RAF Cosford Air Show 2025
The Shropshire air station of RAF Cosford hosts the Royal Air Force’s last air show each year in June. In 2025 the event took ‘Commemorate, Celebrate, Innovate’ as its central theme linking aviation history through to the next generation of aerospace technology. There was also a nod to the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe as well as a showcase of the modern day UK armed services and partner nations.
Paul Johnson/Flightline UK reports. All photography by the author.
The RAF Cosford Air Show is one of the most popular events in the UK attracting in excess of 50,000 spectators annually to the one day airshow. There is no doubt that part of that popularity is that this is the last true Royal Air Force Air Show, an event where the public are invited in to an active station and experience what happens there and around the UK armed services. Cosford also provides the wider aerospace industry to interact with the public at scale and hopefully inspire the next generation of engineers, pilots and scientists. This Cosford achieves via its superb STEM and exhibition hangars.
For those seeking nostalgia, there was the large ‘Victory Village.’ Here live music, re-enactors, period vehicles and aircraft were brought together for a victory celebration amongst the more modern hardware. Aircraft wise, this area featured Mark Bennett’s beautiful Supermarine Spitfire IX for the third successive year plus Jennifer Taylor’s Hawker Hurricane I, the RAF Museum’s Spitfire PRXIX, de Havilland Puss Moth and Kevin Hale’s Auster AOP6.
At the opposite end of the static display was a mod to army co-operation including the Korean War. These included the NavyWings Heritage Flight CCF Harvard IV, the Historic Army Aircraft Flight’s de Havilland Canada Beaver AL1 plus Simon Tilling’s North American Navion and Auster AOP1. This area also included one of the more unusual static display participants, Hebridean Air Services Britten-Norman Islander in its bright yellow colour scheme.
Elsewhere on the showground, there was a nice collection of Royal Air Force training aircraft with the de Havilland Chipmunk T10, Scottish Aviation Bulldog T1, BAC Jet Provost T3, BAC Jet Provost T5, BAE System Hawk T1s and Grob Tutor T1. More Chipmunks and Bulldogs featured elsewhere in the static display alongside some of the civilian aircraft involved with RAF Flying Clubs and Associations.
Adding to the Cold War Royal Air Force aircraft was the usual collection of RAF Cosford based ground training aircraft including the Panavia Tornado GR4, Tornado F3, Wessex HAR3, BAe Harrier GR3 plus the Royal Navy’s BAE Systems Sea Harrer F/A2. As ever there was a very sizable collection of SEPECAT Jaguars of various colours at various locations in the static displays.
A highlight for enthusiast and photographers was the placement of the RAF Museum’s BAe EAP alongside the aircraft that was developed from it, the Eurofighter Typhoon DA4 in the Cosford’s Deployed Operational Training Area at the far end of the airfield. This was the first time the EAP had been seen alongside the Typhoon in public and it was really appreciated that RAF Cosford made the effort to make the pairing as photogenic as possible.
The RAF Cosford Air Show is one that has endured more than its fair share of last minute cancellations over the last few years. In 2025, Cosford has particularly bad luck in this regard in both the static and flying displays. Just prior to the event, the entire Irish Air Corps participation was withdrawn (which would have been up to three aircraft at one point) and there were various civilian operated aircraft that did not appear for various reasons. Plans by the Belgian Air Force to participate with an Airbus A400M also never materialised. All that left just three modern visiting military aircraft in the static displays, an Airbus H135 Juno HT1 from RAF Shawbury, a Boeing AH-64E Apache from the Army Air Corps plus a welcome return by a Royal Netherlands Air Force NH Industries NH90NFH Caiman.
The bad luck continued in to the flying display with a handful of participants cancelling at the very last minute. Perhaps the most understandable loss was the Great War Display Team who judged the weather to be out of limits for their fragile aircraft. One of the most keenly felt cancellations was the French Air & Space Force Dassault Rafale Solo display. The support crew for the Rafale had already arrived in preparation for the show when news reached Cosford that for a variety of technical and operational reasons the Rafales themselves could not make it. Then, even after the Wildcat AH1 had arrived and the ground based pyrotechnics had been rigged on Saturday, the Army Air Corps Attack Helicopter Role Demonstration were forced to withdraw after Boeing issued a technical directive which prevented the global Apache fleet from flying on non-essential operations.
Having said there was a lot of bad luck, this did not diminish the quality of the six hour flying display. In fact, despite being three acts down the six hours of flying simple flew by with very few gaps and some exceptional flying. Even some low cloud and some drizzle during the first half of the flying didn’t hamper the display or cause any disruption.
The flying opened in the traditional way with the RAF Falcons Parachute Team getting in a ‘Mid-show’ dropping from their Dornier Do228 before taking the salute from RAF’s station commander, Wing Commander Penny Brady. Alongside the Falcons were all of the Royal Air Force’s display assets including the Red Arrows who brought a busy week for the team to close with a colourful display at Cosford. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight unusually made two contributions starting with a new routine for the traditional three-ship routine featuring the Avro Lancaster B1, Supermarine Spitfire IIa and Hawker Hurricane IIc. In particular their new final with the Avro Lancaster powering over the crowd is particularly evocative. They then returned later in the programme for a fighters routine featuring the Spitfire II and Spitfire PRXIX.
