NATO Days, 2018

September 15 saw me at Ostrava, Czech Republic for the 2018 edition of the annual NATO Days show.

The weather on the day was very changeable. It started out overcast and a bit foggy, but then cleared up towards mid morning and was sunny. Dark clouds rolled in for a bit in the afternoon and a tiny bit of rain fell before it cleared off and was sunny again towards the end of the show. Needless to say, photography was a challenge.

Weather aside, the show was the usual well organised affair with lots to see.

Here’s a small taster of what was on hand this year:

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Germany is a reliable contributor to NATO Day and this year was no exception. This Westland Lynx of the German navy was one of several German exhibits in attendance.
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A Dutch F-16 with a brightly painted tail to mark the 75th anniversary of 322 Squadron.
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Another aircraft in special colours was this Belgian C-130 Hercules painted to mark the 75th anniversary of the 15th Air Transport Wing.
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American contributions included a pair of F-16s from the Arizona Air National Guard.
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The Norwegian air force Dassault DA-20 Falcon made its first appearance at NATO Days, and possibly its last, in 2018. The type is slated for retirement in the not too distant future.
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An Austrian air force Pilatus PC-7 with a cargo pod full of patches and other souvenir goodies.
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This Fokker 100 of the Slovak Governmental Flying Service did a couple of flypsast at the opening of the show.
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Another show opening flypast included the Czech air force Airbus A319 flanked by Saab Gripens.
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An OV-10 Bronco flew over the crowd and released 200,000 poppies to pay respects to veterans.
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An early performer in the show was the Belgian air force F-16 solo demo.
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The Croatian air force Krila Oluje (Wings of the Storm) were one of two aerobatic teams at the event this year.
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OK-UTI, a MiG-15 that currently flies on the Czech civil register, taxis in after a performance.