For aviation enthusiasts, the annual Tiger Meet exercise is one of the most anticipated military gatherings held in Europe thanks to a wide array of participating aircraft and more often than not the special schemes that are applied to them for the event. For NATO Tiger Meet 2018, it was the turn of 6 Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego of the Polish Air Force to host the event at their Poznań-Krzesiny airbase in Western Poland. Adam Duffield joined around 2,000 other enthusiasts for the traditional ‘Spotters Day’ this year held on May 18 with additional images from outside the base along with Poznan Airshow.

Held between May 14 – 25, NATO Tiger Meet 2018 – or NTM18 – was the first to be hosted by 6.elt since the unit became full members of NATO’s Tiger Association in 2011. The airfield at Poznań-Krzesiny is officially known as the 31. Tactical Air Base (31.blt) and is currently home to 3 and 6 Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego, both operating some 16 F-16C/D Block 52+ aircraft each. Citied as the largest air exercise to be held in Poland during 2018, NTM18 featured 19 units from 16 different air arms with over 65 aircraft – both fixed wing and rotary types.

Whilst the main focus from an enthusiasts perspective might be the special schemes prepared especially for the event, the two week exercise is in fact a serious military exercise. Typically flying at least two sorties a day, almost all of the participating assets launch in a seemingly endless stream of movements during each wave. Flying a mixture of missions that included Air Combat, Close Air Support (CAS), Combined Air Operations and CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue), it gives a chance for the multinational participants to work with each other while strengthening ties as well as enhancing the learning phases in one of the few such exercises of this scale to be held in Europe.

A pair of French Navy Rafale M’s taxi to the active runway

GAF EF2000 Typhoon 31+00 ‘Ghost Tiger’

Tornado of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 ‘Immelmann’ departing on an NTM18 mission

RNlAF F-16B J-882 of 313 Squadron taxi’s on to the active runway

Close up of the Swiss Air Force Fliegerstaffel 11 special tail

Polish Air Force F-16C Block 52 4060

That said, the special schemes that did attend NTM18 certainly brought color to the uniform grey jets that adornes almost every air arm nowadays. A firm favourite of many, and taking home the award for best tiger scheme, was the ‘Ghost Tiger’ Typhoon of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 74 – the Bavarian Tigers. A unit that has become well known for its impressive schemes over recent years, it was the only ‘full’ scheme applied to a fixed wing participant and certainly stood out. Also representing the German Air Force, Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51’s Tornado scheme was also another favourite with many with its ‘torn’ tiger look. Although each squadron brought at least one marked aircraft specifically for NTM, some schemes also represented significant centenary milestones. The Gripen is often not a favourite of enthusiasts however the Czech example was very well presented with a NTM18 scheme on the starboard side of the tail reflecting the countries flag colours whilst on the port side it celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the Czechoslovak Air Force, the forerunner to todays Czech Air Force – something that was also represented with a large crest covering the topside of the aircraft. Of course, the RAF is also celebrating the same significant milestone this year and the Puma sent to NTM was also the example selected to have the RAF100 logo applied. So far, the application of this logo has been seen as very lacklustre celebration however the Puma has also recieved an all over Tiger scheme in light and dark grey to celebrate the centenary of 230 Sqn itself. Other noteworth schemes include the Gazelle of Escadrille d’Hélicoptères de Reconnaissance et d’Attaque n°3, the AB-212 of 21° Gruppo and the Typhoons of XII Gruppo and 142 Escuadrón. Also worth mentioning, although not related to the special scheme, is the winner of the prestigious ‘Silver Tiger’ trophy which for 2018 was presented to 313 Sqaudron Royal Netherlands Air Force. 

The participants for NTM18 were as follows –

Close up of the 211.Taktcká Letka Gripen special scheme

A pair of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 ‘Immelmann’ Tornado’s taxi to the active runway

Rafale M NTM18 Special tail aircraft from Flottille 11F from outside the spotters day event

XII Gruppo EF2000 Typhoon MM.7315

RAF Puma HC2 XW224 230 Sqn special scheme from outside the spotters day event

The Tiger Meet Spotters day has, along with many aspects on the military side of NTM, become a tradition when it was seen as a chance for the Squadrons to show off their newly ‘special scheme’ to a group of keen enthusiasts. When the chosen location for NTM18 was initially announced, it generated an immediate interest from within the enthusiast community especially with the low expense accommodation and food in Poland along with cheap flights with budget carriers direct to Poznań itself. Combined with a planned airshow that coincided with the NTM Spotters Day, everything seemed to line up perfectly.

Unfortunately, this was where the perfection on paper seemed to end. Initial confusion around the ticketing system started with the ‘early’ opening of a website selling combined NTM and Poznań Airshow tickets that closed, with no notice, less than 24 hours after opening leaving many concerned as to the fate of their order. Although explained a few days later as a mistake, further confusion arose prior to the event with a lack of tickets being issued especially with some only receiving theirs just a few days beforehand.

With a scheduled  registration at an offsite carpark at 0700, the queue was expectedly sizeable with everyone eager to get on base to catch the first launch. The reality however was that registration didn’t open until after 0730 by which time the queue continued to grow and snake around said carpark. From a personal perspective, it took approximately 3 hours from joining the queue just before 0700 to arriving on base at 1000, while many joining the queue behind were waiting even longer – some reportedly missing the first wave of launches due to delays in the registration process and lack of busses to the base.

