After a break of a few years, mostly due to COVID-19, I returned to the NATO Tiger Meet Spotters Day, held on June 10, 2024 at Schleswig-Jagel Air Base in Northern Germany.
The weather was changeable, with a mixture of clouds, rain and sun throughout the day.
The area set aside for the spotters was set back slightly from the edge of the 25/07 runway, which was being used as a taxiway on the day – the main 23/05 runway was used for departures and arrivals. However, the topography of the airfield meant that the main runway is slightly lower than the taxiway, which, along with the grass being allowed to grow, meant that often we could only just about see the tips of tails until the aircraft lifted off. Certainly, touchdown shots were impossible to capture!
Schleswig is the home base for Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 “Immelmann” (Tactical Air Force Wing 51 “Immelmann”), flying Panavia Tornado ECR (electronic combat/reconnaissance) aircraft.
Participants this year were (courtesy www.natotigers.org):
335 Mira (HAF)
F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
11F (FN)
Rafale M
192 Filo (TuAF)
F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
Staffel 11 (ChAF)
F/A-18C/D Hornet
211 TL (CzAF)
JAS-39C/D Gripen
TaktLwG 51 (GAF)
Tornado IDS & ECR
TaktLwG 51 (GAF)
Heron Mk II
12° Gruppo (ItAF)
EF-2000 Eurofighter
6 ELT (PolAF)
F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
TaktLwG 74 (GAF)
EF-2000 Eurofighter
EHRA 3 (ALAT)
SA-342M Gazelle
EHRA 3 (ALAT)
EC-665 Tigre HAP
EHRA 3 (ALAT)
NH90
EC 3/30 (FAF)
Rafale B/C
230 Sqn (RAF)
observers only
2 Staffel (AAF)
observers only
101/1 Sqn (HuAF)
31 Smd (BAF)
F-16A/B MLU Fighting Falcon
313 Sqn (RNlAF)
F-35 Lightning II
Flying from Volkel
1 AEW&C (NATO)
E-3A Sentry
Flying from MOB
5 MFG (MF)
Super Lynx Mk88A
GFD (CIVIL)
Learjet
Top Aces (Civil)
A-4N Skyhawk
Flying from Nordholz AB
VMFA-542 (USMC)
observers only
As usual, some of the aircraft sported special paint schemes for the exercise, some of which I managed to capture. I hope you enjoy the images.
