Featured Video: Military Airshow Action 2021

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After a hiatus in 2020, we are proud to continue our Airshow Action video series for 2021! A joint project between Airshowstuff and our friends at This is Flight, the Airshow Action series is a long-form, narrated look at some of the most unique, special, and interesting airshow performances we captured throughout the year.

Airshow Action 2021 is divided into two videos – Part 1 focuses on modern military aircraft while Part 2 is centered on vintage warbirds.

Enjoy Military Airshow Action 2021 below, and subscribe to our Youtube channel to catch Warbird Airshow Action, which will be posted in the coming weeks!

If you enjoy the format, you can also check out Military Airshow Action 2019 and Warbird Airshow Action 2019. And don’t forget that you can find hundreds of un-narrated raw videos of the same performances on the AirshowStuffVideos channel, and dozens more narrated airshow documentary programs on the This is Flight channel.

• The US Navy Blue Angels saw a year of firsts, including the debut their new F-18 Super Hornet jets during the Sun ‘n Fun airshow in Lakeland, Florida, and the first public performance of their new C-130J Super Hercules “Fat Albert” at Airshow London in Canada.
• The Polish Air Force shows off their own C-130E Hercules with a spectacular night time flare drop at the Antidotum Airshow in Lezno, Poland.
• Patrouille Gusto Delta of the French Air Force display a pair of Mirage 2000s, the types first airshow participation since 2018.
• The California Capital Airshow offered a glimpse into the coming future of US Navy air power with the joint displays and formation flybys by the F-35C Lightning II and F/A-18F Super Hornet, both types expected to serve as the mainstays of carrier air wings for years to come.
• EAA AirVenture Oshkosh celebrated past and present military aviation with both a US Air Force Heritage Flight – a special four-ship formation featuring a P-38 Lightning, two P-51 Mustangs, and a USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon – and the US Navy Legacy Flight combining a T-28 Trojan, F4U Corsair, and two EA-18G Growlers. The Growlers also performed a superb two-ship display.
• Air Legend Paris hosts a pair of French Navy Dassault Rafale Ms, performing a special formation flypast with two F4U Corsairs in addition to a two-ship tactical role demonstration.
• We stay in France, where the Patrouille de France join together with a P-38 Lightning to celebrate “Le Petit Prince” and its author, a French Air Force pilot during WWII.
• Two looks at the surprisingly nimble Airbus A400 tactical airlifter; one from the French Air Force at Air Legend, and a rare airshow performance by the German Luftwaffe at Thunder Over Michigan.
• Another surprisingly agile aircraft, the US Navy’s E-2 Hawkeye, performs at Airshow London
• A pair of brief but rare airshow appearances by military aircraft; two B-1B Lancers lighting the afterburners on a twilight formation flyover and a secretive RC-135S Cobra Ball flyby in Kansas.
• Grab a seat inside the chase car for a U-2 Dragon Lady takeoff and landing demonstration in Sacramento
• We celebrate special paint schemes on display in 2021, including the RAF Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 “Blackjack” scheme, the USAF F-16 Viper Demo Team’s “Venom” jet, and a pair of A-10 Warthogs; the Southeast Asia Camouflage “Red River Hawg” from the A-10 Demo Team and a black and gray A-10 from the “Black Snakes” of the Indiana Air National Guard.
• The US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) takes over EAA AirVenture Oshkosh with special appearances by MC-130 Commando IIs, CV-22 Ospreys, an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship, and other rarely seen Spec Ops support aircraft. Watch for the twilight airfield assault and the night-time angel flares!
• The Royal Air Force Falcons parachute team marks their 60th anniversary with an entirely new routine
• The Canadian Forces Snowbirds celebrate their own 50th anniversary with a special paint scheme on their CT-114 Tutor jets
• More than 60 aircraft participated in a massive flyover to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force. The formations brought together warbirds as well as modern military aircraft like F-35 Lightning IIs, F-18 Classic Hornets and Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, C-130 Hercules, a P-3 Orion and P-8 Pegasus formation, and the Roulettes national display team.
• Another look at the RAAF and their first F-35 Lightning II demonstration at Wings Over Illawarra as well as the final display of the F/A-18 Classic Hornet before the types retirement from RAAF service.