Starting with nations that have attended or at one point been listed to attend any of the last three shows, many things could be mentioned here, but keeping it mildly concise: some thoughts…
Civilian Types – Draken L-159E (Third time lucky?), Kraguj (2nd time lucky), Burkina Faso SF-260 from Lydd, Sri Lankan Nanchang from White Waltham, South Arabian Jet Provost T52 G-PROV from Nottingham, ARES MB339 (based in the south of France, ex-RNZAF), Omega KC-707, Skyline Aviation L-39 & Learjet (Dutch-based agressors). Pre-delivery Airbus/ATR/Leonardo types – plenty of exotically marked types on the continent about to start their service lives.
Austria – A Helicopter.
Bahrain – Bell 212 or AH-1E/F brought over in C-130J (60 Years of AH-1 Cobra).
Belgium – NH90 TTH (30 Years of NH90) & A109
Brazil – P-3
Canada – CP-140
Czech Republic – AH-1Z (25 Years of AH-1Z) & UH-1Y supported by a Let-410 on static display.
Dennmark – A helicopter.
Estonia – L-39
Finland – Learjet 35 & return of the Army NH90 (30 Years of NH90).
France – Taking note of some of the spectacular support from the Germans and Italians in recent years, E-3F & KC-135 from the Air Force, E-2 Hawkeye & Atlantique from the Navy and Army H225M & Puma (60 Years of Puma, 25 Years of H225M).
Germany – EC665 Tiger (in an A400M if they can’t fly over the water), in a return of the Navy: a Do228 & NH90
Greece – Mirage 2000 (with support C-130H on static) – or something other than F-4 or F-16 for variety’s sake.
Hungary – Mi-17 & Mi-24
Italy – Following the vast variety of types from the air force in recent years, an NH-500E this time. Hopefully it won’t be quite such a long wait for the Army and Navy to return again – helicopters from them would be great to see.
Ireland – PC-12 Spectre
Japan – E-767
Jordan – Perhaps the RJF could be ferried by Il-76 for a change?
Kuwait – Super Hornet on a well-timed delivery flight (as with the Hornets in 1993) - they’ve been flying the US again having been in storage (30 Years of Super Hornet).
Lithuania – Let L-410
Morocco – Mirage F-1C/E (+ support C-130H on static too).
NATO – A330
Netherlands – Cougar (Puma family anniversary)
New Zealand – C-130H(NZ) – if there are any still going by then.
Norway – Bell 412
Oman – C-130H & Super Lynx
Poland – MiG-29 & Mi-14
Portugal – C-130H
Qatar – Camo AW139 in a C-17.
Republic of Korea – RC-800 (ISTAR Hawker 800).
Romania – Following the excellent variety of An-30, An-26, C-27J & F-16 for the last three shows, how about an IAR 330 (50 Years of IAR 330, Puma Anniversaries).
Saudi Arabia – They seem to have enjoyed themselves, appearing two years on the bounce, bringing along their culture tent in 2024 – a KE-3A & Tornado this time round, please.
Serbia – Could their new C-295 support a deployment of MiG-29 or J-22 to the UK?
Slovakia – Mi-17 before they’re all replaced by UH-60M.
Slovenia – One last appearance from the Let-410 if it’s still around.
Spain – C-212 Aviocar from the Air Force. Harriers are great, but for a change: SH-60 from the navy.
Sweden – NH90 before they’re gone – these being the different High Cabin Version (HCV) (30 Years of NH90).
Switzerland – F-5F Trainer
Turkey – Just about anything other than F-16 or F-4 for variety’s sake – but especially the C-160, if it’s still flying.
UAE – C-17 with Bell 412 (or a Joint Aviation Command Helicopter) on board.
US – E-6B Mercury, European based UH-72 Lakota & HH-60G
United Kingdom – AAC Dauphin & One of the new H145 for Cyprus/Brunei if there are any in Britain at the time.
Zambia – C-27J
Other countries very much welcome too – a return of Pakistan or India, Algerian jets – or maybe something from Chile or Columbia? (I wrote this before Caper’s excellent post on this topic yesterday
viewtopic.php?t=90864) Closer to home: Latvia or Bulgaria? Singapore M-346 are just across the channel in France whilst Egypt would be another interesting new nation having appeared as ongoing in recent years.
A (very) long and eclectic Wishlist, if even a small handful of them were to be on the tarmac at Fairford next July, I'll be very pleased indeed.
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