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RAF Red Arrows display team confirms summer of events

Crown Copyright/RAF The Red ArrowsCrown Copyright/RAF
The Red Arrows are due to perform at a number of events throughout the summer

Aerobatic display team the Red Arrows has confirmed its summer line-up after being granted permission to perform.

The squadron, which is currently based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, has been practising routines in Greece.

Following an assessment, the team has been cleared to perform at air shows, the Royal Air Force said.

After the pandemic forced event organisers to cancel dates last year, Sqn Ldr Steve Morris said they hoped they would "more than make up for it".

The team is scheduled to perform at the Battle of Britain Airshow in June as well as the British Grand Prix in Silverstone on 18 July.

Their opening display of the new season will be on 4 June at the Midlands Air Festival - the first event of a four-month summer campaign spanning the UK and mainland Europe.

The 2021 show features several new moves and shapes, the RAF added.

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Sqn Ldr Morris said: "It's a huge achievement [to get permission to perform], not just for the pilots but the engineers servicing the jets, to make sure that we've got everything we need in order to go on display in front of the public."

The squadron has been training in Greece for five weeks, taking advantage of better weather to prepare them for a summer of displays.

The manoeuvres they practise abroad are choreographed and learned at RAF Scampton before being perfected in sunnier skies.

Crown Copyright 2021 Red Arrows assessorsCrown Copyright 2021
The Red Arrows were assessed in Greece before being granted their licence

"The issue that we have at Scampton and with the UK weather is that sometimes we need to go up to six or seven thousand feet," Mr Morris said.

"Last year we didn't get to meet many people, so hopefully this year we more than make up for it."

The aerobatic team - formed in 1964 - is due to move to RAF Waddington in 2022.

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