Seven Hongdu L-15 jets from the United Arab Emirates’ Fursan Al Emarat aerobatic display team will make their Greek debut at the Athens Flying Week, Tanagra International Air Show 2026, which returns to the Tanagra air base on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September. Organisers say the show will feature numerous international participants alongside every aircraft type operated by the Greek Armed Forces.

This year’s edition is headlined by the participation of Fursan Al Emarat, the United Arab Emirates air force’s aerobatic display team, which is debuting new aircraft and will perform a full flying programme on both days.

On both days of Athens Flying Week, visitors will be able to watch high-precision aerobatics and manoeuvres carried out at breathtaking speed by Fursan Al Emarat, known as the “Knights of the Emirates”.

For the first time, the public will see up close the Chinese-built Hongdu L-15 jet flown by Fursan Al Emarat.

A total of seven of the aircraft will be airborne at the same time, filling the sky with the team’s highly pigmented but fully eco-friendly smoke.

The Knights of the Emirates use coloured smoke in the colours of their national flag: red, green, white and black. During their aerial choreography, the aircraft leave coloured trails across the sky, creating a unique spectacle.

Members of Fursan Al Emarat are not chosen at random, show organisers note. They represent the elite of the Emirati air force and, with their striking aircraft, fly the flag for their country at the world’s largest air shows, including this year in Greece at Athens Flying Week 2026.

The most important selection criterion is absolute trust, organisers add, since the pilots fly in formation with wingtips just metres apart, and the team is defined by discipline, professionalism and a strict commitment to flight safety.

The Knights’ flying programme includes gravity-defying aerial choreography, breathtaking aerobatics and manoeuvres designed to leave spectators spellbound.

Seven Hongdu L-15 aircraft, painted in a striking black and gold livery symbolising oil, a key Emirati export, and the country’s golden desert, will fill the sky above Tanagra, “painting” the air with their trademark smoke.

The Fursan Al Emarat programme includes aerobatics, manoeuvres and formations in which the aircraft fly wingtip to wingtip, featuring loops, extremely close crossing manoeuvres and steep climbs and dives, with pilots following strict in-flight procedures throughout.

The seven aircraft flying together represent the UAE’s seven emirates, and the Knights’ display always closes with the formation of the UAE flag in the sky, using their famous four-colour smoke.

The smoke used by Fursan Al Emarat is made from fully biodegradable materials that are safe for the environment and dissolve naturally in the air without leaving any residue.

The team has adapted its technology in line with international commitments on environmental protection and sustainability, and follows the standards of “green” aviation.

Alongside the spectacular Fursan Al Emarat, other individual highlights include Finland’s F-18 Hornet Display, appearing in Greece for the first time, Spain’s Eurofighter Typhoon, also making its Greek debut, and Germany’s Typhoon and Tornado aircraft with a full flying programme.

Also taking part are the formidable A400M transporters from Belgium and Germany, Austrian and Slovenian Pilatus aircraft, parachutists from Canada, an Italian AW-139 helicopter, an F-35 on static display, the legendary F-4 Phantom, the F-16 Zeus and the T-6 Daedalus, along with various warbirds and, naturally, the full range of aircraft operated by the Greek Armed Forces. These include the EMB-145H airborne early warning and control aircraft known as ASEPE, M-346 trainers, Mirage 2000-5s and Rafale jets from the 114 Combat Wing, which is hosting this year’s event.

The programme also features Apache helicopters in an impressive display, along with Kiowa, NH-90 and Chinook helicopters from Army Aviation, and S-70 Aegean Hawk and MH-60 Romeo helicopters from the Navy. Personnel and equipment from the Special Operations Command of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff will once again take part, promising, according to organisers, a breathtaking demonstration of operational capability.

No major aviation celebration would be complete without Aegean Airlines, which is once again taking part with a surprise flypast at Athens Flying Week, alongside Olympic Air.

Among the civilian participants, standouts include world champion Luca Bertossio with his gravity-defying manoeuvres, Frank Van Houten, who impresses every year with his aerobatics, and the Euroavia team from the National Technical University of Athens, which will be on static display with its own aircraft.