General Information
Every year, the Royal International Air Tattoo or RIAT - the biggest military airshow in the world - takes place in the UK, at RAF Fairford. With every year around 400 visiting aircraft from 35 different countries. Nowhere else in the world the aviation enthusiast is able to see that kind of various aircraft and helicopters at one show. Last year the airshow was a great success with beautiful weather, and a gathering of many different aircraft and helicopters to celebrate a Tiger Meeting as well. The show area is huge, and this RIAT needs some good preparation before going.

Themes
Two major themes are known at this moment - the Rapid Global Effect and the Army Aviation themes.
Rapid Global Effect: Whether deterring potential aggressors, providing humanitarian relief or reacting to a natural disaster, the need for speed is critical in delivering an effective military response. With this theme you can expect to see the C-17 Globemaster, C-5 Galaxy heavy-weights to the lighter C-130 Hercules and C-160 Transall for the support role. Some tankers like the KC-10 or Tristar and maybe an Airbus with multi-role tanker transport capability. And the helicopters; Chinooks, Merlins and Pumas to carry cargo or troops quickly to forward operating bases in deployment areas whilst the C-27J and CN 295 provide in-theatre support on a wide variety of transport operations.
Army Aviation: This theme is indirectly related to the Rapid Global Effect. Before the above mentioned aircraft can come into action inside hostile territory, first the area needs be cleared by ground forces supported by army aviation. For this theme you can expect the participation of the formidable AH-64 Apache, the Lynx, Mi-8 'Hip' and the UH-1 ‘Huey’. Aircraft such as the Islander, C-23 Sherpa, RC-12 and PC-6 provide valuable fixed-wing support.

Specials
As of now, there are not really many participants known. But already confirmed is the flying display of a Bell/Boeing MV-22 Osprey, which will have to be one of the highlights of the 2006 show. Also the other participants of the two themes will show their capabilities in this big airshow.

Participants

Country	Aircraft	Quantity	Display	Info	Status
Belgium	Sea King Mk.48	1x	F	-	Confirmed
Czech Republic	Mi-24V 'Hind'	1x	F	231.vrl	Confirmed
	JAS-39C Gripen	1x	S	211.lt	Confirmed
Denmark	Lynx Mk.90	1x	S	SHT	Confirmed
France	AS532 Cougar	1x	S	-	Confirmed
	C406 Caravan	1x	S		Confirmed
	TBM700	1x	F		Confirmed
Greece	CL-415	1x	S	-	Confirmed
	A-7E/TA-7C Corsair II	2x	S	335 MV "Tigers"	Confirmed
Italy	M-346	1x	F	Aermacchi	Confirmed
	M-311	1x	S	Aermacchi	Confirmed
	C-27J Spartan	1x	S		Confirmed
Jordan	Extra EA300S	4x	F	Jordanian Falcons	Confirmed
Oman	C-130H Hercules	1x	S	16 Squadron	Confirmed
Poland	M-28-1R Bryza	1x	S	-	Confirmed
Slovakia	MiG-29A/UB	2x	F & S	1SL	Confirmed
	An-26 'Curl'	2x	S	1DR - support	Confirmed
Spain	CASA C.101	7x	F	Patrulla Aguila	Confirmed
	Eurofighter EF2000	1x	F	Ala 11	Confirmed
	CN-235M-100	1x	S	Ala 35	Confirmed
Switzerland	F-5E Tiger II	6x	F	Patrouille Suisse	Confirmed
	F/A-18C Hornet	1x	F	Solo Display	Confirmed
	Pilatus PC-21	1x	S	Prototype	TBC
	Pilatus PC-12	1x	S		TBC
United Kingdom	Canberra PR.9	2x	S	BAe Systems	TBC
	Hawk T.1A	1x	F	208 Sqn Display	Confirmed
	Hawk T.1A	9x	F	Red Arrows	Confirmed
	Typhoon F.2	1x	F	Solo Display	Confirmed
	Tornado GR.4	1x	F	Solo Display	Confirmed
	BAe Harrier GR7	1x	F	Solo Display	Confirmed
	Merlin HC3	1x	F	Solo Display	TBC
	Lynx HAS3/HMA8	2x	F	Black Cats	Confirmed
	Lynx & Gazelle	4x	F	Blue Eagles	Confirmed
	Lynx HAS3	1x	S	Navy	Confirmed
	Lynx HMA8	1x	S	Navy	Confirmed
	Merlin HM1	1x	S	Navy	Confirmed
	Sea King AsaC7	1x	S	Navy	Confirmed
United States	MV-22 Osprey	2x	F & S	Boeing/USMC	Confirmed
Last updated: 07 March 2006 Next scheduled update: 07 April 2006				S=static, F=flying, TBC=to be confirmed

Tips
Because of the very large exhibition area, you need to be well prepared if you want to see all the aircraft on show. Unnecessary to say is that you need a good pair of hiking shoes, if you still want to have decent feet at the end of the day. Some food and fluids are also no luxury to bring along. Based on the weather during the previous editions at Fairford, you should be prepared for both sun and rain. Another nice tip for the show is to bring some earplugs and to go watch the departures of all the participants. Nowhere in the world, such an amount of aircraft is departing in such a short time frame, as on the Monday after RIAT.