Spanish Harriers receive a special tail for the Air Tattoo

Spanish Harriers special colors.

The 2019 Air Tattoo is off to a 'jump-start' thanks to confirmation from the Spanish Navy that their iconic Harrier is to make a very welcome and rare appearance to fly in this summer's airshow.

The EAV-8B Harrier II Plus from 9 Squadron will be displaying at the Air Tattoo, held over 19-21 July at RAF Fairford. The aircraft, based at Rota Naval Base, are normally found flying from the Spanish Navy's amphibious assault ship, Juan Carlos I.

The Harrier can take off and land vertically, fly backwards, sideways and rotate on the spot; manoeuvres that are sure to impress Air Tattoo visitors! Spanish Navy Harriers, in the form of the earlier AV-8S and TAV-8S variants, were last seen at the Air Tattoo in 1994, with the last Harrier flying display in 2010; the final display season for the RAF's own GR.9 model prior to its retirement in March 2011.

To make its presence at the event even more memorable, the Spanish Navy has prepared a surprise for the audience of the RIAT 19. On June 6, the Spanish blog "On The Wings of Aviation" posted on Twitter the photo of two special Spanish jump jets clearly painted for the Air Tattoo. The tail rudder of the aircraft received the colors of the Spanish flag topped by a cobra (the aircraft's nickname) and the word "Air Tattoo".

Image: On The Wings of Aviation