April 20, 2012 11.19 am This story is over 143 months old

Saudi Air Force Hawks on display at Waddington Airshow

Eastern links: The Royal Saudi Air Force will make its debut at Waddington International Airshow.

The Royal Saudi Air Force will make its debut at Waddington International Airshow, held 3 miles south of Lincoln, by bringing in its six BAe Hawk jets.

Painted in green and white, the national colours of Saudi Arabia, they were formed in 1998 to represent the Saudi nation and act as ambassadors across the world.

The team is based at King Faisal Air Base Tabuk and completed its first public display in 1999 over the capital Riyadh, which marked the nation’s 100th anniversary.

Since then, the team completed tours across the Middle East and Europe, appearing in the UK for the first time last year.

Before flying into Waddington for the June 30 to July 1 weekend, the Saudi Hawks will be on display at the Royal Navy’s airshow at Yeovilton.

The team’s Airshow Advisor, serving RAF officer Sqn Ldr Simon Rea, is no stranger to the Lincolnshire skies, as he left the Red Arrows to take up an exchange position with the Saudi team.

The arrival of the Saudi Hawks at Waddington will make the nation of Saudi Arabia the 33rd nation to take part in the air show since it began.

Other confirmed attractions at the Waddington Airshow include the Italian Air Force’s display team, the Frecce Tricolori, who will be doing a display over the air show for the first time since 2004, and the Royal Australian Air Force confirmed its Boeing 737 AEW&C Wedgetail aircraft will be on static display.