Since April this year the Harrier has been absent in order to be stripped down and repainted to ensure its continued preservation. It returned to Swanwick last weekend, resuming its place as the RAF(U) Swanwick Gate Guardian, only a few weeks after its 45th birthday.

Air show season is an eagerly anticipated time of year and always presents the military air traffic controllers at RAF(U) Swanwick with a challenging yet extremely exciting variety of aircraft to deal with.