The RAF Museum Midlands will put three newly acquired aircraft on show at the RAF Cosford Air Show on Sunday, June 14th, giving visitors their first look at the British Aerospace Hawk T1A, General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper and Westland Puma HC1. The display will be set up in the museum’s enclosure on the airfield, marking the first public appearance for the trio.
For the museum, the timing turns the air show into a temporary launch pad for aircraft that will later sit inside a broader historical display. Tom Hopkins said the Reaper will be the first aircraft of its type to enter a UK museum collection, and he made clear that the air show preview comes well before permanent display. That makes Sunday’s appearance more than a routine turnout: it is the first chance for visitors to see the new arrivals before they leave the public eye again.
The museum’s enclosure will also house other attractions, including a replica Spitfire cockpit, RAF uniforms and hats, interactive robotics activities and retail items. Visitors will also be able to board Chinook Bravo November for a small donation, while the Harrier GR3 and Wessex will be present elsewhere on the airfield.
The aircraft have already been transported by road to RAF Cosford by the Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron and are being reassembled ahead of the show. The museum thanked its technicians, Babcock personnel at RAF Shawbury and RAF Cosford, and Ministry of Defence colleagues for helping prepare the airframes for public view. After the air show, the Hawk, Reaper and Puma will go into storage before their permanent place in The RAF: 1980 to Today, an exhibition tied to a wider site transformation supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
That gap between first showing and final display is the real story behind Sunday’s unveiling. The museum is offering a one-day public preview now, but the three aircraft will not stay on view for long, and no date has been given for when visitors will next see them in the exhibition that is meant to house them for good.
