helicopter Puma HC1 over London
Heavy military transport helicopters Chinook CH2 were purchased in the USA, Griffin HT1 and Puma HC1 were built under license, AW109SP is a joint British-Italian project.
Fighters Spitfire and Hurricane
Following the helicopters, the reconditioned piston fighters of the Second World War Spitfire and Hurricane passed wing to wing. Such fighters took an active part in the air Battle of Britain.
Hercules C4 and King Air T1 in flight
The military transport Hercules C4 (C-130Н) and twin-engine turboprop trainers King Air T1 flew behind the piston fighters. The C-130 aircraft of various modifications have already been used in the British Air Force for 50 years.
Hercules C4 and A400M
The British military transport aviation was also represented by another Hercules C4 and A400M. Despite the fact that the C-130 itself is not a very small plane, it looked modest against the background of the Airbus A400M Atlas. The A400M, which is a product of cooperation between aviation firms in Europe and the United States, has just begun to enter service with the Royal Air Force.
The next in the line of transport vehicles were the C-17 Globemaster III and BAE 146. The American-made C-17 is capable of transporting more than a hundred troops. Flight range with a load weighing 76 650 kg - 4 445 km. The British Air Force has eight C-17 transports.
C-17 and BAE 146
BAE 146 in the RAF are used in two versions - for the delivery of small cargo and the transport of senior command personnel. The aircraft with a VIP-cabin is designed for 19 passengers. The RAF operates four BAE 146s.
The transporters, accompanied by a pair of Tornado GR4 fighter-bombers, were followed by RC-135W and Sentinel R1 reconnaissance aircraft. The backbone of the British strike air fleet is the four Tornado GR4 squadrons. These aircraft can carry a wide range of weapons, including Storm Shadow cruise missiles, laser-guided bombs and ASRAAM air-to-air missiles.
Reconnaissance aircraft RC-135W and Sentinel R1 accompanied by Tornado GR4
The American-made RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft based on the Boeing-707 replaced the Nimrod R1 in the UK, which was abandoned for financial reasons in June 2011. The RC-135W has a wide range of RF spectrum detection and identification and jamming capabilities. This can be both radiation from radar and air defense guidance stations, and signals from radio relay lines and mobile phones. To date, the RAF has two RC-135W aircraft.
Sentinel R1, built on the basis of Bombardier Global Express, is designed to monitor the battlefield using AFAR radar and optoelectronic systems, receive and relay data from UAVs. The aircraft can also be used to search for submarines. There are currently 6 Sentinel R1s in the UK.
The Tornado reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bombers, accompanied by two Eurofighter Typhoons, were followed by the Airbus Voyager air tanker.
Voyager tanker and Typhoon fighters
Typhoon fighters are currently the only aircraft in the RAF designed for air superiority and interception. As of the beginning of 2016, the British Air Force received 137 fighters, a total of 232 aircraft were ordered.
Voyager is a military modification of the Airbus A330-200 passenger airliner. It was created as a universal dual-purpose aircraft - a tanker and a transport aircraft. The Royal Air Force tanker fleet consists of six such vehicles.
Hawk T1 aerobatic team Red Arrows
The air parade was completed by a nine Hawk T1 from the Red Arrows aerobatic team. The Red Arrows group has been flying Hawks since late 1979. In total, the Red Arrows pilots made about 4,700 performances in 56 countries around the world. The lightweight “Hawks” painted in red are equipped with a forced engine and special smoke generators, with the help of which it is possible to release colored smoke of blue, red and white colors.
For a long time, the Hawk TCBs have been the leaders in the training and combat training aircraft market. Thanks to good flight data, this vehicle can carry weapons and be used as a light attack aircraft and fight subsonic air targets. In the near future in the UK, the early trainers are to be replaced by a new modern modification Hawk T2, which uses the avionics of the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter.
