The Royal International Air Tattoo, Europe's largest airshow and the world's largest military airshow, returned to RAF Fairford in 2024 between July the 19th and the 21st. Themes being celebrated included the 50th anniversary of the F-16, the 75th anniversary of NATO, and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The show attracted over 150.000 spectators each day and almost 250 aircraft participated. Featuring display teams from six different nations and individual aircraft from countless more, RIAT 2024 highlighted the best that aviation has to offer.
The F-15QA (Qatar Advanced) is an Advanced Eagle variant for the Qatar Emiri Air Force; in June 2017, Qatar signed a deal to buy 36 F-15QAs for US$12 billion (~$14.7 billion in 2023). After the first F-15QA, locally called Ababil, meaning swallow, was rolled out in St Louis on 25 August 202, Boeing completed delivery of the original order of 36 jets for the QEAF in July 2023, but received an order from the QEAF for an additional 12 F-15QAs in October 2023, bringing the QEAF’s total future Advanced Eagle fleet to 48 aircraft.
According to Boeing, the F-15QA program has incorporated next-generation technologies into the advanced F-15, featuring fly-by-wire flight controls, an all-glass digital cockpit, and modern sensors, radar, and electronic warfare capabilities. The F-15QA was designed to augment the Qatar Emiri Air Force’s superiority, providing unmatched speed, range, and payload compared to any other fighter globally. This F-15 is equipped with additional weapons hardpoints, enabling it to carry up to 16 air-to-air missiles.