DUBAI, 7 January 2022 – The ‘Saudi Hawks’, the aerobatic team of the Saudi Air Force, wowed Expo visitors with a breathtaking aerial display on Friday to mark the Kingdom’s Expo 2020 National Day.
Six BAe Hawk Mk.65 aircraft with striking green and white livery generated gasps of delight as they swooped, rose, and crisscrossed to form trails – predominantly in the Saudi national colours of green and white – in the skies above Expo. Among the formations that won spectators’ hearts were the palm tree and a large heart pierced with an arrow.
The Saudi Hawks aerobatic team is part of No. 88 Squadron based at King Faisal Air Base in Tabuk. Founded in 1998 with six Hawk Mk.65s, the team made its debut in 1999 to mark the country’s centenary, with its international debut in Bahrain in 2000. It put on its first display in Europe at AirPower Zeltweg 2011, with several subsequent visits since then.
