Red Arrows wow Qatar with scintillating aerobatic show

Hundreds of people gathered at the hotel and on the adjacent Corniche to watch the breath taking and colourful 22-minute long performance, celebrating 100 years of powered flight. The Red Arrows, at times flying only a few feet apart, dazzled and amazed the watching audience with a stunning display of 24 separate manoeuvres.

The highlights of the lunch time performance were the all-new fountain split, which involved the Red Arrows' eight BAE SYSTEMS built Hawk aircraft climbing vertically in a loop, with the front four aircraft completing an upwards fan shaped manoeuvre while the other four cascaded downwards and the drawing of a massive pierced heart in the sky by three of the Red Arrows

Under the command of Squadron Leader Carl 'Spike' Jepson the team was making only its third public appearance in Qatar after having previously performed in Malaysia, Thailand, India, Oman and the UAE.

'We are very honoured to have been invited to display in Qatar. I hope everyone enjoyed the display as much as we enjoyed flying it for them. We always receive a very warm welcome from the people of Qatar and we are glad to have returned,' said Sqd Ldr Jepson.

BAE SYSTEMS new General Manager in Qatar, Ben Bridge, said the Red Arrows had shown why they are renowned as the best aerobatic team in the world.

'It was a stunning and exciting show which not only showed off the remarkable skills of the Red Arrows' pilots but also clearly demonstrated why the Hawk aircraft is the world's leading advanced jet trainer. BAE SYSTEMS is proud to be closely associated with an event that will leave a lasting impression of excellence with those who were privileged to be here today,' said Bridge.

With a top speed exceeding Mach 1.2, the Hawk is powered by a Rolls Royce Adour engine producing 5,200lb of thrust. The Adour-powered Hawk has accumulated over two million flying hours in service with 15 customers and has been selected by Bahrain, India, South Africa and the UK for their future training requirements. The
Red Arrows' display shows off the manoeuvrability of the Hawk aircraft as the pilots pull up to 8 times the force of gravity.

The most recent regional buyer of Hawk is the Royal Bahrain Defence Force (RBDF) which concluded a deal for Hawk 100 Series aircraft in January. In July the UK government announced it had selected the latest generation of Hawk aircraft, the Hawk Mk 128, as its new advanced jet trainer. And in September, completing a hat trick of major deals this year, India placed a US $1.3 billion order for 66 Hawk aircraft.
Red Arrows to display in Qatar - 3

In addition to BAE SYSTEMS, the Red Arrows Eastern Arrow tour is supported by the UK's Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO); Rolls Royce, Cobham and VT Group.

Terry Holland, Regional Executive - Middle East Rolls-Royce International said: 'The Red Arrows are a symbol of excellence, a characteristic with which the Rolls-Royce name has become synonymous over the years. We are proud to support such outstanding ambassadors for the aerospace industry.'