Squadron Leader Nathan Shawyer’s routine in the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 was perhaps even more impressive under the grey clouds with vapour streaming with the delta wings. Not to be out-done was Flt Lt Bob Dewes in the Grob Tutor T1 now in his second season of displays. He is now cleared down to 300ft for aerobatics and presented a really quite close-in and energetic routine full of rolls, loops and stall turns – great stuff!
Bringing the display to close was the new Boeing Chinook HC6 role demonstration. As last year, the crews at RAF Odiham have teamed up with the Joint Helicopter Support Squadron at RAF Benson to present a range of capabilities including underslung loads, fast roping and troop deployment. The 2025 role demo is certainly an improvement on the 2024 version being slightly faster paced and keeping the action in front of the crowd. It was also helped by the team commentator who added a certain dry wit to proceedings!
There were sadly no special flypasts from the Royal Air Force this year. However, a Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning did make a short flypast and hovering appearance to highlight the new generation of ‘platforms’ entering service.
Though the Army Air Corps were unable to take part in the flying displays, the Royal Navy were represented by the Black Cats Helicopter Display Team debuting their 2025 duo sequence with a pair of Leonardo Wildcat HMA2s. Prior to their display, the joined by with the wonderful Fairey Swordfish I from the NavyWings Heritage Flight to present the ‘Taranto Formation’ which a vivid demonstration of more than 80 years of naval air power.
Further heritage flying came from several civilian operated warbirds. Sywell and Duxford based Fighter Aviation Engineering Ltd was well represented in the flying programme with spirited solo displays by Gabriel Barton in the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt and Mark Levy piloting the North American P-51D Mustang. Adding to the collection of American designed aircraft was Hurricane Heritage’s Noorduyn Harvard IIb which was put through an eye-catching and very noisy aerobatic sequence by Mike Collett.
A surprise late addition to the flying was Kennet Aviation’s Cessna L-19E Bird Dog which was put through its paces by Shuttleworth pilot Scott Butler who demonstrated the Forward Air Control aircraft’s agility and slow speed flying abilities. The solo classic jet involvement in the flying programme came from North Wales Military Aviation Services and their pair of BAC Strikemasters. As well as presented their usual aerobatic routine, pilots Sean Chiddenton and Ian Brett also performed a few ground attack passes during which the pyrotechnics set up for the Army helicopter display were let off!
One of the best displays of the afternoon came from the Vintage Pair and their two de havilland Canada Chipmunk T10s. Pilots David Petters and Jon Higgins have now worked up a fully aerobatic display sequence which is not only incredibly nostalgic, but also impressed with some very fine formation loops and a wonderful tail-chase of barrel rolls.
There was a very special welcome for the Royal Netherlands Air Force Historic Flight who were participating in a UK display with their Supermarine Spitfire IX for the first time since 2013. There is a special bond between the RAF and the Netherlands thanks to vital role free Dutch pilots played in the Second World War. The Historic Flight also works with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight sharing knowledge and training together. They arrived in the UK on 6th June, the 81st Anniversary of the D-Day landing of which their Spitfire MK732 is a veteran. They routed their flight to Cosford via the Normandy beaches to as a salute to the anniversary. As added bonus, the Cosford audience also saw their very elegant Beech D18S depart with the Spitfire as they started the journey back to their base at Glize-Rijen.
The international theme continued with the only unlimited aerobatics display of the afternoon with Mélanie Astles and her Extra 330SC. Her routine is an outstanding example of the modern aerobatic art full of punishing negative-g turns, gyroscopic tumbles and precise rapid rolls. On her return to her parking space, she received rapturous applause from the audience. She also went on something of a ‘Tom Cruise’ selfie run along the crowdline before heading to a meet-and-greet in central part of the showground – such interaction is great to see making memories for the more youthful members of the airshow audience and raising the profile of the ‘Elevate (her)’ organisation Melenie is supporting with her airshow appearances.
2025 saw Cosford attract some very fine international military aircraft for the flying display. There was a flying display debut for the NATO Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport unit and its Airbus A330MRTT based at Eindhoven. The aircraft gave a single, if rather high flypast while returning to base from a mission.
The Polish Air Force made a welcome return to the RAF Cosford Air Show with their Lockheed Martin F-16C Fighting Falcon from the ‘Tiger Demo Team.’ Fitted with conformal fuel tanks, the pilot Major Maciej “SLAB” Krakowian put on a very aggressive display ending with a very pleasing high speed ‘dedication’ pass with vapour streaming from the top surfaces as he arced around the crowdline.
It was however the Swiss Air Force’s PC-7 Team that picked up the ‘Bill Hartree Award’ for best overall flying display with their nine Pilatus PC-7 training aircraft. This was their only display outside of Switzerland this year (and the Swiss Air Force’s only UK airshow appearance of the year) and they rewarded the UK audience with an exception demonstration of ‘Swiss-ness’ – elegant, sweeping passes combined with some very unusual formations and some incredibly precise and punchy aerobatics from their solo pilot.
More than 50,000 attended RAF Cosford Air Show 2025 which can make it feel a little crowded at times. However, they were rewarded with a highly enjoyable day out with some superb flying displays. These were augmented with a very engaging ground show with all the entertainment and exhibitions from both the armed services and aerospace industry that really make Cosford stand out on the UK airshow calendar.
