The event includes military and civilian performances, and was designed to help the U.S. military with recruiting, morale, retention, and to reconnect the U.S. military with the American public, giving it the unofficial nickname of Super Bowl of Air Shows. It has since developed into a tribute to veterans and active service members, and has been rebranded as 'A National Salute to America's Heroes".[2][3] The show has been produced and promoted by Mickey Markoff since its inception in 1995.[4]
In 2017 the Air and Sea Show returned, this time at Miami Beach, Florida on Memorial Day weekend featuring an all military lineup.[6]
The 2018 show went on although some of the performers had to cancel on Saturday because of heavy rain and wind from Subtropical Storm Alberto. The sea portion of the show was cancelled on Sunday but the air show went on. Performers included the F-35 Heritage Flight Team and a flyby/demonstration combo of a C-17 from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The 2019 show featured the newly formed F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team and the Blue Angels who originally were scheduled to perform in Pennsylvania. The lineup included three parachute teams, the Golden Knights of the Army, the Leap Frogs of the Navy, and the United States Army Special Operations Command Black Daggers along with an F-15 of the Louisiana Air National Guard, the B-52, C-17 Globemaster III, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, search and rescue from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, drug interdiction exercise from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Commemorative Air Force Red Tail Squadron P-51C Mustang.
The 2020 show was originally scheduled on May 23 and 24 with the Thunderbirds headlining but was cancelled due to COVID-19.[7] The 2020 event was pivoted to honor frontline workers fighting the pandemic with a flyover of the Blue Angels.[8]
The 2022 event featured the USAF's F-16 Viper and the Navy's F/A-18 Super Hornet demonstration teams along with the Coast Guard and Para-Rescue search-and-rescue demonstrations and Customs and Border Protection's drug interdiction exercise. F-16s of the 482nd Fighter Wing, B-52 Stratofortress, and B-1 Lancers performed flybys while the C-17 Globemaster III from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base did a brief demonstration. For the first time in the show's history, the Army's Golden Knights and Black Daggers alongside the Navy's Leap Frogs and British Army Red Devils participated in the event. The event culminated in an evening concert headlined by 3 Doors Down and a fireworks extravaganza on Saturday night. A majority of the performances occurred on Sunday before thunderstorms forced the event to be cut short.
The 2023 show debuted the Army SaluteFest which showcased Army assets on Saturday along with a nighttime drone show and performances by Natti Natasha, JVKE, Chris Janson and Breland. New performances included a demonstration from the Army Special Operations Command with UH-60 Black Hawks and AH-64 Apaches from the 82nd Airborne Division in securing a hijacked ship and the beachhead. The United States Air Force's F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team headlined the event along with flying next to an A-1 Skyraider for the Heritage Flight. The Skyraider also flew with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet for the Navy Legacy Flight on Sunday only. The show ended with a missing man formation from the Army's Golden Knights, the Navy's Leap Frogs and the British Army Red Devils. The event culminated in a concert on Sunday with the Air Force Band and the Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team before Big & Rich closed out the weekend with a fireworks spectacular.
The 2024 show included the debut of the United States Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II from VMFAT-501 and the Altus Joint Demonstration Team and flybys of a Bell 412 from the National Nuclear Security Administration. The event was highlighted by a formation flyover of the B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers which occurred on Saturday.
On April 30, 2004, while practicing for the Air & Sea Show, signature performer Ian Groom died of blunt force trauma when his Sukhoi Su-31 dove into the Atlantic Ocean. Witnesses said the aircraft was in a nose-down attitude and spun into the water after performing a flat spin. A spokesperson of Groom's said it was likely he blacked out during the flat spin.[12][13]
The Blue Angels, formally named the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy. Formed in 1946, the unit is the second oldest formal aerobatic team in the world, following the Patrouille de France which formed in 1931. The team has six Navy and one Marine Corps demonstration pilots. They fly the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules.
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consist of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States, along with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.
The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force (USAF). The Thunderbirds, as they are popularly known, are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created 71 years ago in 1953, the USAF Thunderbirds are the third-oldest formal flying aerobatic team in the world, after the French Air Force Patrouille de France formed in 1931 and the United States Navy Blue Angels formed in 1946.
MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida.
The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world's largest military air show, held annually in July, usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. The show typically attracts a total of 150,000 to 200,000 spectators over the weekend.
The Miramar Air Show is an annual air show in San Diego, California, held at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The three-day event is the largest military air show in the United States, with total annual attendance estimated at 700,000. In 2007, the Miramar Air Show was voted the "World's Best Military Air Show" by the International Council of Air Shows, the first time the award was given to a Marine Corps air station since 1994.
Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The Australian International Airshow, also called the Avalon Airshow, is a large air show held biennially at Avalon Airport, between Melbourne and Geelong in Victoria.
Captain Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris was an aviator in the United States Navy, a World War II flying ace, and the founder of the Navy's flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels. During his 22-year naval career Voris flew everything from biplanes to jets, and afterward was instrumental in the development of the Navy's F-14 Tomcat strike fighter and NASA's Apollo Lunar Module (LM), both produced by the Grumman Aerospace Corporation.
Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106), also known as the "Gladiators", is a United States Navy F/A-18 Hornet and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
The Chicago Air & Water Show is an annual air show held on the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago's second most popular festival, it has been held every year since 1959. In 2005 it was attended by 2,200,000 people. Presented by the City of Chicago, it is the largest free show of its kind in the United States.
A flypast is a ceremonial or honorific flight by an aircraft or group of aircraft. The term flypast is used in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. In the United States, the terms flyover and flyby are used.
Thunder Over the Boardwalk is an annual airshow held over the Atlantic City boardwalk every summer. It has occurred since 2003 and is currently one of the largest airshows in North America. What sets it apart, aside from being a beach show, is the fact that it usually occurs on a Wednesday. It takes place along the beaches of Atlantic City, New Jersey, in front of the boardwalk, with the casinos in the background. Flybys and demonstrations as high as 15,000 feet (4,600 m) and as low as 50 feet (15 m) over the water in front of the Atlantic City skyline.
The Cleveland National Air Show is an annual air show held on Labor Day weekend at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 as an indirect successor to the National Air Races. The show includes stunt airplanes, modern fighters and alternates between the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds every other year. The show typically runs from 9:00 a.m. to around 4:30 p.m. EDT. The show usually starts with smaller acts, and the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds perform last. Another regular attraction is the NASA Glenn Research Center, which usually has an exhibit located near the back of the show. There is usually some type of heritage or legacy flight, sometimes both.
USCGC Bernard C. Webber (WPC-1101) is the first of the United States Coast Guard's 58 Sentinel-class cutters. Like most of her sister ships, she replaced a 110-foot (34 m) Island-class patrol boat. Bernard C. Webber, and the next five vessels in the class, Richard Etheridge, William Flores, Robert Yered, Margaret Norvell, and Paul Clark, are all based in Miami, Florida.
Homestead Air Reserve Base, previously known as Homestead Air Force Base is located in Miami–Dade County, Florida, to the northeast of the city of Homestead. It is home to the 482nd Fighter Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command's Tenth Air Force, as well as the headquarters of Special Operations Command South.
Crash boats, at the time known as "aircraft rescue boats" or "air-sea rescue boats", were United States high speed boats built to rescue the crew of downed Allied aircraft during World War II. US boats came from the observation of British experience with high-speed launches (HSL) by the Royal Air Force Marine Branch during the Battle of Britain.
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