Over the Memorial holiday weekend, attendees at the Hyundai Air and Sea Show in Miami Beach, FL, witnessed an aerial demonstration like no other, as it included seven active combat aircraft from the United States Air Force flying in formation. The Freedom Flyover saw B-52H Stratofortress, B-1B Lancer, and B-2A Spirit bombers escorted by an F-22A Raptor, an F-15C Eagle, an F-16C Fighting Falcon, and an A-10C Thunderbolt II.
Prior Freedom Formations have only consisted of the bombers, but this year marked the first time the fighters made an appearance in the flyover. All that was really missing was an F-35A Lightning II to complete a “full house” of U.S. Air Force might, and no explanation was given as to why the fifth-generation stealth fighter wasn’t included in the Memorial Day Weekend air show.
A Major Team Effort – A Lucky Seven
The seven aircraft came from different wings spread across the country, with the B1B and B-52H bombers deployed from the Air Force Reserve’s 307th Bomb Wing out of Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB), Louisiana, while the B-2A arrived from the U.S. Air Force’s 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman AFB, Missouri.
The A-10C had a short hop from Moody AFB, Georgia, home to the 23rd Wing, with the 159th Fighter Wing of the Louisiana Air National Guard sending the F-16C Fighting Falcon from Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans. The F-22 came from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, part of the famed F-22 Raptor Demo Team.
The F-16C had the least distance to travel, coming from the 482nd Fighter Wing at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida.
In addition to an impressive aerial demonstration, it was also intended to reflect the U.S. Air Force as a whole, requiring teamwork from personnel from active-duty, reserve, and Air National Guard units.
“Nearly every aspect of what you see today touches the Air Force Reserve in some way,” Lt. Gen. John Healy, commander of the Air Force Reserve Command. “What people don’t realize is we are so intricately woven into the day-to-day total force that we are virtually indistinguishable from Active Duty. This Air Show couldn’t have happened this way without Reserve support.”
Other demonstrations at the event included the 920th Rescue Wing performing “a combat search and rescue demonstration with two of their HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters,” and it concluded with “pararescue Airmen swimming to shore.”
In addition, a U.S. Air Force Reserve HC-130J Combat King II carried out simulated aerial refueling for two Pave Hawks, while the A-10C Thunderbolt IIs took part in a close air support exercise. It could be one of the final appearances of the venerable A-10C, which the Air Force has begun to retire, with most of the fleet planned to be sent to the Davis-Monthan AFB’s famed “Boneyard” in the coming years.
It could be a hard act to top.
