Tina Rowe takes a look at the modern monster flying machines set to stun the crowds at this year's air day

G race and power will dominate the sky when a West military base celebrates 100 years of naval aviation next month with pride and panache.

Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton is used to presenting breathtaking shows at its annual air day. But on July 11, the party will be even bigger and better.

Along with a huge fly-past of historic and modern naval air power will be exhilarating guest appearances from other services and forces, including the Red Arrows, three other world-class display teams, and the return of the magnificent Vulcan V bomber, after an absence of 17 years. Famed for its thunderous roar, it is a commanding presence and a truly inspirational sight.

The French Air Force will be out to win the crowds' hearts with the ultra hi-tech Rafale – which has never displayed at a British air show before – a real coup for air day.

The sleek, angular jet, manufactured by Dassault, is the result of France's decision to produce its own combat plane after pulling out of the European Fighter Aircraft programme. Highly aero- dynamically efficient, it is agile and fast – capable of reaching Mach 2.0. A pair of stunningly manoeuvrable F-16 jet fighters will be put through their paces by the Belgian Air Component and the Royal Netherlands Air Force, and the RAF will once more showcase the Typhoon.

You can guarantee that the Navy's own display team – the Black Cats – will present a breath-taking new display, showcasing the agility of the Westland Lynx. The two-man team is based at Yeovilton, which is home to all the Navy's Lynx helicopters. The team's award-winning routine of ultra- intricate and smoothly choreographed rotary revolutions has been impressing air day audiences since 2003. The pilots, who are instructors with the Lynx training squadron, usually serve two years, with each newcomer spending the first year as number two before moving up to take on the role of manager and lead pilot.

This year Lieutenant Dave Lilly is the boss. Pre-season training begins in January, and by May – the month when display approval is granted and the air show season begins – the Lynx pair will have practiced together for 60-80 hours.

The Black Cats' "signature manoeuvre" is a spectacularly steep nose-down crossover performed from the hover position. The "Swingboat" – a formation pass flown at 50 miles an hour, backwards – which was introduced last year will be back, but Lt Lilly is keeping the new manoeuvre a secret until the big day.

The two helicopters are in constant communication with each other: adherence to a rigid display sequence, and an ingrained knowledge of exactly where each helicopter should be at every second of the routine combine to produce a mesmerising performance.

As you watch, remember that it is the agility of the Lynx which makes it such a powerful, versatile tool. In more than 30 years' service it has taken part in the Falklands Conflict, Desert Storm, and more recently in missions in Iraq, as well as serving aboard ships around the world and helping to hunt down drug-runners in the Caribbean.

The Vulcan appearing at air day, XH558, is the only airworthy example in the world. She was the 12th B.2-version to be constructed and, in 1986, the last to be retired by the RAF, who thereafter operated it on the air show circuit for six years. When subsequently demoted from the skies, her loss was sadly felt, and XH558 spent many years on the ground but, behind the scenes, a small team of dedicated, passionate engineers were steadily resurrecting her back to flying condition.

The culmination of their hard work was realised in October 2007 when she took to the skies once more.

More famous names in the parade include the classic de Havilland Sea Vixen, the Hawker Sea Hawk and the de Havilland Vampire – the first jet-powered type to land on a Royal Navy carrier.

The Royal Jordanian Air Force, great favourites at the show, will give another high octane display, and the Sea Harrier, the stunning vertical take-off jet which played such a key role in the Falklands, and in policing the skies in the Balkans, will show that despite its weight and strength, it has the grace of a ballerina.

Sea Harrier Squadrons were based at Yeovilton for more than 20 years but have now passed into history, with Navy pilots now flying the GR7 and GR9 Harrier in the Naval Strike Wing of Joint Force Harrier, based at RAF Cottesmore, in Rutland. The Sea Harrier on display at air day is from the Boscombe Down Collection.

Air day's finale will be the spectacular commando assault, bringing all of Yeovilton's aircraft together in an exciting demonstration of their power to deliver troops, guns and transport swiftly to any theatre of operations – and there will be pyrotechnics aplenty.

The current list of participating aircraft can be viewed at www.yeoviltonairday.co.uk. Tickets are available online or via the ticketline on 08445 781 781.