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The Royal Australian Air Force has wrapped up its 2025 Richmond Airshow, marking the airbase’s centenary.
Held at RAAF Base Richmond over the weekend, the event attracted around 80,000 people and featured both static and aerial displays such as the F-35A Lightning II, F/A-18F Super Hornet, E-7A Wedgetail, P-8 Poseidon, and No. 100 Squadron’s heritage aircraft.
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“The community sees our achievements in the news, watches our work on social media, but seldom has that opportunity to engage and experience with Defence firsthand,” said Wing Commander Andrew Burke, Senior Australian Defence Force Officer at RAAF Base Richmond and Commanding Officer No. 22 Squadron.
“The air show allows us to welcome our community through the gates and into our workplace, thank them for their support, answer their questions about our role and showcase our capability.
“As a commanding officer and Senior Australian Defence Force Officer, it’s certainly the rarest of privileges to host our local community on the base and celebrate a centenary air show with them.”
RAAF Richmond, opened in June 1925, is the oldest Air Force base in NSW, and second oldest in Australia after Point Cook in Victoria. According to WGCDR Burke, the base has a “unique and close relationship” with its local community.
“Successive generations of the Hawkesbury community have supported the base for a hundred years, and longer still when you consider the local council campaigned to bring aviation to Richmond following the First World War,” he said.
“For decades, aviators have returned to RAAF Base Richmond from conflicts and disasters in our region and across the world and felt welcomed by a community who supported them and their families.”
More than 1.28 million visitors have attended events such as air shows and open days at RAAF Richmond over the past century, which WGCDR Burke said highlights their value as a recruitment tool.
“Any number of RAAF aviators will tell you that coming to an air show inspired them to take a career in Air Force, and the century of air shows hosted at RAAF Base Richmond are part of that history,” he said.
“What’s changed in 2025 is the growth of missions we now perform in Defence, from highly-specialised workforces in cyber and space domains through to other essential roles in the air and on the ground.
“The enthusiasm was evident from Defence members – from ADF Careers through to ADF Drone Racing and the individual Defence units and squadrons, all answering questions on the tarmac at RAAF Base Richmond and inspiring a new generation of aviators to come.”
RAAF Base Richmond has been home to the C-130 Hercules since the aircraft first came into service in 1958.
In recent years, it has become a main support base for RAAF’s contribution to humanitarian and disaster relief operations, including Operation Bushfire Assist 2019–20 and the Afghanistan Non-Combatant Evacuation in 2021.
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says:I was devastated to find out about tickets for air show going on sale about 10 days after on-sale date.
All sold out!
Is there a website for RAAF that can send reminders about Airshows? Last one I went to at Richmond was 2008 I think. Long time. You can’t rely on Avalon putting on a good military display anymore. Rip off tucket prices.
How many tickets were available for the Richmond show anyway? They encouraged public transport so they should have been able to sell thousands more.
Not happy!