Tom Jones
@tomjaviation
Aviation account. Aviation photographer, contributor to Air Forces Monthly and Combat Aircraft Journal. Member of U.K. Airshow Review. Other than reposts, please do not share my images without my written permission
The German Tiger Display Team at Aerotorshow. Always great to see the EC665 in the air - I love the German Army livery! #EC665 #TigerDisplay #GermanArmy #heeresflieger #Aerotorshow
One from a few years ago. A JASDF Mitsubishi F-2 rolling out at Hyakuri with a punchy loadout of four ASM-2 anti-ship missiles, and two AAM-3 air to air missiles. It’s rare to see an F-2 with a full mission load.
A Sécurité Civile EC145 from a few weeks ago. Great to see one of the older models with the open tail rotor, as they are slowly being replaced by the H145 D3.
A German CH-53 arriving at RIAT back in 2022. Like many, I’m sad that Trump’s stupid war in Iran has caused the show to be cancelled this year. #CH53 #MH53 #JollyGreen #Sikorsky #Luftwaffe
The much-missed Belgian F-16 solo display at Radom 2023. I didn’t know it; but it would be the last time I would see it in the air following the sudden and unexpected retirement of the demo team in 2024.
Always great to see aerobatic helicopter displays! Especially this glorious-looking EC-665 Tigre from the French Army, with day glo strips to boot!
The legendary Couteau Delta Tactical Display rocking the place at Valence-Chabeuil! Always great to see these Mirage 2000Ds.
Face to face with the ugly but charismatic EC-1 at Iruma. This platypus-like machine was retired in March 2025 and its replacement, the EC-2, is undergoing test and development work.
The Danish Air Force MH-60R at Aerotorshow - great to see this rare beast perform a flying demo.
Another from France recently - great to finally see A French Army/ALAT PC-6 Turbo Porter. France has five of these machines, which are based at Montauban and are quite rare at events in Europe.
The new Airbus A350-1000ULR as part of Qantas’ “Project Sunrise” into Cardiff recently. Great to see this beast up close.
The German Tiger Display Team at Aerotorshow the weekend before last. Always great to see the EC-665 in the air - I love the German Army livery! #EC665 #TigerDisplay #GermanArmy #heeresflieger #Aerotorshow
“MILAN73” - A Sécurité Civile Dash-8 Q400 “Fireguard” with its 10,000 litre belly tank landing at Nîmes-Garrons last week.
The legendary Couteau Delta rocking the place at Valence-Chabeuil on the weekend! Always great to see these Mirage 2000Ds.
A quick but productive stop at Nîmes Garrons last week allowed us to see all the Sécurité Civile aircraft at once, which was a nice bonus! Some of the air arm’s most recent additions are the Dash-8 Q400 “Fireguards” with their pregnant-looking 10,000 litre belly tank.
One of the highlights from the weekend in France for me. The awesome Airbus RACER (“Rapid And Cost Effective Rotorcraft”). Based on an H175 airframe, it acts as a proof of concept aircraft, allowing Airbus to study the flight characteristics and utility of a helicopter in this configuration.
A glorious-looking EC-665 Tigre from the French Army, with day glo strips to boot!
A highlight from yesterday’s arrivals and practices at Aerotorshow - the super rare DGA SA330J. The Puma is a dying breed in French military service, and I was really glad to see this test and development version!
A highlight from yesterday in France. It’s been years since I’ve seen CL-415 Super Scoopers, and my first time seeing French ones from Sécurité Civile!
A great participant from RIAT 2024! Awesome to see the F-15QA in action!
Rafale Marine! Always great to see the French Navy Rafale M demo - taken last year at Hyères.
Very cool to see parachute jumping from this Czech Air Force Mi-171 last month
A JMSDF Kawasaki P-1 on finals to NAS Atsugi several years ago in the last of the evening light.
A Republic of China Air Force Mirage 2000-5F launching on a CAP sortie with live missiles.
The Royal Danish Air Force F-16 solo display at RIAT 2024 - this demo hung up its spurs at the end of 2026, and shall be hugely missed on the European show circuit.
A favourite of mine - a NAMC YS-11EB landing at Iruma. Less than ten of these charismatic machines are left airworthy in the world, and all of them in the service of the JASDF performing an electronic intelligence/ELINT role.
Cool to see a Slovak Air Force UH-60 Black Hawk at Namest last month, albeit most of Europe’s Black Hawks are olive drab with dark lettering, so not much to distinguish them!
Great to see this Yak-11/C-11 at Swansea Airport on the weekend. Despite being based in the U.K., it has eluded me for some time!
The awesome ATL2 flying at Hyères last year. Such a wonderfully charismatic aircraft.
C-130 90-1796 with callsign “JESSIE10” returning to Cardiff with an in-flight pressurisation problem yesterday. It tried to make it back to the States but got as far as the south coast of Ireland before turning back. Both C-130s from the Missouri ANG have been stuck at Cardiff for several days now.