The winner of the best picture of the RIAT 2024 has been announced, chosen from a shortlist of 15.

The dramatic shots show aircraft soaring, spinning and swooping in the air, as well as the celebrations on the ground below.

The winner, Ben Smith, took a picture of the Hellenic Air Force’s F-4E Phantom II (above).

Voting for the annual photo competition by reacting to the pictures on Facebook ended at 9am GMT on Monday, August 19, with the winner announced later that day.(Image: Philippe Anhuiser)

Ben said: “The photo I picked was a no-brainer out of all the other photos I’d taken. It was a very special moment. I’ve never seen an F-4 Phantom in the air, not that I can remember anyway. 

“So we stayed a little late on the Friday to see these things arrive and I am so glad we did. (Image: Gamin_out)

“I got super lucky to capture this amazing blue flame in the engines, as the pilot came off the throttle right in front of us. Just breathtaking, not to mention the noise! 

“I was over the moon [to be shortlisted]. It didn’t really sink in for a while that out of over 2,500 entries I’d made it to a top 15.”

His prize was a FRIAT grandstand package, a place on the sold-out Aviation Photography Editing Academy by COAP Online, a place on a night shoot with COAP Wings, and some RIAT merchandise.(Image: Graham Bardem)

Vicky Cheevers, Head of Marketing and Customer Experience at Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises explained the choice of winner: “We looked at composition, colour and subject matter – it didn’t have to be of the aircraft in the sky. 

“The shortlist showed what RIAT was all about, and we’re really pleased the public chose a very awe-inspiring image of the ever-popular Phantom.”

The annual three-day event was expected to draw 150,000 spectators to see high-energy air displays.(Image: Lewis Macdonald Photography)

The theme was ‘Pushing the Boundaries in Air and Space’ in recognition of 100 years of military aviation Test and Evaluation flying. 

Key attractions included the The Royal Moroccan Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcons returning for the first time since 1995, the rare Qatari Boeing F-15QA Ababil jet showing off its maneouvres, and the first UK performance by the Norwegian Yellow Sparrow display team.

As is to be expected, the Red Arrows made an appearance twice in as many days.

A full list of the ranking of the pictures is expected to be released on the RIAT website in the coming days.