Extended military flypast of 70 RAF, Navy and Army aircraft for King

King’s first birthday parade will see extended military flypast of 70 RAF, Navy and Army aircraft after Coronation Day display was scaled down due to bad weather

•  The MoD said  birthday flypast has been increased in size to pay tribute to new monarch

The King will receive an extended military flypast as part of his first birthday parade after the coronation display had to be scaled down due to poor weather. 

Around 70 aircraft from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force will take part in a flypast for Trooping the Colour on Saturday, marking the first birthday flypast for Charles.

The King, Queen and other members of the royal family are expected to watch as the aircraft fly over The Mall and Buckingham Palace in a six-minute display.

Aircraft will take off from 15 locations up and down the UK before meeting in the south east of the country and flying across to London, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed. 

A mixture of aircraft from different eras will feature in the event, including the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight dating back to the 1940s and the C-130 Hercules on its final ceremonial flight, multiple Typhoon fighter jets and the Envoy IV CC1, which is making its flypast debut.

The Royal Air Force Red Arrows perform a flypast over The Mall and Buckingham Palace following the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 6 2023 

Aircraft will take off from 15 different locations up and down the country before circling round to London at around mid-afternoon 

A mixture of aircraft from different eras will feature in the event, including the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

F-35B Lightning IIs, practising their formation flying ahead of the scaled-back Coronation on April 25 

A Juno HT1 piloted by Flight Lieutenant Tom Knapp from 60 Squadron, No 1 Flying Training School based at RAF Shawbury will front the flypast.

READ MORE: The mighty Hercules flies into retirement: RAF’s transport giant stands down after spectacular flight over UK as critics say move to ditch much-loved workhorse leaves SAS ‘dangerously exposed’ 

The show will culminate with a customary display of red, white and blue from the Red Arrows.

The MoD said many of the aircraft taking part in the flypast have been involved in operations around the world this year, including the Nato air policing mission in Eastern Europe and the evacuation of British citizens from Sudan.

King Charles will be joined on Saturday by the Queen and members of the royal family to view the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards Troop their Colour.

The annual event of Trooping of the Colour has marked the official birthday of the sovereign for more than 260 years.

More than 60 aircraft from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force had been due to take part in the coronation flypast in May but ‘unsuitable weather conditions’ saw that plan abandoned.

Instead, helicopters from the three services and the Red Arrows took part in the display, which lasted for around two and a half minutes.

Footage from Royal Navy helicopters showed how poor the weather was in the skies above London.

Rain streaked the windshields of the aircraft as they flew low over the heart of the capital.

The extended military flypast comes after the coronation display (pictured) had to be scaled down due to poor weather 

The MoD said the birthday flypast has been increased in size to pay tribute to the new monarch.

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, said: ‘We are very proud to be able to showcase our capabilities to our Commander-in-Chief, on this historic occasion for his majesty the King.

‘We have planned a fitting and appropriate tribute for our monarch, that should be a true spectacle for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.’

Air Officer Commanding 1 Group, Air Vice-Marshal Mark Flewin, said: ‘It is a great honour to be part of his majesty the King’s birthday celebrations, where the flypast is an opportunity for us to showcase formation, precision and excellence in the air to our Commander-in-Chief on such a special occasion.’

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