Czech Air Force JAS 39C Gripen 39239 landing back after a mission

Escadrille d’Hélicoptères de Reconnaissance et d’Attaque n°3 Gazelle special scheme sat at Poznan Airshow

Close up of the Belgian Air Force 31 Squadron special tail

XII Gruppo Typhoon MM.7322 Special Scheme returning after a mission, taken from outside the spotters day event

Flottille 11F Rafale M landing back after a NTM18 mission

Belgian Air Force F-16A FA-69 of 31 Squadron lines up

Upon arrival on base, a photographers worst fears were soon realised – shooting in to the sun. Whilst there had been a number of posts on various forums and social media outlets warning that this would be the case, some still hoped that this could be rectified in some way before the event. AeroResource are led to believe that the NATO Tiger Association, the organisers behind such days normally, were not in charge of this particular event and it was handled by a 3rd party company involved with the airshow to organise – whether this was the only location option available to them or if no regard for photography was given is sadly unclear. The area for photography was a cordoned off box on the north side of the Runway 29 threshold giving a somewhat distant view of the parked aircraft. With such a large crowd, it was also clear that the area given, and prime locations to try and get the only possible glimpse of sunlight on the aircraft as they turned on to the active runway, were going to be busy with queues three or four deep forming in many places. Those that pre-empted this came prepared with ladders although it was a shame that some felt it acceptable to place 4-5 step ladders on the fence rather than slightly behind. For those unprepared – the vast majority from looking around – it was left to try and find a gap between shoulders and cameras to grab whatever shots possible.

In an unexpected move that demonstrated how dissatisfied many were, no sooner had the busses ceased from shuttling attendees to the base, the queue to leave started as people started to vote with their feet. With only a single bus running every hour until the close some, having already queued for 3 hours to get in, spent another 2 hours queueing to leave. With queues already significant before the first bus ran back, many left in search of alternate locations to shoot from that favoured the sun.

Despite the positioning, those that did attend were treated to almost non-stop action for the first couple of hours during the first launch thanks to the fixed wing types. Taxiing towards the crowd and turning on to the runway directly in front of the gathered attendees at least gave some chance to witness the special schemes from each unit – of which all but the French Navy Rafale M  from Flottille 11 flew during the morning, however it did fly in the afternoon wave). For those wanting to catch the rotary assets however, there was to be even more frustrations than the position of the ‘spotters enclosure’. With their staging area at the opposite end of the airfield, their departures and subsequent arrivals were but small dots in the distance throughout the day. However, further evidence of organisational failures occurred later in the day when a massed flypast of the rotary assets (including the special ‘Alien’ schemed Mi-24 Hind, RAF Puma, French Gazelle and Italian 212) took off and flew down the runway for the awaiting enthusiasts – all of which had already been left the site some earlier due to the event closing!

A pair of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 ‘Immelmann’ Tornado’s including the NTM18 special scheme arriving back after a mission, taken from outside the base

211.Taktcká Letka NTM18 Special Scheme

French Navy Rafale M of Flottille 11F lighting up to depart

Czech Air Force Mi-24 3361 Tiger Special displaying at the Poznan Airshow

Close up of the RNlAF 313 Squadron special scheme aircraft J-882

142 Escuadrón EF2000 Typhoon special scheme arrives at Poznan Airshow for static display

It is such a shame for an event that is normally held in such high regard seemed to fail rather haphazardly to meet the high expectations of the attendees. Watching social media during the day, people’s thoughts were clear to see with many taking to the official Tiger Meet Spotters Day event page to leave their thoughts on the reviews section – something that was later disabled and while those reviews were taken down some hours later.

As had been mentioned previously, the majority of attendees purchased the ‘Spotters Pack’ that included access to the Poznań Airshow being held the two days after the spotters day at the nearby Poznań–Ławica airport. Once again, the event saw photography directly in to the sun for the majority of the day however the opening segment on Saturday saw a number of the Tiger Meet special tails arrive at the show for static display. With the disappointment for many of not being able to get up close to them the day before, this was a welcome opportunity to take a closer look at the schemes the units had put so much effort in to.

The Tiger Meet Spotters Days are high on the list of ‘must attend’ events for many with ‘spotters’ coming from far and wide based on the great reputation that they have. For the author however, this was the first such Tiger Meet and, based on watching the results from many previous years, my expectations were high. Unfortunately, like many, I have come away from feeling nothing but disappointment for an event that, at face value, appears to have only benefitted the third party organising the airshow and spotter’s event. The great reputation of Tiger Meet Spotters Days has likely been tarnished by this year’s events however blame should not be laid with the NATO Tiger Meet association whose control it was out of. Despite this year’s downsides I, like many, will certainly be looking ahead to next year’s event (which, based on early available information, will be held at Mont-de-Marsan, France) knowing that hopefully, the correct people will once more be running the show.

Pair of RNlAF F-16A’s of 313 Squadron taxi to the active runway

Belgian Air Force 31 Squadron F-16A special scheme shot from outside base

Hungarian Air Force Gripen departing for a mission

Polish Air Force F-16C Block 52 4060

Close up of the 142 Escuadrón EF2000 Typhoon special scheme

Hellenic Air Force 335 Mira special scheme ready to depart on a mission

Swiss Air Force Fliegerstaffel 11 F/A-18C shot from outside base

Polish Air Force F-16C Block 52 4056